ReCap 2023-24
2023 Fall Summit Featured Public Policy in Action
On September 30, 2023 from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, AAUW Ohio’s annual Fall Summit helped us understand and put AAUW action priorities to practice.
- Keynote speaker Kim Hady addressed Ohio’s reproductive freedom action.
- Keynote speaker Mia Lewis of Common Cause Ohio is passionate about protecting and expanding the right to vote. Ms. Lewis updated us on Ohio’s progress to voting districts drawn to represent voters, rather than the party in power.
- Erin Czerniak, Ohio Public Policy Co Chair outlined More Things to Watch in Ohio Politics.
- We learned about Mentoring our Future Leaders from Anne-Marie E. Walkowicz, PhD, Central State University.
Attendees met at All Saints Lutheran Church, 6770 North High Street, Worthington Ohio or meeting by Zoom. The on-site participants had a chance to catch up with old friends and meet new ones. They found out what other branches are doing.
Recap: Ohio Members: Your Vote Was Needed
The vote to eliminate AAUW’s degree requirement did not reach a voting quorum. We needed your vote. Look how we did the last time this change was brought to a vote. Read more at Open Up AAUW.org Find the PowerPoint shown at Convention there.
Recap 2022-23
AAUW Ohio’s 2022 Fall Summit Termed a Success!
Ohio Fall Summit with AAUW CEO Gloria L. Blackwell was a hybrid event in- person in Dublin, Ohio and on Zoom. Attendees called it “stimulating,” “great,” “a definite success.” This meeting of all Ohio branches pointed branches and members in the right direction for the coming year. Ohio members that work together can get things done, influence opinions and legislators. Requiring that a branch representative attend keeps us together and keeps the board on its toes. We aim to be a Model Branch this year.
The advocacy portion of the day was initiated by AAUW Ohio’s Public Policy Advocate Erin Czerniak who alerted us to find the sources of political donations to determine the leanings of candidates. She also mentioned a website speaking to women’s issues, key races, and the importance of the Ohio Supreme Court races and another about issues of the dignity of all people
Tim Johnson of the Ohio Poverty Law Center spoke effectively about Ohio House bills dealing with critical race theory and anti-gay law. HB 616, which is anti CRT and anti-gay should be ready carefully. He answered questions about how to advocate effectively.
William L Phillis of the Ohio Coalition for Equity & Adequacy in School Funding has joined with Vouchers Hurt Ohio. Bill and Dennis Willard, the spokesperson for Vouchers Hurt Ohio, spoke about their efforts and reasons for taking the state of Ohio to court over the controversial private school voucher program, EdChoice. Districts that have joined the effort are listed on the website Vouchers Hurt Ohio.
Numbers do matter. Make your voice heard; influence your friends.
Click here to watch the video and use the passcode 66yMp3K%
Intro starts at about 15 minutes; Public Policy Chair Erin Czerniak at 1:41 (1 hour, 41 minutes); Tim Johnson at about 1:56 hours; and the final presentation by Vouchers Hurt Ohio by William Phillis and Dennis Willard at 2:55. Move the cursor to the bottom of the video to see the popup position. Slide or click the video position to move to locations noted above.
Recap–Branch Awards Given at 2023 April Spring Conference
AAUW Ohio presented awards to branches for communications media, diversity, equity and inclusion, and the Model Branch criteria. Branches honored for their great work during the 2022-23 year include:
Communications: Circleville, Heights-Hillcrest-Lyndhurst (HHL), Medina, and Middletown.
Diversity, Equity and inclusion: Bowling Green, Circleville, HHL, Medina, Worthington, and Youngstown.
Model Branch Award Silver Class (basic plus fewer than 8 glitter points): Circleville, Medina.
Model Branch Award Gold Class (basic plus more than 8 glitter points): Bowling Green, HHL, Warren-Trumbull County
Thanks to all for advocating for AAUW’s work to advance equity for women and girls.
Recap: AAUW Ohio District Meeting Spring 2023
A Day to Get More Comfortable with Inclusion
We hope your branch had a representative at the Statewide Joint Conference of all AAUW Ohio Districts on Saturday, April 15, 2023 hybrid, online-in-person, at All Saints Lutheran Church, 6770 N. High Street, Worthington, Ohio or by Zoom. The Saturday Columbus area event ran to a timed agenda from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. It was preceded on Friday evening by an hour-long discussion from 7:00 pm. to 8:00 pm. of the book Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruschinka Tulshuan.
