June Installation and Inspiration

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

The June program marks the end of our branch year, celebrates accomplishments of our  current year and introduces the branch AAUW 2024-2025 Officers for the upcoming year. It also brings us to a summer of planning as we start a new year of fabulous AAUW programs.

All members and their guests are invited to join us on Saturday, June 1st as we hold a business meeting and the Installation of Officers. Announcement of the recipients of the Connie Inskeep Award and Named Gift Honoree will also be part of the presentations. We are grateful for the entire incoming Board’s willingness to lead our branch. Congratulations to the incoming Board!

• Co-Presidents: Carolyn Eggleston and Amy La
• President-Elect/VP: vacant
• Program VP: Sharifa Batts
• Co-Membership VPs: vacant
• AAUW Fund VP: Ginny Baxter
• Co-Investment VPs: Deloris Mayuga
• Co-Treasurers: Darlene Daclan and Tammy Kane
• Co-Secretaries: Cacilia Kim and Linda Westman

  Please help with vacancies!

At 11am, after the business meeting and installation, we will be entertained by musical partners Pattie and Marc Davidson who will sing and describe their community involvement and love of music discovered later in their lives.

Please make sure to send in your RSVP by May 27, 2024 and join us for the final program of the year! See you on Saturday, June 1st at the LBCC Foundation room 208 for the meeting OR on Zoom.

RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com
Visit our Website for more info:  https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Make MAY a Fun Gathering

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

It is amazing how fast this year has passed and here we are again at the Garden Party time of year. AAUW has been empowering women since 1881. The mission of AAUW is to advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy. AAUW has worked as a national grassroots organization to improve the lives of millions of women and
their families. And now that we’ve won the fight to give women equal access to education, we’re taking on one of the most defining issues of our time: gender equity.

As the local Long Beach branch of AAUW, our focus is in meeting the vision and mission of AAUW in the greater Long Beach area by providing programs, education, and resources. Come to find out more about our programs.

This May event has always been a good time to invite friends or
acquaintances who might be interestied in finding out more about AAUW. It also allows members to get to know each other better. Our members are ready and willing to explain and “show off” the AAUW mission and goals and are always welcoming to new friends.

Please plan to join us at our May 4 AAUW Garden Party held at
Fay Alperin’s home from 10:00—12:00.
Friends are invited to attend and enjoy the abundant brunch !
Please reserve by April 25th
RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com

Visit our Website for more info:
https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Reproductive Rights in a Post-Dobbs Nation

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

Join us at our April 6 AAUW meeting. We are excited to have Professor Jodi Balma speak to us about how reproductive rights have been impacted since the June 24, 2022 Supreme Court decision taking away the Constitutional right to abortion.

Professor Balma specializes in American politics and California state and local government. She started her career as a professor of political science at Fullerton College in 2000. She has served as the faculty coordinator of the Honors Program since 2012. She has been awarded Fullerton College Teacher of the Year in 2021 and 2014. She was named 2022 Orange County Community College Teacher of the Year. Her goal is to help students learn how to think about politics and community problems with an emphasis on critical thinking and analysis, regardless of political party or ideology. She helps students understand how they can become involved in working with community leaders to find solutions.

Balma is a regular on-the-record analyst for newspaper and radio media outlets such as the Los Angeles Times, Orange County Register, Voice of OC, KNX 1070, KPCC, and NPR. California Senator Josh Newman named her as the 2021 Woman of the Year for Senate District 29. She served as the President of the Honors Transfer Council of California from 2013-2017 and remains active in the organization.

She is actively involved in the League of Women Voters and frequently hosts local candidate forums throughout North Orange County each election cycle. Professor Balma launched a North Orange County-focused podcast titled “A Slice of Orange: North Orange County
Politics” to help her students and the community learn more about local government.

Friends are invited to attend the program; please reserve for the meeting held at
LBCC 4900 E. Conant Bldg O2 Room 208

RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com

Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Oversight and Accountability

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

Join us at our March 2 AAUW meeting. We are excited to have the recently appointed Director, Francine Kerridge, give an introduction to the city of Long Beach Office of Police Oversight. She will discuss the duties of the office as well as the vision for the newly created Police Oversight Commission. She will discuss the process that created the office, the authority of the office, in addition to how the office will interface with the new commission.

