2022 – 2023 Season
October 12, 2022
Welcome Back Dinner
- Bertucci’s, 45 Walkers Brook Drive, Reading
November 9, 2022
Home, My Story of House and Personal Restoration: a Memoir – M.G. Barlow, Author
- Book Talk in person with local author, M.G. BarlowM.G. Barlow is a Chelmsford native and will be joining us to talk about her book, Home, published in 2021, braids the history of a New England house and town with teachings of motherhood, loss and tradition—plus a little romance and humor along the way.
December 14, 2022
Soapmaking with Bretta Norton
- Soapmaking – it’s chemistry crafting at home! Bretta will be giving us a presentation about how easy it is to make your own cold-process bar soap, even for someone who hasn’t extensively studied any chemistry. The discussion will cover each of the following topics: required tools, general chemical compounds, process, ingredient considerations and recipe development, safety, and creative touches.
January 11, 2023
Follow Your Art – Presentation by Kris Rodolico
- We are privileged to have Kris Rodolico, the visionary behind Melrose’s, Follow Your Art Community Studios (FYA), where she is both founder and Executive Director. She is a woman for all seasons and has brought that to bear in her FYA programs where ‘art’ is broadly defined. It includes visual arts, craft, writing, and performance. Kris will talk about FYA, let us in on some of the secrets of the fine arts world, and give some tips to enhance our own attempts to create. So come and try your hand at joining the world of creativity.
February 8, 2023 via ZOOM
“Nothing But The Blood: The Story of the Apostolic Singer of Miami” – A Documentary, discussion to follow
- Nothing but the Blood: The Story of the Apostolic Singers of Miami. The film documents the gospel group’s late 1991 first recording session – though, by then, they’d been performing together for more than 40 years. This documentary, which won ‘Best Music Documentary’ at the 2022 Downtown Los Angeles Film Festival, was directed by Carmen Lundy. She is also an accomplished jazz singer / songwriter (with 2 Grammy nominations), actress, and artist. Carmen Lundy has a family connection to the Apostolic Singers of Miami. The group, originally called a choir, was established in the early 1950’s by her grandfather. Her mother was one of the lead singers, and several aunts and cousins were also members. During the meeting we will discuss the film with Carmen Lundy herself joining us on Zoom to answer questions. Carmen’s Aunt Charlotte, a pianist, living in Boston, and a former member of the group, will also join in. How lucky we are!
March 8, 2023
Melrose Veterans Services – Presentation by Rose Trifoni Mazzuchelli
- Rose Trifoni Mazzuchelli, Veterans Services Director in Melrose, brings her expertise to ourmeeting. Having served in the Army from 1979 to 2001, she has served as a military police officer, a special agent, and was named Winthrop’s first female veterans services officer, as well as Winthrop’ s Woman of the Year. Melrose Veterans Services is part of the Melrose-Wakefield-Saugus (MWS) Veterans Services District. In her position in Melrose, Trifoni-Mazzuchelli is leading a series of veterans food bank events for Melrose, Saugus, and Wakefield. She helps veterans navigate social welfare programs, financial benefits, and eligibility requirements for employment assistance. She also assists veterans by connecting them to various other appropriate services.
April 12, 2023
TBD
May 10, 2023
TBD
2020 – 2021 Season
October 21, 2020
Welcome Back ZOOM Dessert
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online – Virtual dessert making (ingredients hand delivered pre-meeting)
November 11, 2020
“Mary Livermore – 200th birthday celebration and centennial of the 19th amendment” – Presentation by Vanessa Hale
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
December 9, 2020
“Essex, England: Home of the Mayflower” – Presentation by Linda MacIver
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
January 13, 2021
“Reframing Local History in White Suburbs where Black Lives Matter” – Presentation by Jim Bennett
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
- SPECIAL EVENT – Sunday, February 7, 2020, 12PM – ZOOM Super Bowl Brunch
February 10, 2021
Hear all about Kathe’s comedic journey as she ‘entertains us’! – Comedy presentation by Kathe Feeney Farris
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
March 10, 2021
Whitelam Books in Reading, MA – Owner Liz Whitelam will be speaking of strategies for staying in business during the Covid pandemic.
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
April 14, 2021
“Suffragettes in Corselettes” – a program presented by mother/daughter team – ‘Grounded Goodwife‘.
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
May 12, 2021
We hope to feature former scholarship winners bringing us up to date on where their studies have taken them.
- ZOOM Virtual Meeting Online
2019-20 Season
October 9, 2019
Welcome Back Dinner
Public Kitchen, 397 Main St., Wakefield
November 13, 2019
Current Events with Joan Vennochi, Boston Globe Columnist
December 11, 2019
“100 Women Who Care – Boston North” – Presentation by Deborah Higgins
- This is a members-only circle of philanthropic women dedicated to amplifying the awareness and support of deserving non-profits in the local area.
January 8, 2020
Nutrition and Wellness – Jacquelyn Burke from Lavallee Wellness, Registered Dietician
- SPECIAL EVENT – Sunday, February 2, 2020, 12PM Super Bowl Brunch at Mary Pat DeSwarte’s
February 12, 2020
Our bi-annual Goods & Services Auction night to benefit various AAUW Funds and Foundations.
