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Welcome back to our AAUW Scottsdale Branch’s 2025-2026 year!

WHEN: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, September 20, 2025

WHERE: Scottsdale Community College, Turquoise Room

Directions: Drive East on Chaparral. Take the 1st entrance to SCC. Take immediate left. Follow it around to Parking Lot A. When you turn into Parking Lot A, the Turquoise Room will be straight ahead. 

WHO: Dr. Donna Lewis, Scottsdale Unified School District (SUSD) Governing Board President

WHAT: Education: Meeting the Moment

AAUW has long championed educational opportunities that open doors for women and girls.

Don’t miss our September program with Dr. Donna W. Lewis, SUSD Governing Board President and NAU professor. With deep expertise in policy, leadership, and equity, Dr. Lewis will explore how K-12 and higher education align today to expand opportunity, strengthen equity, and shape brighter futures.

Friends, relatives, and prospective members are always welcome! We will not be able to provide refreshments at this meeting. If you wish to bring a beverage, please bring it in a covered container.

Interested in a post-meeting lunch with other members? Judy Hubbard graciously offers to make a reservation at Wally’s post-meeting. Please see her to sign up!

Message from the Board...

Welcome back to our first meeting after a toasty Arizona summer. We are thrilled to get reconnected with members we’ve known for a while, welcome new members and enjoy existing—Food! Books! More!--and new Special Interest Group (SIGS), and many opportunities to stay informed and be engaged!

We have members who travel in the U.S. and globally, not only in the summer. Those of us who stayed here had the option to enjoy a meal together June, July and August thanks to Judy and Gail, our summer Lunch Bunch team. In September, Cynthia will be enticing us monthly with her Lunch Bunch selections including amazing descriptions of the selected restaurant and their delicious entrees. Jane’s book group meets May through October via Zoom so folks here or travelling can join and in person November through April. Cynthia's book group meets in person from September through June. And there’s much more.

Your newly seated board has been at work during the summer planning for the new year:

Our new coVPs of Membership, Judy Hubbard and Gail Stempil, have been hard at work reaching out to our members and welcoming new members. Lennie Andrews and Viva Ashcroft, our CoVPs of Finance, have been reminding us of and collecting our dues for the coming year; Linda Nance is still busy working putting together our 2025-2026 Membership Directory and is working with other board members to ensure you receive an up-to-date Member Directory and Jacqui Sasser has been focused on coordinating Programs for this year. You’ll hear more about

our year from our new board and “experts” September 20! Hope to see you there!

Laraine Rodgers, President

CALL FOR VOLUNTEERS....

I feel besieged. My advocacy for AAUW’s mission for public education, equal pay for equal work and the exercised right to vote in free and fair elections are under existential threat. The guard rails of the rule of law I depended on are crumbling before me. I did not expect that, in nearing my 80’s, I would face these realities. But here we are.

As hard as I think I have fought in the past, today I need to go to the next level to support volunteer advocacy groups such as AAUW Scottsdale. Because I cannot continue this essential advocacy alone, I need a group of like-minded advocates, such as yourselves, to continue this work.

Would you please volunteer to step into an advocacy role on the Board of Directors or the numerous committees that are resisting the rollback of hard-fought freedoms and opportunities for women, girls and the men who support them? If you are ready to ask what you can do, please contact:

Jane Adrian jadrian@cox.net. (480) 710-0353

AAUW Scottsdale Past President 2009-2010

AAUW Arizona Past President 2011-2012

MEMBERSHIP MATTERS:

Hello from your new Membership team, Judy Hubbard and Gail Stempil!!

We are happy to announce that as of today we have 82 members, including 11 honorary life members and 2 regular life members.

IMPORTANT: We are trying to keep a very up-to-date Data Base of our members, so if you have any changes—name, address, phone, email—please let us know as soon as possible. Contact both Gail at stemgw@aol.com for the Data Base and Linda Nance at lnance818@gmail.com for the directory, which will be published soon. We will make any necessary changes in the national AAUW.org roster.

We always welcome new members! If you know of any potential members, please let us know or have them contact us—Judy or Gail. The newest membership application form Is available on our website. Just Google AAUW Scottsdale and our website will come up. (The actual address is http://scottsdale-az.aauw.net)

Here’s looking forward to an exciting new season with AAUW Scottsdale!

MEET A MEMBER...

