AAUW San Antonio Branch Sisters,

As we hopefully enter into cooler weather and the Fall season I look forward to change. The change in temperature mostly - literally and figuratively speaking. This is a very hot time in this country. It needs to cool off.

When the leader of a country does not condemn violence against a spouse it’s hot! When people do not show empathy for the death of a man who showed no empathy it’s hot! The greatest part of existence is acceptance in my opinion. To exist in the same place and space as others who are different is acceptance and cohesiveness. The temperature in this country is hot. As AAUW women let’s continue to be the example of antifreeze/coolant, literally and figuratively. Do not fuel the fires of individuals who do not believe or think the way you believe or think. Keep your peace and remain focused on what makes us better. By all means keep your peace.

Claudia L. Walker, Ed.D. 

President

AAUW San Antonio

2025-2026 Branch Leaders

Executive Committee

President

Claudia L. Walker, Ed.D.      

President Elect

Martha Steele

Vice President Membership

Debbi Sochia                        

Vice President Programs

Martha Steele             

Secretary

Debbi Sochia    

Treasurer

Sharon Parson

Parliamentarian

Vacant

Standing Committees

Public Policy

Pat Sanford

Finance/Budget

Sharon Parson

Scholarships/NCCWSL/CU

Jeanette Pierce

AAUW Funds

Vacant

DEI

Vacant

STEM

Vacant

Governance

Jeanette Pierce

Appointed Positions

Membership Outreach

Adrien Frank

Community Coordinator

Claudia L. Walker, Ed.D.

Reservations

Martha Steele

Publicity

Michelle Burk

Historian

Rachel Skelley

Communications

Malinda Gaul

The October Meeting Is About Us

Texas AAUW has awarded our branch five stars, the top rating that is given. Since our branch is made up of outstanding women, that is not surprising.

At the October meeting, we will get to know all of the outstanding women who make up our membership, including YOU. If you have joined in the past few years, this meeting is one you shouldn’t miss. If you attend only book discussions or another interest group meeting, take this opportunity to introduce yourself to the whole group. If you belong to AAUW in order to support education for women and girls, and to support litigation and legislation about equal pay for equal work, but don’t go to the meetings, give us a try at this meeting. If you are too shy to talk about yourself, you could loosen up at the cash bar, available in this meeting room. We are not recruiting members or inviting guests to this meeting—this one is for us.

Location and Time:

Alamo Cafe I-10

10060 IH-10 West

San Antonio, Texas 78230

October 4, 2025

11:30 a.m.

Menu

Choice of:

Sizzling Fajita Plate (beef and chicken with bell peppers and onions, flour tortillas, rice, beans, pico de gallo, guacamole)

Fajita Ensalada (mixed greens topped with chicken and beef fajita, Monterey Jack cheese, tomatoes, guacamole)

Chicken Ranchero (charbroiled chicken breast topped with mild red sauce, Monterey Jack cheese, rice, steamed broccoli topped with chile con queso)

Soda or iced tea

Gluten free or vegetarian orders may be selected from

the server at same luncheon price.

$35.00

Payment methods

1. Cash or check at the door (Exact change if paying cash.)
2. Funds transfer via Zelle to aauwsa@gmail.com

DEADLINE

Send your menu choice to Martha Steele, steelemar@gmail.com

by October 1st.

This is a firm deadline.

The sooner we can get the information to the restaurant, the better.

Please welcome two new members to the AAUW San Antonio Branch: Barbara Baruch and Sammie Cherry! They attended our September Meeting and signed up the same day. Welcome ladies!

Congratulations to Martha Steele, Helga Anderson and Janet Black on winning free membership for the year through AAUW’s Shape the Future Program!



Do More

The widespread attack on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) has grave potential to undo decades of progress women (and society) benefitted from prior to the current administration. Recently, a speaker on an AAUW webinar made the point that it is important to say the actual words “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” so that the audience hears the concepts, not just the acronym. That simple, yet strong, adjustment is motivating. This is an example of being strategic in the fight for rights. Being strategic by doing more is a recurring theme. One of the most informative articles I read in the past few weeks says that right now it is imperative that we do more to resist the unprecedented actions that are currently eroding the Constitution of the United States. We need to think more strategically, take more action by writing to legislators, writing postcards to voters in swing states, signing petitions, knocking on doors, helping with voter registration, and as always, supporting your beliefs by voting and by contributing to causes and candidates with your time and money.

An example of strategic action at AAUW national is coalition building. AAUW has been building coalitions for decades. One coalition AAUW works with that you may not be aware of is the Coalition for Pregnant and Parenting Students Advocacy. Currently, the coalition is supporting bills that will help ensure that data is collected on the needs of parenting students, and that resources are allocated to those needs. One of these bills is the Understanding Student Outcomes Act. The other is the Helping Student Parents Succeed Act. With 3.7 million parenting students in higher ed, these bills have great significance.

