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Happy New Year!!!

AAUW General Membership Meeting

WHEN: 10:00 a.m., Saturday, January 17, 2026

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 right into Parking Lot A, the Turquoise Room will be straight ahead. 

WHO:  Adero Allison, Ph D., ASU

WHAT: Inclusivity in Higher Education

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD.

AAUW Scottsdale closed the year with a truly mission-focused and celebratory month. Our members gave generously in response to our Red Envelope appeal and through donations and ticket purchases at our Holiday Fundraising Luncheon.

The luncheon itself was a joyful showcase of member generosity and creativity. Members donated items and enthusiastically supported the wine pull, baskets, silent auction (congratulations to winner Julie Cieniawski), and raffles, while also purchasing beautiful jewelry, scarves, purses, and more—even our poinsettia centerpieces sold quickly!

Many thanks to our Program Coordinator, Jacqui Sasser, who planned the event with Sue Jaros. Jacqui worked with the McCormick Country Club and various branch members to ensure all would go as planned. Sue also added special touches, including lovely double-sided fabric wine bottle bags and holiday decorated chocolates at every table. Our amazing team—Renae Bates, Claudia Carman, Esther Groves, Marcia Gonzales, Joyce Yarbrough—collected, curated, and beautifully arranged items into new categories that were snapped up quickly. Co-VPs of Membership Judy Hubbard and Gail Stempil made sign-in welcoming and seamless and hosted a new-member table, while Laura Hurwich delighted us with her beautiful holiday and all-occasion cards that tempted many of us to buy more than one. Heartfelt thanks to Viva Ashcroft and Lennie Andrews for their financial savvy and steady focus throughout the process.

The month was also filled with holiday gatherings, including High Tea following the North Scottsdale Book Group’s discussion of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, who turned 250 years old in December 2025. Jane Adrian—whose family is from England—shared her authentic teacup and saucer sets, plates, tea cozies, tablecloths, and more. Barb Esses wowed us with delicious and beautifully prepared sandwiches, scones, and cookies in wonderful variety. Jane and Barb were gracious, sparkling hostesses—engaging everyone in conversation and somehow never sitting down! Before discussing the December selection of the Books Etc. Book Group, The Frozen River, we enjoyed a festive potluck with delicious home-made cookies at Renae Bates’ home, beautifully appointed and decorated for the Holiday Season.



Each January, we renew our commitment to our mission and look ahead with intention. Education, workplace equity, and civil rights are AAUW priorities for 2026. We will align with National and State efforts as we develop and activate detailed initiatives, including participation as Five-Minute Activists. With 2026 being an election year, specific opportunities to support our mission and advance our goals will be shared in the coming months.

Whether we are discussing books, sharing meals, exploring U.S. foreign policy (which affects us locally as well), having amazing lunches, taking action—including Legislative Day in February and being a Five Minute Activist—or writing and telling our stories, we move into the new year energized, connected, and hopeful.

--Laraine Rodgers, President

Editor'a Note: Happy New Year's thanks to Laraine for all the wonderful photos she's submitted for this edition of the newsletter and many before. AB

Memories of the Holiday Luncheon...

FINANCES...

As 2026 arrives we can look around at how our money is spent and we see that we have an outstanding scholarship recipient for this upcoming semester. Many of us met Anya at the Holiday Luncheon and boy did she impress! Thank you each and every one for your support of these efforts.

We are facing yet another increase in dues from AAUW national office and, of course, local costs are going up in tandem. What isn’t increasing these days? Beginning January 1, 2026, dues for our branch will include the upcoming national increase and last year’s national increase which we did not pass along to our local branch members. So that means we will need to renew you at a total cost of $115. AAUW is still a bargain! Our program with Jodi Liggett alone was worth over $100, wasn’t it? She really puts out the information. 

Again, we will be urging all members to use the national website (aauw.org) to pay your dues and update your information. And, again, I will be offering a chance to win $50 to one among you who renews ONLINE before JUNE 1, 2026. I can tell you that our winner, Laura Hurwich, (congrats!) for 2025 enjoyed her $50 bill.  It just might pay to pay online. 

