What has our chapter been up to? Read about some of our upcoming and past events below to learn about what we’ve been working on.
Upcoming and Past Events
Virtual Book Club
The book selected for Saturday, June 8th at 9 am is The Women by Kristin Hannah. An Amazon review says, “From the celebrated author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds comes Kristin Hannah’s The Women — at once an intimate portrait of coming of age in a dangerous time and an epic tale of a nation divided.”
Book Club dates and zoom links are posted on our calendar.
Lobby Day 2023
Our branch participated in the AAUW Lobby event on March 21 and March 22. Kathi Harper and Kathy Van Osten planned the event and helped us prepare to advocate. There were three bills we advocated for this year. The first was Assembly Bill 1394 California Social Media Platform Liability for Child Sexual Abuse and Trafficking: authored by Assembly Member Buffy Wicks. The second was Senate Bill 287 California Social Media Platform Liability for Child Addiction and Harms: authored by Senator Nancy Skinner. The last bill was Assembly Bill 549 The California Elimination of Discrimination Against Women Act: Coauthors: Assembly Members Rebecca Bauer-Kahan and Lisa Calderon. Read more on the April 2023 Spokeswoman!
IBC Zoom Luncheon
On Saturday, January 29th at 9 am we met 2021-22 AAUW California Fellows/Grant Recipients who discussed their work, research, and experiences. Juily Phun spoke on Contours of Care: The Influenza Pandemic, Public Health and Asian American Communities in Southern California, 1918–1941. Ana Grande spoke on the P F Bresee Foundation – Physical Sciences and Engineering Exploration for 100 Low-Income Central Los Angeles Girls. Brenna Mockler spoke on Probing Supermassive Black Holes with Tidal Disruption Events.
Annual Holiday Gathering with Empower Yolo
The annual holiday gathering was held on Saturday, December 11th at 2pm. We had an informational and inspiring discussion about Empower Yolo, a local organization that provides community services to improve the health, social, educational, and economic outcomes of Yolo County residents.
For more information about the event and the donations we will be accepting for Empower Yolo, please reference our latest edition of the Spokeswoman.
AAUW 140th Anniversary Celebration
AAUW held its 140th Anniversary Celebration on November 17th at 4pm! It was a celebratory event honoring our rich past and looking ahead to a bright—and equitable—future.
We shared an interview with our distinguished 2021 Alumnae Recognition Awardee, recognize notable branch birthdays, and heard from our board chair Julia Brown and new CEO Gloria L. Blackwell.
AAUW Davis September Friends and Family Picnic
We held our annual friends and family picnic on Sunday, September 19th from 11am- 1pm. Memb
ers had the opportunity to meet with branch members, AAUW@UCD student
It was a successful event and a great way for members to connect!s and former Tech Trekker families. We provided sandwiches, cookies, and beverages.
August Celebrate the NineTEAnth
For our August Celebrate the 19th, we were joined by Annie Chen, one of our AAUW@UCD students who graduated in 2019. She hosted a virtual tasting of teas from her home country of Taiwan, on Thursday, August 19th at 5:30 pm. It was great learning more about the history of the tea that we had the opportunity to taste and speaking to Annie about her life.
Black Women’s Equal Pay Day
Tuesday, August 3rd was Black Women’s Equal Pay Day. Here are some facts:
- Over a 40-year career, Black women lose almost $1 million to the wage gap.
- It takes the typical Black woman 19 months to be paid what the average white man takes home in 12 months.
- According to the U.S. Census, on average, Black women were paid 63% of what non-Hispanic white men were paid in 2019.
Learn more about systemic racism and the gender pay gap HERE.
2021-22 Davis Branch Board Installation
We held the Davis Branch Board Installation for 2021-22 on Thursday, June 10th from 5:30-7 pm at Estelle’s house! We cautiously met outdoors, and light refreshments were served. We celebrated our board members, interns, and another successful year at AAUW Davis. It was great seeing our members in person!
UNA 2021 Week of Action
UNA-USA’s 2021 
Week of Action titled “Building a Better Global Future” was held from June 6th-11th. It offered opportunities to connect with fellow UN advocates around the country, prepare participants for impactful meetings with elected officials, and include virtual meetings with Members of Congress.
The keynote speaker for the virtual Week of Action was Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. It was an exciting and impactful week of virtual action!
NCCWSL (National Conference for College Women Student Leaders)
NCCWSL 2021 was a fully virtual experience! Each year, AAUW National brings together hundreds of college women from around the country for three days of leadership training, inspiration, and networking.
The workshops, panels, speakers, and activities provide endless learning opportunities and peer networking. This year, we sent our two interns and several officers of AAUW@UCD to the conference on May 25th-26th. It was a great experience!
Also, check out the flyer to the left for book recommendations discussed at NCCWSL.
UNA Webinar: “Climate Change: What Future We Are Living Into?”
