2026-2027 Branch Leaders

Executive Committee

President

Martha Steele     

President Elect

Martha Steele

Vice President Membership

Debbi Sochia                        

Vice President Programs

Diane Claiborne-Carr           

Secretary

Krystyna Mrozek  

Treasurer

Sharon Parson

Parliamentarian

Suzanne Benson

Standing Committees

Public Policy

Pat Sanford

Scholarships

Jeanette Pierce

Finance/Budget

Sharon Parson

AAUW Funds

Vacant

Appointed Positions

JEDI

Barbara Baruch

Governance

Jeanette Pierce

Membership Outreach

Adrien Frank

Historian

Rachel Skelley

Communications

Malinda Gaul

AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN

SAN ANTONIO

OCTOBER LUNCHEON

OCTOBER 3, 2026

SPEAKER:

Dr. H. Drew Galloway

Chairman, The Mayor’s Commission on Voting

Location:

Scuzzi’s Italian Restaurant

4035 N. Loop 1604 W #102

San Antonio, TX 78257

RSVP to Martha Steele steelemar@gmail.com

No later than September 24, 2026

Price includes meal, gratuity, water or tea

Menu A - Chicken Parmesan with House Salad - $32.00

Chicken breast lightly coated with Italian bread crumbs,

pomodoro, and mozzarella

Menu B - Beef Lasagna with House Salad - $32.00

Layers of pasta, ground Angus beef, ricotta and mozzarella cheeses,

and tomato sauce

Menu C – Vegetarian Fettuccine Primavera with House Salad - $32.00

Garlic, basil, squash, carrots, zucchini, broccoli, and olive oil

Menu D – Gluten Free Salad - $32.00

Spring mix lettuce, tomato, black and green olives, and onions

Menu E – Gluten Free Salad with Chicken - $38.00

Spring mix lettuce, tomato, black and green olives, onions,

and grilled chicken

A Must Have for Voting:

Community Engagement

H. Drew Galloway is the Founder and Executive Director of BRIDGE, where he works to strengthen the organizations and leaders building civic and community power across Texas. In the last five years, BRIDGE has helped 40 local democracy and justice groups to start, scale, and sustain their work.

Previously, he served as Executive Director of MOVE Texas, helping grow the organization into one of the state’s leading youth civic engagement organizations and overseeing efforts that registered more than 120,000 young voters.

Drew’s civic engagement experience also includes work with UT Austin’s Annette Strauss Institute for Civic Life and the White House Office of Social Innovation and Civic Participation. Most recently, he served as Facilitator of the San Antonio Mayor’s Commission on Voting, helping lead the development of recommendations to increase voter participation and strengthen civic engagement across the city.

He brings more than a decade of experience in nonprofit leadership, voting rights, civic engagement, and building the infrastructure necessary for communities to participate in and shape our democracy.

American Association of University Women

First Meeting of 2026-2027

Michelle Carew

Bexar County Elections Administrator

Our first joint meeting with the San Antonio Chapter of the League of Women Voters was a great success! In spite of a freak storm that interrupted Friday night football all over San Antonio and left 100,000 households without electricity, 75 people attended to hear Michelle Carew. Our meeting location, San Antonio Water System Headquarters, had electricity and already had crews working to remove downed trees on the property. Their spacious parking garage was available, so we had a protected parking area.

In keeping with our theme for this year, Protecting Our Constitutional Voting Rights: A Key to Our Equality, our speaker was Michelle Carew, who was hired in February, 2025 to head the Bexar County Elections Office. At our deadline for program registration, 71 people were signed up. Our joint program chairs, Diane Claiborne-Carr, AAUW, and Katie Brown, LWV, had the room set up for 75, and the room was filled.

In introducing Ms. Carew, Diane noted that Ms. Carew was selected from a pool of more than 200 applicants. In addition to her credentials and her advocacy for professional qualifications for elections officials, her 19 years of experience made her stand out.

Ms. Carew emphasized that the polls will be safe, with cooperation from Bexar County deputies, and that our votes are safeguarded. The new state-wide elections system has been installed, in spite of delays, and staff have been trained. Bexar County was sent a list of over 800 voters that were flagged as possibly being illegal. All but one had current citizenship status. She explained the Suspense List. Voter registration certificates are mailed every two years. If the certificate is returned to the Elections Office as undelivered, that voter will appear on the Suspense List, or if there are certain address discrepancies. The procedures for correcting the problem was explained, and there are procedures to place your vote if, when you go to the polls, you learn that you are on the suspense list. These procedures are easy to find on the Bexar County Elections website, elections.bexar.gov

She opened the floor to questions early in the presentation, and stayed overtime to answer the many questions from attendees.