--Viva Ashcroft, Co-Finance VP

MEMBER MATTERS:

Call to Members!

Through March 3, 2026, we have an incentive for new members to join for half-price, 50% off National Dues! Reach out now and let’s get a good start on recruiting in 2026!

Gail Stempil and Judy Hubbard, Membership Co-VPs

Programs...

For your planning purposes, our Scottsdale Branch 2026 speakers and topics will be:

February 21 Julie Cieniawski Empowerment Scholarship Accounts (ESAs)

March 26 Monica Brown Author’s Luncheon

Monica Brown will be our Author’s Luncheon speaker. Monica is the award-winning author of over thirty magical multicultural picture books for children. Her books are inspired by her Peruvian and Jewish heritage and the desire to bring diverse stories to children. Monica’s books have been featured in The New York Times and The Washington Post and on NPR’s All Things Considered. She is the recipient of two Américas Awards and a Christopher Award for books. Her books have been published in a dozen languages and she has been a featured author at The National Book

Festival, The Texas Book festival, The Brooklyn Book Festival, and The Tucson Book Festival, and internationally. The luncheon will be held on Thursday, March 26th, at the Indigenous Cultural Center (ICC), in room 222. The luncheon will be catered, and additional information will be provided later.

April 18 Open

--Jacqui Sasser, Program Coordinator

Advocacy/Community Action:

A new year brings a new legislative session! We will be watching closely, especially around our priority issues: Public Education, Economic Security, Social Justice, and Civil Rights—with Voting Rights at the top of my list. We will also continue advocating for the Equal Rights Amendment to be officially recognized as the 28th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.

Many hard-won advances have been eroded over the past year, and we must work together to get our country back on track.

Our next meeting will be held on Tuesday, January 13, 2026, at 1:00 p.m.

Location: The home of Janet Larkin

7409 E. Bonita Drive

Scottsdale, AZ 85250

Please continue to remember our students at SCC by contributing food donations to Artie’s Pantry. You may bring donations to our meeting or drop them off in the café area of the Student Union.



Hope to see you then!

Janet Larkin, Chair

jalarkin@cox.net

cell: 480-242-3089

SPECIAL INTEREST GROUP News.....

Story Teller’s Corner:

After the holidays we are now back on our regular schedule of meeting on the fourth Wednesday of each month. That falls on January 28, 2026, at 1:00.

We will once again meet at Lynn Spinelli’s home: 8245 E. Camelback Rd., Scottsdale, AZ 85251.

Thank you, Lynn.

--Janet Larkin

Jalarkin@cox.net

Cell: 480-242-3089

Great Decisions:

Remembering Jane Austen's 250th Birthday High Tea...

Books Etc.

Please join us at the lovely home of Jayann Fordon on January 21, 2026, Wednesday at 1:00 p.m. to discuss the historical mystery, The Lost Apothecary by Sarah Penner. The discussion will be led by Sue Jaros. The premise for this novel is dynamite and gives us an in depth view of women surviving in the 18th century. A short review follows:

The Lost Apothecary is the debut novel by author Sarah Penner. This historical mystery is split between the late 1700s and the present day. The story is told by three separate narrators. In 1791 Nella runs an apothecary shop in London that offers a very special and highly illegal service – she dispenses poisons to women who want to discretely remove problematic men from their lives. The second 1791 narrator is the twelve year old Eliza. When she acquires a poison from Nella neither of them knows that the encounter will change both of their lives forever. More than 200 years later Caroline has come on a solo trip to London to escape her cheating and manipulative husband. Whilst mudlarking on the Thames she finds a glass apothecary vial. With her love for history reawakened, Caroline is determined to uncover more about the shop and what happened to its owner.

Please let Jayann at jayann41@gmail.com and Sue at sue.jaros@gmail.com know, as soon as possible, if you will be attending.

--Cynthia Peplinski cynthiadysart@cox.net

Thanks to Renae for the lovely holiday array of deliciousness after December Books Etc.