March 11, 2020
Whitelam Books in Reading, MA – Owner Liz Whitelam will discuss the challenge of being a small business owner in the era of large corporate booksellers.
- SPECIAL EVENTS – March 17,18,19: Potluck Dinners
April 8, 2020
Susan B. Anthony, Women’s Rights Activist – Presented by Sheryl Faye, Historical Women Performer
May 13, 2020
“The Beantown Girls” – Jane Healey, Author and Speaker This is her lastest historical fiction novel
- SPECIAL EVENT June 2020, Date and Program TBD – Boston Pops Outing
2017-18 Season
List of programs, officers, and refreshment committees as of November 14, 2017
AAUW programming 2017-18 as of 11-14-17 (no May)
2016-17 Season
October 12, 2016
Welcome Back Dinner
Bertucci’s, 45 Walkers Brook Drive, Reading
- President, Secretary: Patti Henni, Maureen Hatch
November 9, 2016
Travel Destination: Dharamshala, India; Jaya Tripathi
- President, Secretary: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Nancy McLellan
- Hostesses: Alison Burke, Susan Murray
- Committee: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Patti Henni, Maureen Hatch, Nancy McLellan
December 14, 2016
A History of Boston in 50 Objects, Joe Bagley AND Bake and Craft Sale to benefit Scholarship Fund
- President, Secretary: Alison Burke, Susan Murray
- Hostesses: Ursula Daley, Regina Lucas
- Committee: Gail Infurna, Joyce Zeiner
January 11, 2017
Bikes, Not Bombs
- President, Secretary: Pat McConville, Susan Bishop
- Hostesses: Alison Burke, Annalise Anderson
- Committee: Susan Dole, Ruth Conti
SPECIAL EVENT Sunday, February 5, 2017, 12PM
Super Bowl Brunch at Mary Pat DeSwarte’s
February 8, 2017
Women’s Health & Wellness, Ginger Verge
- President, Secretary: Regina Lucas, Judy Clark
- Hostesses: Monique Barnum, Karen Gareis
- Committee: Jackie Coogan, Karen O’Connell
March 8, 2017
Movie Night, “50 Children: The Rescue Mission of Mr. & Mrs. Krause
- President, Secretary: Karen Gareis, Karen O’Connell
- Hostesses: Judy Clark, Susan Bishop
- Committee: Virginia Luscinski, Mary Lou Newbern
SPECIAL EVENTS
Monday, March 13: Potluck Dinner at Patti Henni’s
Tuesday, March 14 OR 16: Potluck Dinner at Gail Infurna’s
April 12, 2017
Goods & Services Auction to Benefit Various AAUW Funds & Foundations
- President, Secretary: Jackie Coogan, Angela Singer
- Hostesses: Kendra Nedjar, Tamara Nedjar
- Committee: Phyllis Blacklock, Adele Maciejowski
May 10, 2017
Program TBD
- President, Secretary: TBD
- Hostesses: Pat McConville, Angela Singer
- Committee: Edna Beaton, Doris DeAmicis, Lorna Philley
SPECIAL EVENT June 2017, Date TBD
Boston Pops Outing; Program TBD; contact Joyce Zeiner for more information
2015-16 Season
October 14
Welcome Back Dinner
LOCATION CHANGE: Fusilli’s Cucina, 107 Main Street, Reading
- President, Secretary: Patti Henni, Maureen Hatch
November 11
Hiking the 500-Mile Camino De Santiago, Theresa Fersch
- President, Secretary: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Nancy McLellan
- Hostesses: Alison Burke, Susan Murray
- Committee: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Patti Henni, Maureen Hatch
December 9
Dance Performance by students of the O’Shea-Chaplin Academy of Irish Dance & Bake and Craft Sale to benefit the Scholarship Fund
- President, Secretary: Joyce Zeiner, Angela Singer
- Hostesses: Kendra Nedjar, Gail Infurna
- Committee: Annalise Conti, Monique Barnum
January 13
Backyard Chickens 101, Khrysti Smyth, “The Chickeness”
- President, Secretary: Pat McConville, Susan Bishop
- Hostesses: Lorna Philley, Karen O’Connell
- Committee: Mary Lou Newbern, Joyce Zeiner, Jackie Coogan
SPECIAL EVENT Sunday, February 7, 12PM
Super Bowl/Valentine’s Brunch at Mary Pat DeSwarte’s
February 10
Women’s Heart Health, Ginger Verge
LOCATION CHANGE: Perkins Lecture Hall, Melrose-Wakefield Hospital (map here)
- President, Secretary: Jackie Coogan, Judy Clark
- Hostesses: Connie Lewis, Regina Lucas
- Committee: Alanna Nelson, Angela Singer, Ursula Daley
March 9
Movie Night, Top Secret Rosies: The Female “Computers” of WWII
LOCATION CHANGE: Windsor at Oak Grove Clubhouse, 12 Island Hill Avenue (across from Pine Banks)
- President, Secretary: Karen O’Connell, Ursula Daley