The Saturday morning program featured Zac Boyer, director of programs and marketing at Stonewall Columbus, a group that has been successful at raising visibility and acceptance. Stonewall Columbus now states its vision is to “increase visibility, inclusion, and connection. Zac’s presentation gave us specific words and reasons to work for a partnership with the community that is represented at the table and not at the table. He created a space of comfort and understanding as he explained orientations and identities. You can view his presentation here.
The afternoon session began with a short presentation by Erin Czerniak explaining how sensory-sensitive autistic persons feel in a group setting. featured a panel discussion of “Inclusion in Action.” Inclusion doesn’t just happen; we have to work at it. How do we do it? Rush Rogers led the panel of Heather Mason, an athletic department strength and fitness trainer; Katie McBroom, manager at Starbucks; Debbie Stein, a school audiologist and special education teacher; and Nakisha Darby, an English and Womens’ Studies teacher at Wright State.
Spring 2022 State Convention & Annual Meeting
Convention was held in hybrid format. News and branch awards were interspersed with presentations. Debby Stein led a discussion of women in leadership. Panel participants: Jean Droste, Andrea Townsend, Erin Czerniak, and Carolyn Seitz.
Deborah Wooldridge led a presentation about framework
intersectionality theory, saying, “We need to understand how, say, sexism is different for Blacks than whites or trans people. We need to intervene at the intersections. Panelists included Dr. Elizabeth G. Holman, Dr. Laura Landry Meyer, Ms Naykishia Darby Head, and Dr. Susan Peet. Attendees learned what it means to be diverse from a Black perspective, ways to increase diversity in membership, and culturally cognizant listening.
AAUW Ohio Spring 2021 District Conferences
District Conferences: All conferences were held virtually.
April 17 – Ohio Central & Southwest District.
April 24 – Northwest & Northeast District.
Northwest & Northeast AAUW Ohio Spring 2021 District Conferences were also held on Zoom.
2020
2020 Fall Summit – October 10
Part 1: Women’s Rights and Advocacy 100 years after Selective Suffrage with Lisa Maatz.
Lisa Maatz, AAUW’s former top Policy Advisor inspired attendees to make plans for after the November election. 49 attendees at the September Zoom event heard Lisa’s advice on Women’s Rights and Advocacy 100 Years after Selective Suffrage.
2020 Statewide Convention & Annual Meeting April 25
Part 2: Gendered Impacts of Covid-19 with Dr. Cynthia Anderson, Chair and Professor of Sociology and Director of Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies at Ohio University.
Dr. Cindy Anderson’s research revolves around women, work, and rural labor markets. Her current project focuses on distressed Appalachian counties. She teaches classes in sociological theory, feminist theory and introduction to sociology. In addition to AAUW, Dr. Anderson is active in the National Association for Women’s Studies, Sociologists for Women in Society, and Rural Sociological Society. She has participated in various leadership courses, including HERS Higher Education Research Services (HERS), American Council on Education (ACE), and American Sociological Association (ASA).
2019 Recap: Ohio’s District Meetings Focused on Women’s Economic Security
The Northwest District met on Saturday March 2, 2019 at the Bowling Green Country Club for a day about women: Debt and the Pay Gap, the changing ideas of gender and literature over time and women’s anger, and rounding out the day, Negotiate, Negotiate! The event began at 9:15 am with registration and breakfast. Anna Brogan-Knight’s humor held attention to details of the causes of high student debt and who has it. Susan Shelangoskie led off the afternoon with a session titled, Women’s anger doesn’t have to be a bad thing. Interaction and experiences gave NW members pause to think before they launched into Negotiate, Negotiate with Angela Clark-Taylor. Angela urged us to always negotiate. She guided the group through parts of the Work Smart Online Workbook and urged everyone to use it and work through the Work Smart Online tool. Branch Diversity Awards were presented to Bowling Green and Toledo. Bowling Green was mentioned for having more than four mission-oriented programs this year, and Bowling Green and Findlay received Starz Awards. Attendees had time to meet other and to discuss current issues and news during lunch. One member called it a day to recharge!