Once Katie called an end to the questions, I announced that, following a short break, we would have our AAUW meeting. Our Public Policy Chair, Pat Sanford, would present actions we can take to follow through on our theme for this year, “Protecting Our Constitutional Voting Rights: A Key to Our Equality, and to meet Roscoe. In spite of the approaching lunch hour, our membership returned in force, and several League members stayed to hear about the follow-through.

By this time you have all met Roscoe the dog, who appears in our email once each week with reminders about voting registration deadlines, checking your registration to stay current, and, most importantly, to tell your friends to vote! Please post Roscoe’s messages on your social media.

Pat spoke of our AAUW statewide program, Get Out the Vote – GOTV, and enumerated things you can do from home to get out the vote. One item, writing letters to the editor at San Antonio Express News, has already been assigned to Suzanne Benson, who has already appeared in the Letters to the Editor section.

Pat distributed the list to all present, and asked everyone to initial actions they felt they could take. When you have performed one of those actions, email Pat at pacmsan@me.com, so we can post names and activities in the newsletter. You will be motivating others to take action.

Finally, new officers were introduced:

Martha Steele, President

Diane Claiborne-Carr, VP for Programs

Debbi Socia, VP for Membership

Sharon Parson, Treasurer

Krystyna Mrozek, Secretary

Committee Chairs, in addition to Pat, are Scholarships Jeanette Pierce, Communications Malinda Gaul. JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion) Barbara Baruch and Ruth Lyle will conduct scholarship fundraising by, once again, organizing the drawing.

Can We Talk?

Twice a year, in March to celebrate Women’s History Month and in August to celebrate the passing of the 19th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and Women’s Equality Day, Can We Talk? holds a panel discussion. The audience comes from a coalition of 65 women’s organizations.

AAUW San Antonio was one of the original eight organizations that supported the organization. And this August, our AAUW members participated, not only representing AAUW, but also other organizations, since we are women active in many forums.

Ali Heller, Suzanne Benson, Debbi Socia, Sophie Lim and Martha Steele were there. And our members Sharon Parson, Glenda Raichlen and Dr. Cheryl Davis all represented Texas Business Women of San Antonio. Jeanette Pierce represented Friendship Bridge, a nonprofit that offers micro-loans to indigenous women in Guatemala. Member Laurie Reinhart was there as a friend of Pat Jasso, the Coordinator of Can We Talk?.

This August, the CWT? Steering Committee presented “Healing Power of Women in the Arts”, to spotlight what women are doing in the arts “to combat stress and uplift the mental health of women and families.” The effectiveness of music and art in healing is recognized by the medical community, and is being studied by researchers.

Among the panelists were some well-known women in the San Antonio community of artists. Former Poet Laureate of San Antonio Andrea “Vocab” Sanderson, Raquel Belden, Arts Program Manager for University Health SaludArte, plus Andi Rodriguez, VP, Cultural Placemaking for Centro San Antonio, each spoke of programs that contributed to development of women’s health and their place in the community.

Belden’s program at University Hospital holds over 100 art-related events each year for patients and staff at University Health. She is in charge of maintaining the 10,000 art objects on the campuses of University Health. Rodriguez created the Art Everywhere program for Centro San Antonio, putting local artists to work to infuse color and community in our historic downtown. Vocab Sanderson spoke of working with patients in hospital programs, and the amazing response of both children and adults when asked “Do you want to make a poem or sing a song?” And she spoke of the joy of writing commentary for the memorial of the original St. James AME Church in the new San Pedro Creek Culture Park.

Sanderson made a plea to all attendees: “Tell your stories! We cannot allow herstory to die.” Banning books and cancellations of degree programs result in erasure of our stories, she explained.

Suzanne Benson, Debbi Sochia, and Ali Heller at Can We Talk?

Sophie Lim with CWT? Coordinator Pat Jasso

AAUW SA Treasurer Sharon Parson and AAUW Member Glenda Raichlen

Dr. Cheryl Davis - a member of Texas Business Women

and AAUW

Jeanette Pierce - Friendship Bridge and AAUW

Laurie Reinhardt - AAUW

Commit to Get Out The Vote (GOTV)

GOTV GOTV GOTV

Some messages you receive from the branch have GOTV GOTV GOTV in the email subject header. The triple GOTV is a designated alert that this is an important message for you to read, not one to skip over or delete. Across the state, AAUW members are working particularly hard this year to defend our democracy. Our goal is to move beyond registering people to vote. We are using concerted efforts to get out the vote (GOTV) in the upcoming midterm election on November 3^rd, and all of us can help with this. Research shows that people talking to their family and friends about the importance of voting has the strongest impact of any other action. Talk about having your voice heard! Branch leadership feels strongly that this is something we all can do.