RITA DAVIS: My involvement with AAUW started when I retired from McGraw-Hill Book Company, left Dallas and moved to Hot Springs Village, AR. Golfing was not enough to occupy me so I joined a very active AAUW branch. Our main commitment was supporting women in pretty desperate economic situations to gain a college degree. I also enjoyed and learned so much from our Great Decisions group.

For over 20 years I have had a second home in Durango, CO to escape the heat of Dallas and Hot Springs. Many of my golfing friends also lived part time in AZ and I realized being only a day away (and I had visited Scottsdale) would be a better fit.

My college degree was in Social Studies so I have always been interested in government, history and politics. The goals of AAUW are also mine and I decided ti was time to get more involved.

My Scottsdale home is my legal residence and I am happy to be an involved voter. Although I only spend 7 months in AZ each year, I look forward to meeting other AAUW members and getting more involved.

Welcome RIta.

CAROLYN EDLUND: My husband, Bruce, and I moved to Arizona from Wheat Ridge, Colorado over 30 years ago, after Bruce accepted a job to be closer to his parents, who had retired in Yuma. We are now approaching the age they were when we made the move. For me, it was a return to the Valley, as I graduated from Arcadia HS, back when Scottsdale was our archrival.

A couple days a week Delivering Dreams (formerly known as Assistance League of Phoenix) finds volunteer tasks for me to do. That allows me to randomly visit Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix "on the way home" for iced coffee and BOOKS! Although not a hobby per se, I donate a lot of time to attempting to downsize possessions.

I found AAUW in a roundabout way. After retiring from the court, where I started as a Juvenile Court Administrator and retired as a staff attorney researching issues for judges handling criminal matters, I spent a post-retirement year in Durango, Colorado. There I discovered and attended the Foreign Policy Association discussions at the library. But in Phoenix, other than private homes, my recollection is that only the Phoenix AAUW offered the discussions. I knew of AAUW, as my mother was a member during my childhood in Massachusetts, and I started reaching out. And this year the Scottsdale AAUW found me.

Welcome Carolyn

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP NEWS

We’re Telling our Story!

Inspired by Debbie Hansen’s presentation at last January's branch meeting, we will have a new SIG (Special Interest Group) starting in October.

AAUW-Scottsdale member Nadine Schwartz, having led writing groups previously, will be our facilitator.

The purpose of our group will be to explore a particular event, relationship, or personal experience that may have shaped your life. We will use structured activities using themes and prompts to guide members through their stories, section by section. In essence, we’ll try to create a “slice of life”, but not the “whole pie."

We will meet on the fourth Wednesday of each month starting in October. Date: October 22, 2025

Time: 1:00 p.m.

Place: Janet Larkin’s home, 7409 E. Bonita Drive, Scottsdale

I will supply the initial supplies of plain paper, colored pencils,

crayons, and rulers, but please bring your own notebook, tablet or

laptop to record your stories.

The working title for our SIG will be Storyteller’s Corner.

If you have any questions, please contact me:

Jalarkin@con.net

Cell: 480-242-3089

Books Etc.

Come join us on September 17 at the lovely home of Sue Jaros, 7950 N Via Azul, Scottsfdale, where Esther Groves will lead us in an exciting discussion of the historical novel Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray We will meet at 1:00 PM but please RSVP to Sue at sue.jaros@gmail.com to let her know if she needs to buy more chairs! A short summary of the novel follows:

Becoming Madam Secretary by Stephanie Dray chronicles the extraordinary life of Frances Perkins, a progressive activist who becomes the first female U.S. Secretary of Labor, detailing her journey from Hell's Kitchen social reformer to a pivotal figure in FDR's administration, tirelessly advocating for the Social Security Act, workers' rights, and safety regulations during the Great Depression. The historical fiction novel focuses on her complex relationship with Franklin D. Roosevelt, her personal struggles and triumphs, and her significant contributions to shaping modern America.

We will meet on September 17, Wednesday, at 1:00 PM so you still have plenty of time to read this interesting and informative book. See you soon at Sue’s home!



--Cynthia Peplinski cynthiadysart@cox.net

Lunch Bunch for 2025

Come join Lunch Bunch on September 4 at 12:00 PM, Thursday, at Blancos, 12750 N. Tatum and meet and greet all those folks you might not have seen much of over the summer. Nothing 

like a spicy margarita to make everybody friendlier! But you don’t feel like Mexican food when it’s 107 degrees outside??? Well, then go for the delicious “starters” of guacamole, warm queso (with or without ground beef), or chicken taquitos (caramelized onions, oaxaca cheese and chipotle avocado salsa).

