In this issue...
President's Message
Featured Article:
- AAUW NJ Board of Directors 2023 - 2034
- Annual Meeting Update
- Woman as Agent of Change Awardee
State News:
- Tech Trek
- Teentech
- Sussex County College joins as C/U Partner
- Why I Donate
- The Pulse of Public Policy
- Scholarships for NCCWSL 2023
National News:
- AAUW 2023 Election
- Dues Update
Branch & Other News:
- Mountain Lakes' Chorale Group
- Mother's Day
- API trip to Washington, DC
- Upcoming AAUW NJ 2023 Dates
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Research
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Education
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Advocacy
Equity
for all
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It’s great to see all the new growth this spring! There are new branch members, new board members and new projects, programs and collaborations being planned. A special THANKS to those who recruited new leaders and to those who stepped up to lead. We are excited to welcome four new-to-the-board directors and three new nominating committee members to our AAUW NJ leadership team (you’ll have to keep reading to find out more).
In preparing my report for the annual meeting last month, my last time as president, I tried capture the essential AAUW NJ - this is what I came up with - AAUW NJ has two roles in advancing the AAUW mission: supporting branches in NJ and carrying out state-wide equity programs and projects. The slide presentation of the annual meeting are available on our AAUW NJ website “Past Events” page [link], if you weren’t at the meeting, I hope you’ll take a look.
Key to both AAUW NJ roles is facilitating two-way communication, between AAUW leaders at all levels, and between AAUW and community collaborators at the state level. Sharon Suber has been doing a great job of sharing information and problem solving as Communications Vice President, and she’s kept us all on track. That’s why I am especially happy that she has agreed to be the next AAUW NJ President – thank you Sharon! We are also thrilled that Anjali Mehrotra will be our next Communications Vice President.
Special thanks to last year’s board members - their diligence and dedication to innovating (often to save work) made it a pleasure to work together. And last but not least, nothing could have been accomplished without the participation of many other member-leaders, branch members, and community collaborators –everyone who volunteered their time to work toward equity for all is truly appreciated.
Signing off as president, but I’ll still be around next AAUW year,
Karen Brown
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AAUW NJ Board of Directors 2023 - 2024
Approved at April 29, 2023 Annual Meeting
Executive Committee
President (2023 - 2024) Sharon Suber
Communication Vice President (2023 - 2024) Anjali Mehrotra
Membership Vice President (2023 - 2025) Diane Crawford
Programming Vice President (2022 - 2024) Karen Kaplan
Treasurer (2023 - 2024) Karen Brown
Secretary (2023 - 2025) Jeanette Stark (appointed after the Annual Meeting
Northern District Coordinator (2023 - 2024) Diane Crawford
Central District Coordinator (2023 - 2025) Jacqueline McGuinness
Southern District Coordinator (2023 - 2025) Lorraine LaPalomento
Appointed Directors
Public Policy - Mary Hager
AAUW Funds - Nina Del Collo
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion - Edwina Sessons
STEM - Theresa Basquez
College/University Relations Director - Sharon Suber
Parliamentarian - Karen Brown
Honorary Directors
Charitable Trust President – Mary Graves
Past State President – Karen Brown
Nominating Committee Members (2023-2024)
Nominating Committee Chair - Nina Del Collo
North District Representative - Rebecca Hughes
Central District Representative - Judith Hromoko
South District Representative - Jacalyn Shelley-Tasoff
Human Trafficking Coalition Liaison - Virginia Lyttle
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AAUW NJ Annual Meeting
Saturday, April 29, the State held its Annual Meeting. If you missed this meeting click here or visit the website under Past Events to review the slides.
Next year’s meeting will be in-person, Saturday, April 13, 2024.
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Anjali Mehrotra
AAUW NJ named Anjali Mehrotra as the 2023 Woman as Agent of Change.
Ms. Mehrotra currently serves on the national board of the National Organization of Women (NOW), the Board of Trustees for Union College of Union County NJ, and as a leader and founder of the Equality, Period NJ Coalition.
Ms. Mehrotra came to the United States from India to pursue a degree in technology, and is now an entrepreneur in web development and design as well as a mother of two young women. She has served as chair of her local Democratic Committee, and in 2021 ran for NJ State Assembly.
