ERIE PRESSIBLE

March 2020

Council of Women’s Organiza-tions sets Fun Night Out

See page 5 See page 2

Local opiate issues are topic

of March branch meeting

Opiate Issues in Our Community: A Phar-macist's Perspective, will be the topic of our March branch meet-ing.

The event will be held Saturday, March 14, at 100 State Street, in the room on the west side of the lobby.

The presentation be-gins at 10:30 a.m. The speaker will be Dr. Re-becca Miller Wise, a board certified geriat-ric pharmacist working

as the clinical adminis-trator for the LECOM Center for Health and Aging. She is also an associate professor for the LECOM School of Pharmacy. She over-sees management of

outpatient medications in LECOM's properties, home health, and hos-pice. She also over-sees the annual flu campaign which pro-vides more than 5000 vaccinations in our ar-ea each year.

Lastly, she also serves on the board of direc-tors for the Erie Chap-ter of the American Heart Association and is a Leader for BSA Troop 104G.

Niken Astari Carpenter to be

recognized by Mercy Center Immediate past president Niken Astari-Carpenter will be recognized with the Women Making History award from the Mercy Center for Women on Wednesday, March 4.

The Reception/Ceremony will be held at 7 p.m. at the Mer-cyhurst University’s Performing Arts Center.

It would be wonderful to have a sizable group from our branch!

Dr. Rebecca Miller Wise

Branch to provide more

scholarships for local students

Niken Astari-Carpenter

Christy Rieger to participate in panel at

AAUW State convention

Branch President Christy Rieg-er will participate in a panel discussion to be held at the AAUW State convention in April.

It has been many years since our Branch has been featured at the state level. Organizers of this year’s convention plan to showcase suffrage events around the state which re-quired community collabora-tion.

Rieger will discuss our Octo-ber meeting, which was a joint effort by our branch, the League of Women Voters, and Gannon University.

The presenter, Jennifer Masa-rik, highlighted how various reform movements shaped the campaign for women’s suffrage.

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President's Message

President's Report

We enter an exciting March (Women’s History month) this year. I have been asked to participate in a panel at the April AAUW State convention. There, I will discuss our October presentation by Jennifer Masarik on how various reform movements shaped the campaign for women’s suffrage. The organizers of the state convention will showcase suffrage events that required community collaboration. Our event certainly fits the bill, as it was a joint effort from our branch, the League of Women Voters, and Gannon University.

On another note, the Keystoner, the newsletter of AAUW-Pennsylvania, had a very interesting article on implicit bias.

Implicit bias is a form of stereotyping that can be difficult to detect. It means making unconscious assumptions about another based on age, weight, gender, race, social class, etc.

Does implicit bias shape our responses to others? We can take Project Implicit surveys developed at Harvard University to find out: https://implicit.harvard.edu/implicit/.

Erie Pressible March 2020

Christy Rieger

Study group ideas sought Do you have a passion, hobby or special interest you are willing to share with other AAUW mem-bers? If so, please consider offering it as a study group option for consid-eration. Include a brief statement of purpose, schedule of meeting times, place and your contact information and send to me at Janice Showler <upenn92@verizon.net> with a copy to Christy Rieger, crieg-er@mercyhurst.edu .

Focus on prehistoric Erie About fifteen members and their guests braved the snowy conditions of Satur-day, Feb. 8, to attend our branch meet-ing.

We were rewarded with a fascinating talk on prehistoric Erie delivered by Scott McKenzie, an assistant professor and Paleontology Director at Mercyhurst Uni-versity. Mr. McKenzie showed photo-graphs of important fossils found in the Erie area, many of which he acquired from a Mr. Armstrong Miller, a collector in the region. The lecture also showed how many of our modern plants and animals adapted. For instance, our own honey locust tree has spikes located only on its lower portions. Scientists now theorize that these spikes forced the woolly mammoth of our region to select seed pods located on upper branches. After the mammoth disseminated the pod seeds in its dung, new trees would take root. It is one of the molars of these giant mammoths, found at Presque Isle Beach 4, that recently called the previously estimated age of Presque Isle into question. The jaguar, 30 percent larger than those we know today, was another native animal preva-lent at the end of the last Ice Age. Mr. McKenzie closed his talk by noting that many amateur naturalists make major discoveries, adding "the next big find could by made by YOU!"

Branch to provide more scholarships $12,000 in scholarship funds available The Erie Branch of the American Association of University Women will award up to $12,000 in scholarships this year to qualified women who are full or part-time non-traditional students enrolled in a baccalaureate degree program accredited by the Middle Atlantic States Association.

Branch president Christy Rieger spoke about the availability of the funds on WICU 12 TV with anchor Eva Mastromatteo on Feb. 20.

Last year we gave three $3,000 scholarships to highly qualified applicants. The applications are due Monday, March 27, and application materials are on our website. The recipients will be recognized at the AAUW Erie Branch annu-al dinner in May.