Make a plan. For example,

• Select 10 or 20 people to talk to about voting.
• Look at your calendar, pick a time, and make those calls.

But that’s not all. We want to recognize you and your efforts.

• Let us know what you do. Email Pat Sanford at pacmsan@me.com
• You will be recognized in the newsletter and at meetings.

Be sure your voter registration is up to date. Currently, there are 153,000 voters in Bexar County on the voter suspension list.

• Check your voter registration. This is a direct link to the AAUW website form.
• Feel free to share the link and/or use the AAUW website or VOTE11 on the League of Women Voters website.

DID YOU KNOW?

There is a connection between health and voting. This connection is not new, but more attention and research have been placed on the connection in recent years. We can all learn more about this from new member Peg Seger, who is involved with Vot-ER, and the League of Women Voters, from Vot-ER, and from LWV resources. Note the following:

In 2022, the American Medical Association passed Resolution 422 that recognized voting as a social determinant of health. Social determinants of health include everyday conditions that affect how healthy we are, such as employment, housing, education, transportation, healthcare, and civic participation. In a Vot-ER Zoom presentation in August, the presenters shared that ‘Some of the same barriers to health are barriers to voting, including inequities in transportation, language access, and internet access.’ These barriers may lead to a lack of social inclusion, a reduced sense of belonging, and less access to health resources, which are all associated with worse health outcomes, from higher infant mortality rates to greater risk of chronic disease. This affects economically disadvantaged people and people of color the most.

Research clearly demonstrates states with more inclusive voting policies and greater levels of civic participation are healthier. The Health and Democracy Index tracks 12 public health indicators and voter turnout. Texas is not at the bottom of health outcomes, but it is in the lower half and has the most restrictive voting access of any state. Much can and needs to be done in Texas to improve health through the support of voting access. Whether you vote, how safe you feel to vote, and who and what you vote for affects your health. When you talk to family and friends, not only are you upping civic engagement, you are also facilitating greater health benefits.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Policy decisions affect societal determinants of health. As we know, elected officials make decisions about healthcare, healthcare access, environmental regulations, pandemic responses, vaccination programs, and more. As voters we can

Make informed decisions before we vote. Learn about candidates and what they support.



• Use Texas Legislature Online at https://capitol.texas.gov or the League of Women Voters VOTE411 at https://www.vote411.org
• Support candidates who prioritize public health. Vote for them. Tell your family and friends about them. Never underestimate the power a personal story has to move people and move them to act.
• Vote for (or against) ballot measures related to health determinants such as women’s health care, abortion access, drug policy, vaccinations, environmental protections, funding for hospitals, clinics, and schools.

SHARE

You will receive weekly messages with Roscoe, the cute fuzzy sheriff canine, urging people to vote.



• Share these with your friends and neighbors in and out of Texas. If they are outside of Texas, the timing may differ, but the vision will not.
• If you’re on Facebook, it is easy to share. Just tap the arrow below the post, type in a short intro, perhaps: ‘This is my women’s group. We’re working to get out the vote (GOTV). Please share this post to help us!’ Then touch the blue box that says: SHARE NOW!
• Share actions you take to GOTV with our public policy chair so they can be posted in the newsletter and shared at meetings. This helps motivate others to act too. At this crucial time in our history, it takes all of us.
• Let any member of the AAUW SA board of directors know what would be helpful to you so you can do more to get out the vote personally or that we can do as an organization.

Thank you for your continued commitment to AAUW mission, policies, and goals. Your action is needed now as much now as it has ever been needed to GOTV.

Pat Sanford

AAUW SA Public Policy Chair

AAUW TX Public Policy Committee

Get Out The Vote Recognition for September

A major focus in Texas is to Get Out The Vote for the November 3^rd midterm election. Thank you and congratulations to the members listed below for their GOTV actions in September! We’ll give these members a shoutout at the October meeting. Please email me with actions you are taking to GOTV. If you send a message to me before our next meeting on October 3^rd, I will include you and your actions. I encourage all of you to share what you do because it motivates other to act too!

Member Actions to GOTV

Malinda Gaul             

Media posts on Facebook and Instagram.

Sending out Constant Contact with Roscoe.

Janet Black               

Displayed yard sign (Sept. 4, 2026).

Cheryl Fuller              

Writing postcards to mail on October 14.

Diane Claiborne-Carr

Working with meeting presenters to ensure programs

support getting out the vote.

Martha Steele            

Leading the AAUW SA branch to get out the vote by

focusing on it at each branch meeting.

Suzanne Benson       

Posts Roscoe posters on Facebook.

Pat Sanford               

Media posts on Facebook, and liked media posts from Malinda, AAUW SA, and on Instagram. Talked with family members about voting, voter registration, and social determinants of health on Friday, September 11, 2026.