As an immigrant and a woman of color, Ms. Mehrotra has faced bias and barriers to equality herself. In fact, she stepped down as President of the National Organization of Women of New Jersey -- followed by seven other members of the NOW-NJ Board -- in the face of racism and ageism from local chapter leaders. But she continues to stand for equity, as a role model and a committed activist, in every role.
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Award Co-chairs Karen Kaplan and Sharon Suber traveled to Anjali Mehrotra's home to present her with the Award. They also presented her with the book "Strong Women." |
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Tech Trek camp will be held July 22 – 29, hosting 40 girls selected from across the state. Volunteers are still needed!
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Teentech
Thursday, May 25, 2023
Essex County College
A day of hands-on technology workshops for high school girls. Teentech is a project of AAUW NJ in collaboration with various colleges throughout the state.
AAUW VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
to help supervise students and represent AAUW NJ - 8:00 am to 2:00 pm
Walkthrough (in-person or Zoom) on May 18.
If you are interested in volunteering to help, or have questions,
please email Teentech Newark Coordinator
Stephanie Falana: ssjfalana2@gmail.com
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And Then There Were EIGHT
Sussex County Community College joins AAUW NJ
Another college has decided to work with the Sussex County Branch bringing our College/University Partners to eight. Branch President Sharon Mullen states that the branch has been working with the college for several years and now the partnership is official. Diane Harris, the C/U Partner Rep is excited to work with AAUW. Institutions can join AAUW NJ and share membership benefits with the entire student body and faculty.
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What Will Your Legacy Be?
"If you're going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can't be erased.”
Maya Angelou
Leaving a legacy means giving something that will be valued and treasured by those who survive after your death. It requires thought to ensure that any items that have meaning to you will also have meaning to those you designate to inherit them. By making a planned gift to AAUW National, you become a member of the AAUW Legacy Circle and affirm your commitment to gender equity and make a lasting difference in the lives of women and girls. These gifts-or bequests-are donations that you designate in your will, estate, or trust. There is no minimum gift requirement, and every gift can be tailored to suit your specific wishes. While the concept of planned giving may seem daunting, or you’re feeling like the Legacy Circle isn’t for “ordinary” people, neither is the case. Here is more information:
Five Great Ways to Leave a Legacy
Your support of AAUW reflects your values—a desire for equity and a drive to make a lasting difference in the lives of women and girls. Making a planned gift to AAUW is a wonderful way to ensure your values live on after you. Here are five options for leaving a meaningful legacy to AAUW.
- Leave a gift in your will or trust to AAUW. You can take care of family and friends first and donate a specific dollar amount or a percentage of your estate.
- Donate retirement assets. Simply update your beneficiary designation form with your plan administrator.
- Donate a life insurance policy you no longer need. You can update the beneficiaries at any time by requesting a new form from your insurer.
- Direct your donor-advised fund. You can name AAUW as a beneficiary of whatever remains in your donor-advised fund after your lifetime. It’s as easy as updating your form.
- Make a gift that pays you income for life. If you are age 75 or older, help secure your retirement with a charitable gift annuity. In exchange for your gift of cash or stock to AAUW, you receive fixed payments for life at attractive rates, while securing a partial tax-deduction, if you itemize.
I recently spoke to an AAUW member who joined the Legacy Circle when she retired. She said that the paperwork was simple and there was no minimum amount required. She felt that in giving a planned gift she was supporting the “central purpose” of AAUW and it would be a lovely way to support women and girls long into the future.
For more information on planned giving, you can download the brochure which explains the variety of planned giving options that are available. You can also read more personal stories about donors to the Legacy Circle and their reasons for making this commitment to AAUW.
Here is the link:
Thank you, once again, for your generosity to AAUW. For more information or questions about the Legacy Circle or for making a donation to AAUW, please contact me.
Yours truly,
Nina Del Collo
AAUW NJ Funds Director
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The Pulse of Public Policy
Submitted by Mary Hager, PhD
Public Policy Director
ERA, What’s Next?
On Thursday, April 27, the Senate voted on SJ Res 4, the resolution to remove the time limit and declare the Equal Rights Amendment adopted as the 28th amendment to the U.S. Constitution. A bipartisan Senate majority supports the ERA, which is all it takes to pass legislation, but first a vote was needed to invoke cloture and end the floor debate. This motion requires 60 votes; unfortunately 52 falls short!
