May Meeting

May Branch Meeting

SLOHS Scholarship Winners

Monday, May 12 at 7 pm via Zoom

We are going to have another great evening talking with the San Luis Obispo High School girls headed for college. This is an amazing time in their lives, and we're so happy to be supporting 10 local students with our scholarships! Please join us by Zoom on Monday, May 12 at 7pm. I have already gotten thank you notes from all the girls. They are headed to amazing colleges, and I can’t wait for you all to hear their stories. Please mark your calendars right away!! Zoom information will follow via email.

DD Patrick

President's Message

It took me quite a long time to develop a voice, and now that I have it, I am not going to be silent. — Madeleine Albright

Now is not the time to be silent. There are many ways to make our voices heard, and many issues that need our input.

First, important voting is going on at AAUW right now -- at both the National and State level -- and our votes count! Voting for AAUW National will continue through Tuesday, May 13th; for AAUW California, the voting period ends on Friday, May 16th. If you have already voted, thank you! If you haven't already voted, look for two separate emails (one for California and one for AAUW National). You should be receiving regular reminders via email, too. Those of you without email access will receive mailed ballots.

Among the items we're voting on at the state level is a California AAUW state dues increase of $10 per year (from $20 to $30). After reading AAUW California President Charmen Goehring's statement and reflecting on all the ways that our branch is supported by the hard work of all those at the state level -- from Tech Trek coordination and Lobby Days legislative action to the webinars and other support provided to help branches succeed -- I assuredly voted YES. I hope that you will join me in affirming the value of CA AAUW support. At the same time, I recognize the uncertain economic times we currently face. Do remember that our branch can support those members who need support with their dues.

Second, AAUW has announced two new targeted funds we can give to now-- the Public Policy Fund (4337) and the Defend Higher Education Fund (4513). These are in addition to the Greatest Needs Fund and highlight important advocacy needs at this point in our nation's history. You can find out about all these funds and how to give to them HERE. Our treasurer, DD Patrick, wrote to me just the other day with a report that we've already received $500 in donations to be sent to the Defend Higher Education Fund!

Third, just a reminder that our Spring fundraiser is taking place on Wednesday, May 21 from 4 -7 pm at Brooks Burgers in San Luis Obispo. More information is in this newsletter, and information will be sent out soon to share with your friends and family. We will receive 15% of each meal's price! This event will also serve as our May Dine Out event, so come enjoy some tasty food and good company! Proceeds will go towards our various scholarships, including our scholarships for young women from SLOHS who will be attending college. This year, we were again able to give ten $500 scholarships to very deserving students! Come hear those students talk about their backgrounds and their plans at our upcoming branch meeting on Monday, May 12 at 7 pm via Zoom. We really want a good turnout. Please attend to see how your participation as a member is transforming young women's lives!

A few more final thoughts and mentions.

The Six Triple Eight, "the only all-female unit of color to serve overseas in World War II" not only has been a topic in previous president's messages, but it was also the subject of the first film selected for our group watch. Happily, and appropriately, this group of Black women soldiers was also recognized on April 29, 2025 with a Congressional Medal of Honor on the 80th anniversary of their service (see the story from NPR HERE). Theirs are among the stories of women's history and Black history that cannot be erased.

Thank you to Morro Bay AAUW for hosting our branch at their April branch meeting. Although I wasn't around to attend, I did go to their 37th Annual AAUW Garden Tour and had a delightful time. I've included a picture of a fan aloe that Morro Bay AAUW President and SLO Branch member Mary Jefferson has in her back yard. I'm not much of a plant person (though I hope that will change in my retirement), but I'm definitely looking to add one or more of these to my yard!

And, finally, Happy Mother's Day wishes to all the mothers and caregivers, and in honor of all of our mothers.

Debra Valencia-Laver
President 

May Fundraiser at Brooks Burgers

California Elections - Your Vote Counts!

Elaine Johnson, AAUW CA Nominations and Election chair, nominating@aauw-ca.org

WE HAVE A STRONG SET OF CANDIDATES READY TO LEAD AAUW CALIFORNIA AAUW.

CA has eleven (11) board members. Six are continuing for the second year of their terms. That leaves five board positions to be filled. Co-presidents are allowed per our policies, but co-directors are not allowed.

Since we can only add five board members and one is reserved for CFO, that leaves four slots to be filled. Two will now be taken by the co-presidents-elect, who are running unopposed, and two will come from the four candidates running for director.

For President-Elect: Three-year term 2025-2028 (one year as President-Elect and two years as President). We have two candidates, Sigrid Moranz and Sharyn Siebert, who are sharing this position and therefore running unopposed. Each person will have one vote on the board.