And let’s not forget the soups and salads on a hot September day! Chicken tortilla soup (avocado, sour cream, queso blanco) and an avocado caesar might just hit the spot!

However, if you are an inveterate Mexican restaurant participant and want to go “full serve”, then there are the grilled mahi (avocado, chipotle slaw and crema) or carne asada (avocado, spicy garlic, cotija cheese) tacos. 

Whatever mood you are in, do join us for the first “non summer” Lunch Bunch at Blancos in what used to be P.V. Mall. (And I would like to say a big “thank you” to Gail Stempil and Judy Hubbard for doing such an excellent job with Lunch Bunch over the summer!) We’re meeting at 12:00 on Sept. 4, Thursday and you don’t want to miss out on the brand new restaurant, Blanco’s! Please RSVP to me by Sept. 1 !!



-Cynthia Peplinski cynthiadysart@cox.net

Adopt-A-Book Summary

Last year was a great year for promoting reading! The members of our Scottsdale Branch provided 558 books to Navajo Elementary School. This was well over the 429

books that were needed for each student to receive a book of their choice. Many thanks to those members who provided books this past year for our PreK to Grade 5

students!

The books were delivered to the school in May and we were met eagerly by the principal and a group of strong students who helped unload that much anticipated delivery. There were many smiling faces noted as the books were escorted into the

school. The extra books were provided for summer school students to select a book of their choice to take home.

I will be providing information regarding this year’s school and numbers needed as schools begin and I can obtain approval. In the meantime, please begin to plan to pick up a few books with each visit to the library, thrift shops, garage sales, and feel free add an inexpensive new book to your online shopping.

Thank you for assisting in our

community project.

HAPPY BOOK HUNTING,

Linda Nance, Adopt-A-Book Chair

Lnance818@gmail.com

602-791-8472

*********************************************************

Below are the Navajo Elementary students choosing their very own book and to the right are Linda Nance (AAUW), Lynn Bachtl, Navajo teacher, and Matt Patzlaff, Navajo Principal.

AAUW’s Public Policy

AAUW’s Public Policy Principles:

AAUW’s mission to advance gender equity through research, education, and advocacy is grounded in these bold principles.

AAUW opposes all forms of discrimination on the basis of

age, disability, race, ethnicity, sex, gender, sexual orientation,

gender identity, geographical location, national origin, religious beliefs, pregnancy or parental status, or socioeconomic status, and supports constitutional protection for the civil rights of all individuals.

These principles are the core of AAUW’s mission.

Come help us work on our Public Policy Priorities for this coming year of 2025-2026!

We will meet to review what AAUW Arizona, the state umbrella

organization, has put forth for each of our branches to focus their efforts and energy upon. What will AAUW Scottsdale do?

Date: October 14, 2025 at 1:00 p.m.

Place: Janet Larkin’s home: 7409 E. Bonita Drive, Scottsdale, AZ

jalarkin@cox.net

Cell: 480-242-3089

--Janet Larkin, Public Policy/Community Action 

HOW TO ORDER AN AAUW NAME BADGE

Go to AAUW.org and in the upper right hand corner, log in with your email and password. 

You'll need to create an account if you don't have one.



Click on Membership in the top right hand corner.

Go to Discounts and Perks on the right side of the screen.

Scroll down to Shop AAUW, about halfway down, and click on it.

Click on Accessorize.

You'll see Custom Name Badge and click on it.

Decide between pin or magnet back. 

Customize to order.

$11.50 w/pin   $15.00 w/magnet

And place your order!

NEWS FROM NATIONAL....

Speak Up on New Federal Rules 

AAUW is engaging in regulatory advocacy – responding to proposed rules from the Administration, not Congress. These decisions shape how laws are implemented, and once finalized, can be harder to undo than legislation. From eliminating federal loans for graduate students, removing abortion care from veterans' medical benefits, to leaving federal contract workers vulnerable to discrimination, these rules will shape access to education, health care, and civil rights for years to come. Stand with us — submit your public comment today so policymakers hear from us loud and clear.  Click here

Time to sign up for the Two Minute Activist:

Send emails and texts to your legislators to fight for equal pay, family leave, stopping sexual harassment, equality in education and more. Sign up to get regular alerts to be able to take timely action.

To sign up, (click here).

Be an AAUW Activist. SIGN UP NOW