Lunch Bunch for 2026

Come and join our very lively Lunch Bunch on Thursday, January 8, 2026, at Arrivederci Italian Restaurant located at 7101 E Thunderbird Rd. in Scottsdale. The last time we met here, there were only five of us who got to enjoy the lovely ambiance, delicious appetizers and homemade pasta! So we’re going to try again. 

One could make a glorious meal just on Caprese de Buffalo (mozzarella, tomato, olive oil, balsamic reduction) and polpette (homemade meatballs in spicy vodka sauce). But if you want to be good (and wait for dessert) you could crunch along with a mediterranean salad (mixed greens, cucumbers, artichokes, black olives, and tomatoes with creamy Gorgonzola dressing topped with feta cheese) Still think you want dessert? But most of us go to an Italian restaurant for the pasta. So envision your favorite pasta dish and it will appear! Is it fettuccini cefalu (fettuccini, jumbo shrimp, lobster in a vodka pink sauce or maybe linguine ala vongole,( Manila clams, white wine or tomato sauce ). Or if seafood isn’t high on your list, you could have ravioli caprese (ricotta, marjoram, parmesan, cherry tomatoes, spinach).

But did I say dessert? Chocolate tiramisu and canola are waiting in the wings until after the meal! Or if you don’t want to indulge there at the restaurant, say you are taking them home to your hubby———or sister———or daughter.

Please let me know by January 5 if you are going to join us and remember this is the Arrivederci restaurant on 70th Street and Thunderbird. 

ALSO WILL YOU PLEASE VOTE FOR THE TIME YOU WOULD LIKE TO MEET IN LUNCH BUNCH. YOUR CHOICES ARE 11:30 OR 12:00. I’LL LET YOU KNOW THE OUTCOME BUT ANYONE WHO VOTES AFTER JANUARY 5 WILL NOT BE COUNTED!  

-Cynthia Peplinski cynthiadysart@cox.net

Shopping at Fry's Can Help an SCC Student...

Scottsdale Branch has, over the years, been part of Frys Reward Program--whereby, if you are enrolled, a percentage of your purchase goes to our scholarship fund at Scottsdale Community College's Maricopa Community College Fund, which will then benefit a returning student. Here's how you can enroll:

1. Go to frysfood.com
2. click on Community
3. click on community rewards
4. click on Enroll Now
5. sign on with your email and password
6. enter with organization number XV773 (Maricopa Community College Fund)
7. click Enroll
8. enter your 12 digit Frys account number (which you will have had to obtain first)
9. MCCF will pop up

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....

AAUW Warns DOJ ‘Merit’ Rule Undermines Civil Rights

December 10, 2025

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Association of University Women (AAUW) strongly objects to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) new rule eliminating disparate-impact protections from its Title VI regulations. This major change limits enforcement to only blatant, intentional discrimination. The new policy was adopted without a public comment period.

For more than fifty years, disparate-impact standards have revealed when “neutral” rules — a test score cutoff, a discipline policy, or a siting decision — systematically push people of color to the margins. This is even when no one explicitly says race is the reason. Without these protections, it will be more difficult to challenge policies that consistently harm communities of color, women and girls of color, immigrants, and people with disabilities.



Statement from Gloria L. Blackwell, AAUW CEO

The Justice Department is trying to sell this rule as a return to ‘equal protection’ and ‘merit’. Yet, merit has too often been a smokescreen to keep women out of classrooms, labs, boardrooms, and leadership. 

Biased entrance exams, arbitrary credentials, and coded expectations about who looks and sounds ‘professional enough’ have all been defended in the name of merit. Disparate-impact protections are what allow us to ask the real question: Who is being shut out, and is there a fairer way to measure talent and potential? Ending this enforcement doesn’t end discrimination – it will just make it easier to ignore.

Because DOJ coordinates federal Title VI enforcement, this rule is a dangerous model for other agencies, including the Department of Education. It threatens progress toward educational and economic equity. AAUW urges Congress to conduct robust oversight of this rollback and to pursue every appropriate avenue to restore strong protections against systemic discrimination.

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