For Chief Financial Officer (CFO): Two-year term 2025-2027. We still need someone to step forward! The CFO has one vote.

For Directors: Two-year term 2025-2027; Nominees are Gail Swain, Bev Van Citters, Melissa Maceyko, and Amy Hom. Members can vote for two. Each has one vote on the board.

All the candidates are experienced AAUW leaders and represent geographical regions across California. Click HERE to view the 2025 Candidates’ statements.

We are also voting on an AAUW California dues increase and the proposed 2025-2027 Public Policy Priorities. These are critical to our advocacy efforts.

Voting Period: April 26, 2025 – May 16, 2025

Each member who has an email address on file with AAUW should have received an email message in April containing a personal invitation to vote. There will be a link to click that will take you to your ballot. No password or code needs to be entered. Members who do not have an email address on file have received information and a ballot via postal mail.

Please review the candidate statements and the Public Policy Priorities AND VOTE!!

If you have additional questions, send them to: nominating@aauw-ca.org

PUBLIC POLICY COMMITTEE SETS AAUW CALIFORNIA LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Amy Hom and Melissa Maceyko, Directors, Public Policy Committee Co-chairs, publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org

The Public Policy Committee met over a weekend in mid-March for our most important meeting of the year, to set the Legislative Agenda for 2025. Prior to the meeting, our committee collectively evaluated over 60 bills related to AAUW’s mission and Public Policy Priorities. During our two-day marathon session, we carefully considered each bill. We then voted to select and prioritize the top 25 bills, leaving room to add a few more bills that we know will be coming to us in the next few weeks.

Our three “A” priority bills are SB 771 ”Social Media Platforms Endangering Californians”, AB 579 “Yaeli’s Law”, and SB 418 “Ensure Equal Access to Care for All”. All three of the “A” priority bills this year fall under the Social Justice pillar of our Public Policy Priorities.

The first “A” bill, SB 771 “Social Media Platforms Endangering Californians”, is authored by Senator Henry Stern and is sponsored by AAUW California. SB 771 clarifies that a social media platform may be liable for civil penalty under existing law if and when its algorithms or AI aid or abet individual users who are engaging in already unlawful intimidation of others in online spaces. While hateful speech is problematic, it is not illegal. However, it can cross the line into illegal action. When hate speech is “brought to the doorstep” of marginalized communities, for example, if someone maliciously posts anti-immigrant messages on the virtual Facebook wall of an immigrant family, they are engaging in unlawful intimidation, terrorism, and threats. While social media platforms are not responsible for the speech of individual users, aspects of their platform, such as algorithms or AI, can be complicit in the targeting of marginalized groups, which is unlawful. Social media companies have recently intentionally turned away from providing safeguards that they previously provided for targeted vulnerable communities. They should be held accountable for that decision, in light of the real-world impacts of the proliferation of online hate and their complicity in unlawful intimidation.

The second “A” bill, to which we are taking an opposition position, is AB 579 “Yaeli’s Law” authored by Assemblymember Leticia Castillo. This bill rests on the premise that denial of support for youth self-identity, including refusal to use a child’s name and pronouns, or refusal to provide or allow their gender-affirming care, is not harmful and therefore should not be considered child abuse under the law, and, accordingly, not be allowed as a basis for custody or removal decisions. This is problematic. Research shows that transgender children are more likely to experience anxiety and depression and are at greater risk of substance abuse and homelessness when they live in households that do not accept their gender identity. We oppose this bill because every child deserves to be protected from emotional and physical abuse, including the right to move from a harmful household to a more healthy environment.

The third “A” bill is SB 418 “Ensure Equal Access to Care for All” authored by Senator Caroline Menjivar. This bill would prohibit a health plan or a health insurance provider from denying coverage or denying benefits to a person based upon their race, color, national origin, age, disability, or sex - including sex characteristics such as intersex traits, pregnancy, and gender identity. Access to gender-affirming care is a fundamental aspect of health equity and human rights. SB 418 will protect against discrimination on the basis of sex, while also sending a powerful message of support to the LGBTQ+ community, affirming that their needs matter.

Creating an environment where all individuals can express their identities without fear is foundational to a strong democracy.

To see the full 2025 Legislative Agenda, please go to the Bill Tracking Report. This report is a living document that will be updated as the bills move through the legislative process, so you will always be able to see the latest status.

NEW RESOURCE FOR TAKING ACTION! NEW ACTION AREAS!!