At the state level, the AAUW Texas Strategic Plan for FY 26 Planning strengthens the way public policy, in alignment with the AAUW national strategic plan, is used to ensure that local Texas branches focus on national and state priorities. Accomplishing three of the public policy criteria earns a branch one star in the Five Star Recognition Program. More important than the recognition is that the branch is doing the real work of the organization. The public policy criteria include:

• Naming a public policy chair for FY 26
• Conduct a meeting with an elected official regarding an AAUW policy position.
• Participate in a state lobby day.
• Hold a program on a policy topic related to public policy principles and priorities.
• Conduct a voter registration or voter education event.
• Organize a group action – such as letter-writing, attending a school board meeting, hosting a town hall aligned with AAUW Action Network calls to action.

The state public policy quarterly Zoom meeting will be on October 16. You are all invited to attend. Information on registering will be sent out closer to the date.

The AAUW Texas Public Policy Committee will provide all members with information on proposed amendments to the Texas constitution prior to the November election.

Locally, Program Vice President, Martha Steele, working with President Claudia Walker, and the AAUW SA board, continues to provide outstanding programs aligned with AAUW and AAUW Texas.

Thank you for understanding the purpose of AAUW membership. Your awareness and commitment to action have never been more important than they are right now.

Pat Sanford

AAUW SA Public Policy Chair

AAUW TX Public Policy Committee

Culinary Adventures is on a break while Brunch Bunch gets started.



AAUW Moviegoers (Let’s All Go to the Movies!)

Moviegoers! We meet on the last Sunday of each month (unless I miscalculate how many days are in each month and then I pinch hit, lol). I send out an email with a list of currently showing movies to vote on and then let everyone know the winning movie and location. Please join us! All are welcome! 

Our next movie is scheduled for Sunday, October 26th!

Call/text/email Debbi Sochia

dsochia@att.net

210-218-2675

Art Exhibit

Are you going to be in the Dallas area in the next month or so? Consider visiting the Nasher Sculpture Center. My grandfather, Jóhann Eyfells has an exhibit of his sculptures of Cairns. The sculptures were created by pouring various molten metals into the ground. As the liquid pushed through the gaps and fissures in the earth, it created a cast of negative space. We had the Grand Opening of this exhibit September 12, alongside English Sculptor Antony Gormley, and it was quite a treat! If you would like to see the documentary made about my grandfather, A Force in Nature, it is on Amazon Prime.

Debbi Sochia

What Does AAUW National Do?

Policy Advocacy: Focuses on national issues affecting women and girls, such as education equity, pay equity, and reproductive rights.

o   We coordinate our Public Policy Committees, participate in coalition work and partner with other prominent National organizations to raise awareness about our policy priorities (such as the YWCA for our Gen Z Town Hall in Philadelphia).

Subject Matter Expertise: We have historically produced in-depth studies on topics like the gender pay gap and women in leadership roles.

o   While we haven't produced reports recently due to limited funding - we have done high level analysis of recently released pay gap data. We are frequently asked to comment on topics related to pay equity, student loan debt and other issues related to gender equity. You can see our recently updated page on Latinas and the pay gap for example, here: https://www.aauw.org/resources/article/latinas-and-the-pay-gap/

o   We have tens of thousands of social media followers across all platforms and have well over 1 million website viewers - ensuring that our brand remains prominent and relevant. CEO Gloria Blackwell has been invited to White House events on at least three occasions recently.

o   On a Global level - Gloria is AAUW's representative to the UN - and our work in this capacity provides great reputational value related to global gender equity work.

Salary Negotiation and Financial Literacy Training: Offers training and resources for women to develop skills to be financially empowered.

o   In particular our Work Smart, Start Smart and Money Smart trainings provide valuable resources and tools for women to become economically empowered. Nationally we work with organizations such as the HBCU Career Center, Tri Delta, Coca Cola Foundation, Finra Foundation, SAGE and others to bring these trainings to thousands of women across the country. These trainings were developed and are updated and managed by the National office. They have been independently evaluated by two separate entitles and continually receive very high ratings from participants.

Fellowships & Grants: We award and administer over $6 million in fellowships and grants each year to hundreds of women in the US and Internationally. 

o   We also connect our members and branches to these awardees and alumnae and have an Alumnae Relations team charged with growing and maintaining relationships with our thousands of distinguished Alumnae.

Membership Services: Provides support and resources for local branches and members, including access to national networks and events.

o   We host all aauw.net websites, process dues, support 990 filings, and maintain our history and globally recognized brand. Without AAUW National - AAUW branches would instead be independently organized entities who would not be networked with one another or have the ability to utilize the AAUW name. 

In essence, while AAUW National sets the strategic direction and focuses on broader issues, local branches implement programs and initiatives that directly benefit their local communities. Together, our aim is to work towards the common goal of advancing gender equity.

Follow AAUW San Antonio on:

Facebook www.facebook.com/aauw.sanantonio