On April 19th, we attended the UNA webinar “Climate Change: What Future We Are Living Into?”, on April 19th at 6pm, where two outstanding experts presented their perspectives on climate change. After the meeting, we held our monthly “Celebrate the 19th” gathering and had a follow-up discussion on what we learned at the webinar. It was an interesting and informative night about climate change education!
Annual Business Meeting
On April 12th, we held our Annual Business Meeting! At the meeting, we elected our board members, heard a report on how the AAUW-UCD Student Organization was doing, and named our Gift Honorees–– Shahla and Marty. This year, Shahla Farahnak was selected because of her work advocating for women in leadership, including finding jobs and internship opportunities for students. Marty West was recognized as a long-time AAUW member (since 1993) for her advocacy in improving the lives of women and children.We may know Marty from her career as a university professor teaching employment discrimination, labor law, and gender and law at the UC Davis Law School from 1982 to 2007. Congratulations Shahla and Marty!
Women’s History Month: Equal Pay Days
March was Women’s History Month! There were two equal pay days this month, Asian American and Pacific Islander Equal Pay Day on March 9th and All Women’s Equal Pay Day on March 24th. To advocate for fair pay on these important dates, AAUW has developed talking points and resources to guide outreach to elected officials, writing a Letter to the Editor, and engaging your family and friends in driving change.
Find more learning resources and advocacy opportunities in the AAUW Paycheck Fairness Act advocacy toolkit.
UNA-USA Global Engagement Summit
On February 19th and 20th, UNA-USA held an all-virtual Global Engagement Summit. The theme of the summit was From Moments to Movements: Solidarity for Sustainability, and it highlights the importance of global cooperation to achieve a better world for everyone, everywhere.
Read more about the Global Engagement Summit in our January Spokeswoman!
Interbranch AAUW Fund Meeting
We held our annual AAUW Capital Counties Interbranch (IBC) fund meeting on Saturday, January 30th from 2-4pm. Featured speakers were Tracey Quezada, a Career Opportunities grant recipient, and Elizabeth (Beth) Kopacz, who received an American Fellowship.
Read more about the speakers in our January Spokeswoman!
Annual Holiday Gathering
Members of AAUW Davis and the ASUCD Pantry celebrated the holidays on Saturday, December 19th.
The speaker this year was Ryan Choi from the ASUCD Pantry. He informed us about food insecurity among students at UC Davis, and how the ASUCD Pantry is working to provide students with healthy food.
Learn more about the The Pantry here!
STEM Film
We attended the film Picture a Scientist online on October 13th at 10 am. Picture a Scientist is a film that chronicles the groundswell of researchers who are writing a new chapter for women scientists. Biologist Nancy Hopkins, chemist Raychelle Burks, and geologist Jane Willenbring lead viewers on a journey deep into their own experiences in the sciences, ranging from brutal harassment to years of subtle slights.
To learn more and to watch the trailer go to https://www.pictureascientist.com/
If you did not receive an email about this event on October 7th and wish to register for the event, please emails us at davis-ca@aauw.net
AAUW Fund Virtual Lunch: 2020-2021
Due to the pandemic, the 2020-2021 Fund luncheon were held on two dates, October 10th, and October 24th, by webinar. Current northern California fellows and grant recipients described how the AAUW Fund has helped them achieve their goals and dreams!
UNA October Updates
UNICEF campaign during October and beyond: A decades-long tradition of Davis schoolchildren Trick-or-Treating for UNICEF and community members donating funds to help children around the world under the UNA chapter’s auspices continues this year in a modified form.
Virtual United Nations Day Celebration on October 22 at 6 p.m: You are invited to join the Sacramento and Davis UNA chapters for a commemoration of the United Nations’ 75th anniversary on October 22. The occasion will feature a short documentary about David Lubin, a Sacramentan whose historic contributions to world peace are largely unknown although the concept for the League of Nations originated with him.
Virtual United Nations Day via GEOS on October 23 at 9 a.m: UNA-USA will present this program through the free Global Engagement Online Series (GEOS) to reflect on the past 75 years since the UN’s creation in 1945, to celebrate the accomplishments of the present, and to look forward to progress toward a better and brighter future for everyone, everywhere.
You can find details for each event in our October Spokeswoman!
Celebrate the 19th: September and August
September: On September 19th, AAUW member, Solamaz, spoke to us about Contact Tracing for COVID-19. Solmaz works as a Water Resource Control Engineer at Water Board. She received her Ph.D. in Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of Delaware. As a Contact Tracer, Solmaz interviews COVID-19 positive cases, asking for their recent contacts. Solmaz shared that it is important to establish a rapport with the cases and contacts, be a strong communicator, and show empathy and compassion.
Read more on the October Spokeswoman!