Amy Hom and Melissa Maceyko, Directors, Public Policy Committee Co-chairs, publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org

Find Ways to Take Action (There Are So Many Ways)!

As we outlined in a webinar in October 2024, the objectives of Project 2025 directly counter the Public Policy Priorities of AAUW California. With federal policy pronouncements and changes continuing to take place at a head-spinning pace, it is clear that changes are underway to make Project 2025 become reality (track implementation HERE).

To respond to the attack on the people and issues we care about, and to fulfill the mission of our organization, “to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, and research,” we have continued to compile resources to help you take action to fight back. And, with the help of our amazing Public Policy Interns, we are finally able to launch an interactive Take Action spreadsheet that will provide you with action options. 

This spreadsheet attempts to create a clearinghouse for ongoing resistance activity, so that you can follow and join-in based on your passions and preferences. We also highlight successful political and legal actions, to give us both hope and a blueprint for moving forward. On the spreadsheet you will be able to click on the following areas:

• QUICK ACTIONABLE ITEMS if you are looking for general action resources,
• LITIGATION & LEGISLATION TRACKERS if you want to keep track of advancing legislation and/or legal challenges,
• PODCASTS if you want to learn more and/or encounter even more “good trouble,” and
• ISSUE AREAS if you are looking for information and resources in a specific issue area.

Please share this resource with anyone who you think will find it useful - inside or outside of AAUW California!!

TAKE ACTION: PROTECT VOTING RIGHTS!

We continue to ask you to take action by choosing one self-focused, one other-focused, and one political-focused item from the list below.

Self-Focused: Education

• learn more about the SAVE Act that is moving through Congress 
• learn more about California Assembly Bill (AB) 25
• learn more about how voting rights challenges that target small or non-existent populations and issues, like SAVE and AB 25, serve to disenfranchise many others in the process

Other-Focused: Education & Connection

• tell a few people (2-10) something about the potential impacts of passage of the SAVE Act and/or AB 25
• tell a few people (2-10) something that THEY can do to oppose the SAVE Act, CA AB 25, and/or voting rights challenges more broadly

Politically Focused: Outreach to Legislators (State/Federal) 

• use AAUW National’s 2-minute activities platform to voice your opposition to the SAVE Act
• watch the progress of California’s AB 25 and reach out to representatives in CA if/when the bill is being heard to make sure the bill is actively opposed.

TAKE ACTION: HELP KIDS FEEL SAFE AT SCHOOL!

Many of our members have expressed concerns about the potential for ICE raids in our local schools. These intrusions on school grounds are already happening in some places and are having a significant detrimental impact on these families, especially for their children. Some of the ramifications have included:

• Parents not showing up at school events, fearing agents might be there
• Students don’t want to come to school, fearing their parents will be taken while they’re gone
• Children not learning, consumed by fear of agents coming on campus to take them away

Here are some things you should know:

Current law (Plyler v Doe 1982) held that all children, even undocumented, have a constitutional right to free public education. In 2011, DHS issued the “Sensitive Locations” policy, which prohibited raids from certain places including schools. Although the President has attempted to revoke the order, Executive Orders and Actions cannot change statutes or regulations.

There are currently four lawsuits challenging the attempted revocation; three from churches have been successful so far, one from a school in Denver has resulted in a denial of a request for a temporary injunction.

Current law also prohibits ICE entry on campuses without a warrant. Even if they have a warrant to enter, that does not entitle them to have access to private/protected student records.

Here are two things you can do:

Urge your school boards/districts to issue a “Safe Zone” Resolution – template can be found here: Guidance on Immigration Issues | NEA

Engage your branch members in a postcard-writing campaign to their school boards with following message:

WE STAND WITH
Immigrant students
LGBTQ+ youth

AAUW California Public Policy is on Bluesky 

We plan to use our Bluesky account to send out state-level legislative action alerts, promote Resistbot petitions, and provide real-time updates. We encourage you to create your own account, if you have not yet done so, and follow us! You can find us by clicking this link or by following us on Bluesky.

Follow AAUW California’s Petitions Page on Resistbot

AAUW CA TECH TREK - APRIL SHOWERS BROUGHT CAMPER SELECTIONS!

Mary Isaac, Tech Trek Program Director and Tech Trek Committee chair, techtrek@aauw-ca.org

Over 1200 nominations with 1000 completed applications for nine weeks of Tech Trek camps were submitted for approximately 800 camper spots. 95% of branches had completed their selection process by the end of March, with the remainder expected to finalize their choices by mid-April.

