PROGRAM
Looking Back
For the GWA-AAUW, this year has been much better than the previous two. That’s because each meeting was held in person and we were able to enjoy the camaraderie of our peers at close range, reveling in conversations that we would not have had were we still on ZOOM.
Our year kicked off with Bonnie Weber, a former Whittier librarian who had us enthralled with some of the latest books that came out in 2022. Margo Reeg followed in October with her clear understanding of two measures AAUW would be supporting. She also clarified a confusing gambling proposition. In November, our memoir speaker, Hong-My Basrai had us holding our breath as she relayed the story of her family’s attempt to escape Vietnam in the 1970s. Her story was so riveting that she sold all the copies of her book, Behind the Red Curtain, at that meeting!
In December, we heard holiday stories from a few of our own members: Barbara Gile, Paula Ocampo, Carole Restovich, and Sharon Heck. The stories were accompanied by the talented Jauhar Basrai who had arranged and played the music to go with each of them. After January’s Meet and Greet, February showcased our AAUW Fund Fellow, Stacey Cabaj who introduced us to the “Sound of Touch,” complete with a video demonstration of how it works.
March caused a minimal scramble for our Program committee since our chosen speaker, Emily Teipe, had to cancel due to the loss of a close friend who had been ill. Luckily for us, she rescheduled for May and gave us an engaging PowerPoint presentation on “Women and Victorian Culture.” In it, she revealed how women helped form the culture in Victorian times, partially because families split into two different life spheres, one being the man’s which engaged him in business affairs, while the woman became master of her own home which elevated her status as wife and mother to a whole new cultural norm. This allowed women to become somewhat independent—at least culturally if not politically.
Since our March speaker could not be with us, our own Pat Dudley graciously took on the offer to speak to us about Tech Trek. She presented some GWA-AAUW Tech Trek history and gave us some insights on how it all comes together, not an easy fete, but a valuable one. Dr. Niki Elliott followed in April giving us an eye-opening look at how to uproot “unconscious bias” by being aware of how our own biology sometimes overwhelms logic due to our body’s built-in alert system that causes us to react, sometimes in extreme ways even when a situation does not call for such drastic action.
This coming June, our Program will include the awarding of MLSF scholarships to six high school students and the installation of our Board for 2023/2024.
Claire Koehler, VP Program Director
Ann Topjon, Program Committee Associate
Chris Heller, Program Committee Associate