But, at the end of the floor vote Senate Majority Leader Schumer, changed his vote from a yes to a no. He then entered a Motion to Reconsider at the request of advocates and organizations supporting equality. This motion will allow SJ Res 4 to be brought back to the Senate floor for another vote in the remaining year-and-a-half of this 118th Congress.
Leader Schumer is a huge supporter of equality and the ERA. His Motion to Reconsider showed the enormity of his support. His casting a no vote could lead people to misconstrue him as anti-equality. But his vote with the prevailing side yesterday ensured the work on the ERA will continue. Watch this post-vote press conference for how this will happen.
AAUW-NJ Needs
Yes, you! AAUW-NJ’s goal is to organize, create and activate a grassroots network of members to increase awareness of and to promote AAUW with members of the US Congress and NJ State Legislators. We are also inviting members to participate in a Public Policy Committee to work on the policy priorities we all care about so much.
One of our first steps is to organize a grassroots network. Of NJ’s 12 congressional districts (CDs), six need AAUW members to step up and identify themselves as volunteer liaisons willing to work on policy issues. We need voters from these districts: CD1, CD2, CD8, CD9, CD10 and CD12. Click on this map to see if you live in any of these districts.
Curious, interested, want more information, ready to volunteer? Just send Mary Hager an email. She’d love to chat with you.
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Six Young Women Going to NCCWSL
In addition to the 4 State sponsored women going to AAUW’s National Conference for College Women Student Leaders, two young women are being sponsored by branches to attend the conference May 31 - June 3, 2023.
The following women are branch sponsored
Gabrielle McLean MSW, Rutgers University, May 2024 - Burlington County
Nidia Jimenez-Barrios, Brookdale Community College - Northern Monmouth County
Please email us if your branch is also sponsoring college women to NCCWSL.
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Vote for AAUW Public Policy Priorities
AAUW’s Public Policy Priorities (PPP) are set every two years through the every-member vote. Voting closes May 15. Your vote for PPP, along with the proposed bylaw changes and national leadership election, is important. The PPP establishes the federal action issues on which AAUW members across the country focus their advocacy efforts as well as guiding the work of the national staff.
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DUES Update
Effective April 1, 2023, AAUW National dues for FY24 will be $72 in accordance with the three-year increase implemented by the AAUW Board of Directors in October of 2020.
Good News - Same Dues - Thanks to the continued cost savings from virtual meetings and a few other operational savings, AAUW NJ dues will be staying at $10 per member to support our operations, events and AAUW NJ marketing.
For new members remember the Shape the future coupon code: ShapeTheFuture2024
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Branch Events & Other News |
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Mountain Lakes Women’s Chorale
Mountain Lakes Area’s University Women’s Chorale is the only AAUW affiliated choral group in New Jersey. They annually provide concerts in the community at senior centers and churches. This performance was at a joint program for Mountain Lakes and Greater Wayne Branches at the Rockaway River Country Club.
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THE HISTORY OF MOTHER’S DAY
Mother’s Day began:
A. In 1858, when Ann Jarvis, a young Appalachian homemaker, organized “Mother’s Work Days” to improve the sanitation and avert deaths from disease-bearing insects and seepage of polluted water.
B. In 1872, when Boston poet, pacifist and women’s suffragist Julia Ward Howe established a special day for mothers –and for peace– not long after the bloody Franco-Prussian War.
C. In 1905, when Ann Jarvis died. Her daughter, Anna, decided to memorialize her mother’s lifelong activism, and began a campaign that culminated in 1914 when Congress passed a Mother’s Day resolution.
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Upcoming AAUW NJ Dates 2023
May 17, 2023 Northern District Program Meeting 7:30 PM
May 31 - June 3, 2023 National Conference for College Women Student Leaders (NCCWSL) University of Maryland, College Park
June 3, 2023 Northern District President’s Meeting 10:00
June 3, 2023 Central & Southern District President’s Meeting 11:30
June 27, 2023 Central & Southern District Program Meeting 7:00 PM
July 22, 2023 Tech Trek Orientation Day for Staff and Alumni Reunion, Stockton University
July 23 - 29, 2023 Tech Trek Camp, Stockton University
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If your branch is forwarding the AAUW mission in some way, please share your activities with aauwnj@gmail.com. We want to celebrate you!
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See what's happening on our social sites |
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