While reporting directly to the Mayor and City Council, Ms. Kerridge will work closely with the Police Oversight Commission, City Manager, Long Beach Police Department Chief and other City Departments, as necessary, to ensure continued accountability, transparency and input from the community regarding the direction of police oversight in the City. “I’m proud to introduce Francine Kerridge as the city’s first Director of Police Oversight,” said Mayor Rex Richardson.

Throughout her extensive career in public safety, Ms. Kerridge previously served in law enforcement for 19 years, and has participated in over 100 public forums to provide professional recommendations and guidance for complaint resolution. Ms. Kerridge brings to the City more than 30 years in public safety leadership and law enforcement combined.

Friends are invited to attend; please reserve for the in-person or the Zoom meeting held at LBCC 4900 E. Conant Bldg O2 #208

RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com

Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Save the Wood, Clean the Air!

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

We are looking forward to a different but timely topic for the February meeting. Eric Witten will be our speaker and present on his journey and charitable work in Kenya. He will explain his experience and his success working in Kenya and living with the Maasai people for 6 1/2 months during the lock down for COVID. He is an engineer and is using his skills to drill water wells for the Maasai people in Kenya. He will also speak about sending girls like Karen (see photo) to school, saving the forests, and reducing carbon dioxide. Karen gathers wood to use for cooking.

Eric Witten has a B.S. in Engineering from UCLA and has 40 years of experience in Engineering and Project Management in the upstream oil industry. Eric is also a Long Beach City Commissioner serving on the Board of Examiners, Appeals and Condemnation. He is an Engineering Advisor to the La Habra Heights Fire Department and Building and Safety Department on oilfield safety and oilfield projects. Eric has worked on projects in more than 15 countries around the world. He is a small business owner and has operated his own engineering company based in Long Beach for the past 18 years. He holds 4 patents on mechanical equipment and is an Eagle Scout.

Friends are invited to attend; please reserve for the in-person or Zoom meeting.

RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com
Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Tech Trek leads to STEM!

Valerie Armstrong, Tech Trek Coord., Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President 

Tech Trek is a unique opportunity for middle school girls to experience a week of college life while participating in hands-on STEM lessons and activities. We should be proud of our branch
for providing this opportunity to 100 deserving students since 1998. This would not have been possible without the generous donations from AAUW Long Beach members. The January 6th
meeting is our annual Tech Trek fundraiser, and we hope to raise enough money to send 12 students to camp at UCSB or Whittier College this summer. Tech Trek costs $1100 per camper.

Join us to celebrate Tech Trek campers, teachers, and volunteers on Saturday, January 6th at 11:00 am, following the 10:00 business meeting in room 0-2 at Long Beach City College.  A panel of former campers will talk about their experience and share what they learned. Attendees will also hear from branch member Stephanie Osorio, who taught Architecture at the Whittier College camp last summer. In addition, there will be a slide show of camp activities from  Whittier College and UC Santa Barbara.

For those who would like to donate to Tech Trek, checks should be made out to: AAUW – CA SPF with Tech Trek Long Beach on the memo line. By donating to the SPF fund, your donation will be tax deductible. Checks should be mailed to Tech Trek Treasurer Linda Patten at 19615 Jefferey Circle, Cerritos, CA 90703.

I look forward to seeing you at the meeting.
Valerie Armstrong

Friends are invited; please reserve to attend.
RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com

Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Celebrate the Holidays

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

Join fellow AAUW members and guests in kicking off the Holiday Season with a gathering on Saturday, December 2 from 10 am—12 pm.

Charlotte has graciously hosted this annual event in years past and offered her lovely home again, despite not being able to attend due to another important meeting! To make catering easier, members are asked to contribute $15 to cover purchased food and drink. In addition, past presidents will sign up to serve the coffee and wassail (an old historic drink customarily served during this season). Contact Sharifa Batts to volunteer for 20-minute hosting intervals.
Try some, you’ll like it!

We also need volunteers to set up and clean up. In addition to the traditional fare, we intend to serve foods that are vegetarian and vegan friendly.  RSVP to Charlotte Joseph by November 27 (see link below).  Send in your $15 via Zelle or Pay Pal to aauwlongbeach@gmail.com or pay at the door. Looking forward to seeing you and some potential new members! Guests are welcome to attend this event and it can be a fun way to introduce people to AAUW.

RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com
Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

Post-Covid Mental Health

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

Are we really still talking about the COVID pandemic? It is hard to imagine that it has been over 3 years since the worldwide COVID pandemic started in 2020. A new normalcy started and most of us have resumed our lives in one way or another. We have lost loved ones and more during this journey. Approximately two-thirds of women stated that their stress and/or anxiety increased during the pandemic according to the U.S. News & World Report (April 2022). Thinking about how you and yours got through the pandemic, let us come together and share coping strategies to maintain or improve your well-being. One thing we learned is how resilient we can be, as a community, particularly the wonderful women that make up this organization. See you at the November meeting!

Here’s a brief bio of our leader for this discussion: Dr. Amy La is a licensed psychologist with over 15 years of clinical experience in mental health. Besides a Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology, she also has an MBA in Healthcare Management. Her clinical experiences in the field includes working with college students and adults across the lifespan in the community. She previously worked in a group practice and at various colleges. She is currently in private practice with an office in Cerritos, CA. Outside of work, Dr. La enjoys spending time with her family and traveling.

Guests are welcome to attend this Saturday program that starts at 11:00 AM. The Meeting venue is Long Beach City College, 4900 E. Conant St (Clark & Conant). Follow signs to Building O2, Room 208.

To attend please RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com
Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/

It Could Happen to Anyone!

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

The October AAUW program will focus on the perpetrators of violence in intimate relationships. We will explore the reasons for violent behavior and the reasons to hope it can change. Guest speaker (and AAUW member) Alyce LaViolette will tell stories of the people she works with. Although most of the perpetrators of domestic violence are male, she has also worked with females who are abusive. She will talk about her own experiences doing this work and the rationale for the way she does her program. She loves discussion and welcomes questions and comments.

Ms. LaViolette has worked with victims of intimate partner violence since 1978. In 1979, she founded one of the first programs in the country to work with abusive partners as a program of WomenShelter of Long Beach. In 1984 she went into private practice with a specialty in domestic violence and with high-conflict couples and gender issues. She has a broad-based private practice. Alyce speaks nationally and internationally and has served on the Speaker’s Bureau for the U.S. Department of State. She has developed programs for the Probation Dept. in Los Angeles County and for the Department of Children and Family Services for LA and
Orange Counties. Alyce has served as an expert witness in criminal, family and civil court since 1984. She appears on local and national television and radio and has co-authored one of Sage Publication’s best-selling books “It Could Happen to Anyone: Why Battered Women Stay”.

Guests are welcome to attend this Saturday program that starts at 11:00 AM. The Meeting venue is Long Beach City College, 4900 E. ConantSt (Clark & Conant). Follow signs to Building O2, Room 208.

To attend please RSVP at: aauwlongbeach.reservations@gmail.com
Visit our Website for more info: https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net

New Year, New Programs

Sharifa Batts, Program Vice President

Our AAUW Long Beach Branch is excited for the 2023-2024 year as we continue to advocate for women and girls and fight to remove the barriers and biases that prevent gender equity. Throughout the year, we will have scheduled topics and wonderful speakers to influence and motivate you to race with our continued efforts of advocacy.

For over a century, AAUW has funded countless women’s education so they could pursue their dreams. To continue with this tradition, Saturday, September 9th will be our first meeting and our program will feature a brief history of the AAUW Long Beach scholarship program in
addition to introducing the 4 scholarship recipients for this year. Francine Robertson and Lauren Jianuzzi are the two awardees from Long Beach City College (LBCC), and Rebecca Rea and Erika Velasquez are the recipients from Cal State University Long Beach (CSULB).

After the scholarship program, we will hear from 3 Afghan Graduate student women who will illustrate their turbulent journey to attain their degrees. Masoma, Reema, and Hameeda have all encountered many challenges adjusting to life in a new culture while learning to improve their English and applying for asylum. They all miss their families, and they live in uncertainty until their asylum is granted. See page 4.

Guests are welcome to attend this Saturday program that starts at 11:00 AM. AAUW meeting order: 9:30 am socialize, 10 am business meeting, 11am program.

Venue: Long Beach City College, 4900 E. Conant St (Clark & Conant). Follow signs to Building O2, Room 208. Be sure to RSVP using the link on the back page. Visit our Website for more info:

https://longbeach-ca.aauw.net/