Voter Registration at Brennan HS on Sept. 25, 2026.

As the AAUW San Antonio JEDI chair, I participated in National’s Inclusion and Equity Committee Zoom meeting on September 8^th. It was fabulous to be able to share information about how to navigate inclusion averse regulations with AAUW members from across the United States.  National staff member Carson Baxter was in attendance (she can be reached at baxterc@aauw.org) and she offered to help our branches with any inclusion problems we face.

Some attendees suggested forming coalitions with other organizations and having joint educational meetings. Our Branch is ahead of the game in that practice, as we had a meeting with the local League of Women Voters just last month. 

It was also suggested that our book group consider reading “Nice Racism” or “White Fragility” which one chapter highly recommended. 

I am asking each of you to bring a friend from another organization you belong to. That will facilitate closer ties with other groups of women in our community we might not know much about. 

AAUW San Antonio Public Policy Committee

Lead JEDI

Barbara Baruch

Membership Matters! 

YOU Matter!

Are you not getting our online newsletters? 

Click this link to resubscribe:

https://lp.constantcontactpages.com/sl/32IYN60

I realized that people who aren’t getting the newsletter may not get this info. If you know of anyone who has mentioned not getting the newsletter would you send them the above link?

Ever considered gifting one of your friends, colleagues or fellow AAUW members the sweetest gift of all? Membership! The nicest gift of all is the gift of membership with a group of women who champion gender equity by funding education for women. Gift someone you know a Membership to AAUW! Know someone with a birthday coming up? Or maybe want to surprise a friend by renewing their membership? Think JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion)!

Renew Your Membership

Dues are $105

How this Breaks Down:

National Dues: $76

AAUW Texas: $13

San Antonio Branch $ 16

Total: $105

WHY: Member dues are an important funding source for AAUW. Costs have increased annually, but AAUW has not raised the amount of dues for many years. Our dues helps fund our work such as:

• Education and Advocacy: Our dues help support AAUW's Public Policy and member advocacy programs which defend higher education and rights for women on campus.

• Member Trainings: Regular virtual member gatherings and training programs which provide education and engagement on relevant topics.

• Member Engagement: such as Archives Corps, Lobby Corps, and national committees, as well as coordinating member advocacy through our 2-minute activist.

• Real-Time Support: members can receive daily assistance through the Connect Team.

You can pay in a variety of ways:

 Online: https://www.aauw.org/ (you will have to have made an account)

With Zelle: Zelle payment: Click the Zelle tab in your bank account.  

Use the email aauwsatx@gmail.com to send money.

In the memo field identify the payment: AAUW

 Or by check: Checks made out to AAUW-SA

Mail to: AAUW SAN ANTONIO

P.O. Box 460825

San Antonio, TX 78246-0825



 Call/text/email Debbi Sochia, Membership Vice-President for assistance.

dsochia@att.net

(210) 218-2675

Help Wanted

We need a few volunteers for the 26/27 term.

• We need one or two people to check out and recommend restaurants (or other locations) for our February, March, April, and May meetings.

• Nominating Committee members - duties are found in our bylaws.

• In March, we need someone to assist our Scholarship Committee Chair, Jeanette Pierce, to follow up with the winners. The winners must respond to our requests regarding attendance at the scholarship luncheon, and other details regarding awarding of the checks. This volunteer is in addition to the volunteers who read and rate the applications.

AAUW San Antonio

Programs

September 2026 - May 2027

Theme: Protecting Constitutional Voting Rights: A Key to Equality

August 29, 2026 - Michele Carew, Bexar County Elections Commissioner - Plans for Voting: First Know the Rules - San Antonio Water System Headquarters, 2800 Highway 281N

October 3, 2026 - Dr. Drew Galloway, Chair, Mayor's Commission on Voting - Plans for Voting: Community Engagement - Scuzzi’s Italian Restaurant, 4035 Loop 1604 W #102

November 7, 2026 - Dr Alisha Smith, Owner and Founder, LINC Consulting, LLC - Building Leaders for Tomorrow - La Fonda Alamo Heights, 8633 Crownhill Blvd

December 5, 2026 - Jeanette Pierce - Season for Giving - Baha’i Center, 735 W Magnolia Avenue

February 6, 2027 - National AAUW Representative - Voting Results: Outlook for Women’s Issue - Location TBD

March 6, 2027 - LWVSA Salute America’s Suffragettes - Location TBD

April 3, 2027 - Jeanette Peirce - Advocating for Women: Scholarship Awards - Location TBD

May 1, 2027 - TBD

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 25th!

Call/text/email Debbi Sochia

dsochia@att.net

210-218-2675

Follow AAUW San Antonio on:

Facebook www.facebook.com/aauw.sanantonio

Instagram aauw.sanantonio