Anna Brogan-Knight spoke about student debt
Clockwise from upper left: Susan Shelanoskie speaker on Anger and Women’s Rolls, with Angela Clark-Taylor, who urged Negotiate, Negotiate; Gail Conrad receiving Toledo Branch’s Diversity Award, Michelle Chronister of Bowling Green Branch receiving her branch’s Diversity Award from Nancy Stellhorn, AAUW Ohio President
Central District gathered on Saturday March 16, 2019 to learn 
what career education in public schools looks like today. Their target was to increase career paths and options and to reduce the burden of student debt. Cassie Palsgrove from the Ohio Department of Education used the Strategic Plan for Education 2019-2024 and Successbound.ohio.com materials to illustrate points.
- Each school district must have a policy to make a student success plan for each sixth-grade student who is at risk of dropping out
- Students must research and evaluate prospects for job hiring and must build a coalition of three people to guide and mentor them.
The group then chose between two sessions: more from Cassie or join Andrea Townsend to learn about Equity and Access in Career Technical Education and how schools work with Ohioans with disabilities. Andrea’s second session covered graduation requirements and how students can graduate.
Other sites to visit are ohiomeansjobs.com and askjan.org.
Southwest District drew a large audience on March 23, 2019 to Covenant Presbyterian Church, 201 North Limestone St., in Springfield, Ohio. After a light breakfast, they began the day with Women in Debt/ Student Debt led by Rush Rogers, AAUW Ohio Public Policy Co-Chair. Sad, but true, only 7% of women negotiate their salary, so it isn’t hard to see why AAUW wants to change that and help improve pay equity. Molly Helmlinger, of the Sidney-Shelby County AAUW branch, summarized AAUW’s Work Smart negotiation training program and illustrated with her experiences as superintendent of various school districts in the country.
Katie McNeil, Chair of University Relations for 
Middletown AAUW, Michelle Abrams, President Mason-Lebanon County, and Robin Becker, Middletown Public Policy Chair, presented Title IX updates and their meeting with the Title IX coordinator at Miami University. One outcome was the realization that students should begin college with some understanding of harrassment. The branch plans to continue to work with the university on Title IX.
Elaine Nischwitz reported on technical and business student experiences and financial literacy. Carolyn Smith introduced lunch table directed discussions on Advocacy and Financial Literacy. JoAnn Benseler outlined Starz Awards. Middletown AAUW received Communications Awards in the large-branch division, presented by AAUW Ohio President, Nancy Stellhorn, for best newsletter and the best website.
Northeast District and guests met April 27, 2019 at Immaculate Heart of Mary Parish Center, 4490 Norquest Boulevard in Austintown, near Youngstown. Financial advisor Deanna
Marchionda of Transamerica Financial outlined financial planning tactics using examples of ways to solve financial difficulties and advance a life plan. A demonstration of AAUW’s Work Smart, the free negotiation tool, was shortened and modified from the planned demo due to program updates. Attendees shared how their branches use the Start Smart a
nd Work Smart training. One branch member is a trained leader; another branch finances a workshop at a nearby college. Reports on topics assigned for lunch discussion generated some new ideas for inclusion, such as activities for dads and daughters designed to bring in men members, inter-generational topics with mission first would attract younger people if done in comfortable, informal settings.
Warren City Councilwoman Cheryl Saffold urged attendees to vote in 2020 and to become involved in the election. Jorine Stone rounded out the afternoon with a report of Ohio legislative action to watch. Branch awards recognized Heights-Hillcrest-Lyndhurst, Median County, wooster, and Youngstown for inclusive programming; Medina County and Wooster for large-branch newsletters, and Heights-Hillcrest-Lyndhurst for mid-size branch newsletters. Starz award went to Wooster; Honors awards were earned by Cleveland, Heights-Hillcrest-Lyndhurst, Medina County and Warren-Trumbull County.
The Southeast District event, Harnessing Personal Power through Financial Decision Making met at Ohio University in Athens, 010 Computer Service Center, 113 Grosvenor St. 
Keynote speaker Michelle Wilson addressed the topic Women’s Socially Responsible Investment. After lunch an intergenerational panel discussion extended the topic and explored how financial decision-making can pair with gender equity and women’s empowerment.
District Event Dates and Coordinators
Central District Event March 16, 2019 Coordinator, Jo Glenaman
Northeast District Event April 27, 2019 Contact, Leah Sakacs
Northwest District Event March 2, 2019 Coordinator, Michelle Radtkin
Southeast District Event postponed Co-coordinators: Marlene De La Cruz and Tara Stowe
Southwest District Event March 23, 2019 Co-coordinators: Elaine Nishwitz and Carolyn Smith