Camps are now working feverishly to finalize their schedules and onboard the approximately 250 volunteer staff needed to ensure a safe and memorable experience for all. Contact camps directly if you wish to help out during the week by using the camp group address convention: techtrek-xxxxx@aauw-ca.org, where xxxxx is carson, davis, fresno, hopper, sandiego, santabarbara, sonoma, virtual, or whittier. (NOTE: The students selected by our SLO Branch will be attending camps at Santa Barbara or Santa Cruz - Camp Carson).

The next task for most branches is planning new camper meet-and-greets with past Trekkers. For now, catch your breath and relax, knowing the hardest part is done: choosing between MANY excellent nominees!

April Meeting Summary

Gail and Susan enjoyed meeting with the Morro Bay AAUW branch, learning about orchids. Two members of the Five Cities Orchid Society shared information about orchids, their origin and development as a marketable flower.  The well organized presentation, which included numerous slides, left time for a question and answer period   All in attendance left with the double orchid shown in the photo.

AAUW SLO Commemorates Denim Day 2025 at Cal Poly

Denim Day, which was held on Wednesday, April 30, 2025 closed out Sexual Assault Action/Awareness Month, which was sponsored at Cal Poly by SAFER. AAUW SLO Cal Poly Liaison Patricia Ponce and President Debra Valencia-Laver tabled in the University Union from 11 am - 1 pm. Students, faculty, staff, and even some campus visitors stopped by to spin the wheel, ask questions about the significance of Denim Day, learn about AAUW and Cal Poly as an AAUW University Partner, and pick up some AAUW and Denim Day stickers, buttons, and whistles. Some former Tech Trekkers dropped by, and we let them and others know about our May fundraiser, too. Overall, it was a successful event, reaching over 100 participants!

Dining Out

The Dine Out Group met at the Laguna Grill in April and all had an enjoyable dinner. We had four couples and the restaurant gave us the side room, so we were all by ourselves. A lively conversation continued throughout the night.

Our May Dine Out Night will be combined with the Branch's Fund Raiser at Brooks Burgers on May 21st. The restaurant is in the SLO Public Market and has lots of parking. We still need more reservations to make our needed 20 committed participants. Please, if you haven't rsvp'd, please do so now (https://www.groupraise.com/events/302041), so we do not lose this opportunity to raise money for our scholarships. The Dine Out group will meet in June for our final time until September. We take the summer off as so many of you travel.

Esther Pudlo
Dine Out Coordinator

BB&B Book Club

The BB&B group gathers monthly on the second Tuesdays at 12:30 pm, usually in the library room at the Laguna Lake Mobile Estates on Prefumo Canyon Road in SLO. On May 13, Miki Gillman will lead a discussion of James the highly acclaimed book by Percival Everett. James is the last title of our 2024-25 selections. It's a retelling of Huckleberry Finn (and so much more) from the perspective of Huck’s companion called Jim in Mark Twain’s telling.

In April, the group identified 13 candidate readings for 2025-26*. This month, in addition to discussing James, the group will select nine of the 13 titles for the 2025-26 season. BB&B will resume meeting in September. So watch for notices and/or reach out to Laurie Schneemann.

* The 13 works under consideration for next year are March, by Geraldine Brooks; The Glassblower of Murano, by Marina Fiorato; The Covenant of Water, by Abraham Verghese; Becoming Madam Secretary, by Stephanie Dray; West with Giraffes, by Lynda Rutled; Fresh Water for Flowers, by Valerie Perrin; The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store, by James McBride; Fire in the Canyon: A Novel, by Daniel Gumbiner; The Lost Bookshop, by Evie Woods; The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore; Franklin and Eleanor, An Extraordinary Marriage, by Hazel Rowley; Bad Law: Ten Popular Laws That Are Ruining America, by Elie Mystal; and The Year of Living Danishly: Uncovering the Secrets of the World’s Happiest Country, by Helen Russell.

May is Asian Pacific Islander Month

Throughout the month of May, we honor Asian Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Pacific Islanders — as communities and as individuals, acknowledging their heritage, their histories, and their accomplishments. This SITE, sponsored by a number of US government agencies, is an excellent resource to explore! I draw your attention to the Veterans History Project: Asian-American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander American Veterans as one of the features. There you can read about and listen to the memories of a few Asian American women who have served and are part of this Library of Congress collection: Kimberly Mitchell, Jaden Kim, and Mary Nagano Salmen. Be sure to check out all the links, including the About link, which talks about the history of this month.

May Birthdays

Maureen Dresp             May 6th

Allison Patrick             May 21st 

Mila Vujovich-LaBarre May 27th