August: “On August 23, Verena Borton, President of the United Nations Association-USA Davis chapter gave a Zoom presentation about the UNA and the many UN activities and goals associated with the 75th Anniversary of the UN founding.” – The September Spokeswoman
Check out the September Spokeswoman for upcoming UNA-USA events, such as Ensuring Quality Education, and Woman’s Rights discussion with Hillary Clinton.. etc. You can also go to https://unausa.org/events/2020-geos/ to find past and future sessions.
You won’t want to miss our next Celebrate the 19th! Check out our calendar and save the date!
Honoring the Legacy of RBG
Branch member Marty West, Professor Emerita of the UC Davis School of Law, spoke at the vigil and kindly shared her thoughts with us.
You can find the text, published as a special commentary in the Davis Enterprise, in the October Spokeswoman.
Sahaya Walks: Hope
Sahaya Walks is an annual event dedicated to making a difference in the lives of 35 HIV-infected
children in India. This year, on Sunday, October 11th at 4 pm, Sahaya Walks was held as a virtual event due to safety concerns. The AAUW Davis Branch has continued its support for Sahaya Walks this year.
Find out more about their mission on their website.
Update: 2020 Tech Trek and STEM Panel
Teck Trek 2020: Due to safety concerns, the 2020 Teck Trek was canceled. We honored the girls we had selected for this year’s event with a drive-in outdoor event on September 3rd at Estelle’s house.
The girls, their parents, and siblings arrived in their small groups, and we listened to each talk a bit about how they have enjoyed summer and school. We invited the girls and their families to a table for food, drinks, and goodies. Thank you, Estelle, Gail, and Rhonda for all their work!
Find out more about Tech Trek by scrolling down to our Annual events!
Stem Panel 2020: Our annual Stem Panel will be canceled for January 2021 due to the Pandemic. We are hoping to resume by January 2022.
Celebrate and Graduate!
On June 19th at 6pm, AAUW at UC Davis students joined branch members via Zoom to celebrate our graduates: Sahiba Kaur, Mia Santos, and Denise Garcia.
Branch members and students enjoyed the thought-provoking and inspiring conversation that each member had to offer.
Thank you, Estelle, for organizing this event!
2019 Gift Honoree: Leslie Rubin!
During our Installation Meeting, Leslie Rubin was chosen by the board as the Named Gift Honoree for 2019. She is recognized for her extraordinary hard work and dedication to AAUW and the Davis Branch.
Leslie is our branch secretary as well as the UCD Tech Trek camp nurse for the past 10 years!
Thank you for your amazing work, Leslie!
SEE IT, BE IT: A Night Celebrating Women in STEM
On January 28th, 2019, Leslie Rubin from our Davis branch moderated an evening for girls from 7-12th grade to listen from five distinguished professional women in STEM!
After hearing the panelists, each speaker rotated through groups of eight girls in order to answer any questions. The night ended with cocoa, tea, and cookies.
**UPDATE**
Stem Panel 2020: Unfortunately, our annual Stem Panel will be canceled for January 2021 due to the Pandemic. We are hoping to resume by January 2022.
Women’s March
Estelle’s report:
The mission of Women’s March is “to harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change” (WomensMarch.com).
In that spirit, Estelle, friend Karen,and UCD student Eva and three friends joined the more than 10,000 women, children, and men who participated in the fourth Sacramento Women’s March on January 18th.
Annual Events
This camp for girls is very special to our hearts here at the AAUW-Davis Chapter.
Tech Trek offers girls hands-on experience and knowledge from top women leaders in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and technology. The week-long immersion program allows these young students the opportunity to explore their interests while building their confidence as powerful innovators for the future. We are very excited to share that there will be a camp at the UC Davis campus in late July!
STEM Panel Evening 2019
The month of January, AAUW Davis Branch, Davis Explorit Science Center, and Da Vinci Charter Academy MPR in Davis host the annual STEM Panel for young girls. The panel provides a place for young girls to connect with accomplished women in STEM and learn about STEM careers! Some speakers we have had in the past include:
Allison Goodman, Principal Engineer at Intel
Paulina Zielinska, Director of the Office for Global Programs, UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine
Cecilia von Beroldingen, Laboratory Director, California Department of Justice DNA lab and more!
Annual Inter-branch Council (IBC) Luncheon 2020
On January 25th 
AAUW held the IBC luncheon at Plates Restaurant in Sacramento. Words from our speakers Briana Marela Lizarraga and Karen Dosanjh were very inspiring to those present.
“In the 2019-20 academic year, AAUW has provided more than $4.3million in funding fellowships and grants to 270 outstanding women and nonprofit organizations.” – January Spokeswoman
Thank you to the members who joined us and for all of your contributions!
More on STEM:
STEM, Science, Technology, Engineering & Math: Supporting women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math, STEM has been a part of AAUW’s mission since 1881. Throughout its history, AAUW has encouraged women to work and study in these traditionally male fields, invested millions of dollars in graduate fellowships and grants, as well as engaged in research, programming, and advocacy to break through barriers for women and girls.