The money for these scholarships comes from the Adella B. Woods fund, the fundraising event Lunch and Literature, contributions from the Erie Founda-tion, the funds raised on Erie Gives Day and an anonymous donation of $5,000. All of these helped us to increase the amount for each scholarship this year and are immensely appreciated. The AAUW Scholarship Committee has developed a screening system to select the best applicants based on their qualifications, financial situation, career projection and future contributions to society. The members of this Committee are Asuman Baskan, Marjorie Po-dolsky, Sarah Larson, Edie Cultu and the Chair, Soledad Traverso. The com-mittee encourages all branch members to pass the word and refer any poten-tial recipients to the committee for specific information on the application pro-cess. It is very rewarding for the Committee to work on behalf of the AAUW Erie Branch to help women who are non-traditional students and who make such an effort to finish their education. At the same time, it is overwhelming when you see that there is so much need for these scholarships, and you wish you could help all applicants. Soledad Traverso

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AAUW Erie Branch

Officers

President

Christy Rieger

President-Elect

Asuman Baskan

Membership

Asuman Baskan

Membership VP-Elect

Ammarah Asad

Program

Candy Brown

Secretary

Susan Dabrant

Finance Officer

Beverly Gocal

Public Information Officer

Loretto Bellicini

Public Policy

By-Laws & Parliamentarian

Corrine Egan

Committee Chairs

Diversity

Edie Cultu

Investments

Barbara Hutzelman

Pressible Editor & Circulation

Claudia Mosso

Records Management

Christy Rieger

Scholarships

Soledad Traverso

Scholarship Fundraiser

Sarah Larson

Social Media/ Publicity

Niken Astari Carpenter

Yearbook

Loretto Bellicini

Erie Pressible March 2020

Pam Biroscak, (left) volunteer coordinator for Erie DAWN, and a member of our branch, facilitates discussion during her recent presentation to the Connections study group. Barb Althof and Margaret Atkin were among those who attended.

Connections hosts presentation on Erie DAWN Erie DAWN, founded in 1995 to provide safe, affordable housing and support services for women working to attain self-sufficiency and permanent housing for themselves and their children. The agency, a collaboration of the Sisters of St. Benedict, Sisters of Mercy and Sisters of St. Joseph, has developed relationships with Erie landlords and other agencies to assist those referred to them. Enrichment and youth activities are offered as well.

Loretto Bellicini, Kitty Beaver and Kitty Felion are among those who enjoyed the presentation.

Heard around the Branch …

Judy Lawrence is currently undergoing medical treatment and would be hap-py to receive cards at home. She is requesting no calls be made.

Kitty Felion will celebrate her 95th birthday in March.

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Study Groups 2019-2020

Living a Purpose Driven Life The group will meet again in April.

Pop-Up Events

Gatherings will be determined as interesting events “pop up.”

Erie Pressible March 2020

March 2020

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5 Book Discus-

sion 1 p.m. Re-

gency South

Shore

6 7

8 9 10 11 Int. Bridge

9:30 a.m.

Location TBA

12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 Connections

1:30 - 3:30

p.m. Ridge Cen-

ter Cafe

23 Global

Friends 7 p.m.

638 Vermont

24 25 Int. Bridge

9:30 a.m.

Location TBA

26 27 Gourmet

5:30 p.m.

Shoreline

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29 30 31

Book Discussion

The Book Discussion group will meet on Thurs-day, March 5, from 1 until 2:30 p.m. at the Re-gency South Shore. Michelle will review China Dolls by Lisa See. If you cannot attend, please notify Sarah Larson at sarahellenlarson@gmail.com or 866-5271.

Connections

Connections will meet Sunday, March 22, at the Tom Ridge Environmental Center’s Sunset Café. Kitty Felion will be honored on the occasion of her 95th birthday.

Please call Kitty, 866-0900, to make a reserva-tion. She will not be able to call the member-ship.

Global Friends

Global Friends will meet Monday, March 23, at 7 p.m. at Edie’s home, 638 Vermont Ave. The pro-gram: 100 Year Anniversary of Women’s Suf-frage, given by Lori Dolan.

Gourmet

Gourmet will meet at the Shoreline Bar and Grill,

Sassafras Pier, inside Courtyard by Marriott, Erie Bayfront at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, March 27. The restaurant overlooking Lake Erie features Ameri-can dishes made of fresh regional ingredients.

Please make your reservation by contacting Loretto Bellicini at Loretto.bellicini1@gmail.com or by calling 814-449-8839.

Intermediate Bridge

The AAUW bridge games will resume playing on the 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of the month, at 9:30 a.m. Location: TBD

RSVP and questions: Dot Negro at djn5530@gmail.com or 814-833-2462.

5 Erie Pressible March 2020

Council of Women’s Organizations

A Fun Night Out! Women’s History Month Celebration

Monday, March 30, 2020 | 5:30-7:30 p.m. at Bel-Aire Clarion Hotel & Conference Center 2800 W 8th St, Erie, PA 16505

$20/ticket pre-purchase | $25 at the door Don’t miss out on: wonderful appetizers and finger foods, cash bar, door prizes, networking and celebrating the 100th anniversary of the 19th

Amendment with fabulous women* leaders from our community, and much more!**

*Please note: all genders are most welcome at this happy hour celebration! **Questions about the event? Contact Mary Ann Little at ma.little@verizon.net

For ticket reservations: Please fill out this form and send to: Mary Ann Little 5426 Lake Shore Drive Erie, PA 16506 Checks payable to: CWO

Name: _____________________________________________________ Phone Number: _____________________________________________ Email: _____________________________________________________ # of Tickets: ______ x $20/ticket = $____________________ enclosed

Payment due by March 23, 2020

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P.O. Box 9264 Erie PA 16505

AAUW’s Mission

AAUW advances equity for women and

girls through education, philanthropy,

and research. By joining AAUW you be-

long to a community that breaks through

educational and economic barriers so

that all women have a fair chance. In

principle and in practice AAUW values

and seeks a diverse membership. There

shall be no barriers to full participation

in the organization on the basis of gen-

der, race, creed, age, sexual orientation,

national origin, disability or class.

Published by: American Association of University Women—Erie Branch, Inc.

Branch email: eriebranchaauw@gmail.com

Editor email: eriepressible@gmail.com

Facebook: @AAUWEriePA http://www.aauwerie.org