- Hostesses: Susan Dole, Ruth Conti
- Committee: Nancy McLellan, Karen Gareis
SPECIAL EVENTS
Monday, March 14: Potluck Dinner at Patti Henni’s
Tuesday, March 15: Potluck Dinner at Gail Infurna’s
April 13
Guiding Eyes for the Blind, NH Region Chapter, Trainers & Puppy Trainees
- President, Secretary: Karen Gareis, Alanna Nelson
- Hostesses: Phyllis Blacklock, Pat McConville
- Committee: Jan Crafts, Adele Maciejowski, Althea Brown
May 11
The Great American Songbook, Patricia Perry, Living History Interpreter
- President, Secretary: Alison Burke, Karen O’Connell
- Hostesses: Edna Beaton, Susan Bishop
- Committee: Judy Clark, Doris DeAmicis
SPECIAL EVENT Thursday, June 16
Boston Pops, “Best of Broadway” with Keith Lockhart; contact Joyce Zeiner for more information
2014-15 Season
NOT POSTED
2013-14 Season
October 9, 2013
Welcome Back Reception
- President, Secretary: Patti Henni, Maureen Hatch
November 13, 2013
Joseph R. Gallo, Jr., author of “Boston Bronze & Stone Speak to Us”
- President, Secretary: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Nancy McLellan
- Hostesses: Nancy McLellan, Mary Pat DeSwarte
- Committee: Susan Eason, Maureen Hatch
December 11, 2013
Musical Performance by Wilmington High students, annual Bake and Craft Sale
- President, Secretary: Susan Eason, Susan Murray
- Hostesses: Alison Burke, Kendra Nedjar
- Committee: Patti Henni, Lorna Philley
January 8, 2014
The Prettiest Places in the Commonwealth, Lynn Hildenbrand, Head of Visitor Services for Middlesex/Essex District of MA State Parks
- President, Secretary: Pat McConville, Judy Clark
- Hostesses: Karen Gareis, Annalise Conti
- Committee: Gail Infurna, Susan Murray
February 12, 2014
Textilelations, Bevery Hinckley, fiber artist and award-winning (retired) Melrose teacher
- President, Secretary: Alison Burke, Monique Barnum
- Hostesses: Ursula Daley, Ruth Conti
- Committee: Judy Clark, Angela Singer
March 12, 2014
Coffee, Tea and Me of Melrose, Owners: Lorenzo and Emily Tenreiro
- President, Secretary: Karen Gareis, Gail Infurna
- Hostesses: Jan Crafts, Connie Lewis
- Committee: Pat McConville, Susan Bishop, Jackie Coogan
April 9, 2014
Movie Night: The Help, directed by Tate Taylor (NOTE LOCATION CHANGE: Oak Grove Village Clubhouse, Main Street, across from Pine Banks)
- President, Secretary: Joyce Zeiner, Ursula Daley
- Hostesses: Monique Barnum, Regina Lucas
- Committee: Edna Beaton, Alanna Nelson, Adele Maciejowski
May 14, 2014
An Evening with Hallie Ephron, Author
- President, Secretary: Karen Gareis, Alison Burke
- Hostesses: Joyce Zeiner, Doris DeAmicis
- Committee: Phyllis Blacklock, Mary Lou Newbern, Susan Dole
2012-13 Season
October 12, 2012
Welcome Back Reception
- President, Secretary: Susan Eason, Maureen Hatch
November 14, 2012
Voices from the Back Stairs: Domestic Servants in 19th and 20th Century New England, Jennifer Pustz, Museum Historian at Historic New England
- President, Secretary: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Judy Clark
- Hostesses: Nancy McLellan, Ruth Conti
- Committee: Mary Pat DeSwarte, Edna Beaton
December 12, 2012
SoundScape: Performance by Wilmington High School’s a cappella group
- President, Secretary: Patti Henni, Nancy McLellan
- Hostesses: Leila Tutela, Kendra Nedjar
- Committee: Patti Henni, Lorna Philley
January 9, 2013
An Evening with Rosie Sultan, author of Helen Keller in Love
- President, Secretary: Pat McConville, Susan Murray
- Hostesses: Karen Gareis, Phyllis Blacklock
- Committee: Gail Infurna, Ursula Daley
February 13, 2013
China Summer Study Tour, Angela Singer, MHS English Teacher and Department Chair
- President, Secretary: Karen Gareis, Gail Infurna
- Hostesses: Pat McConville, Susan Murray
- Committee: Carol McKinley, Virginia Luscinski
March 13, 2013
Movie Night: Iron Lady, directed by Phyllida Lloyd (NOTE LOCATION CHANGE: Oak Grove Village Clubhouse, Main Street, across from Pine Banks)
- President, Secretary: Carol McKinley, Mary Pat DeSwarte
- Hostesses: Monique Barnum, Judy Clark
- Committee: Alison Burke, Annalise Conti
April 10, 2013
Auction to benefit various AAUW Funds and Foundations
- President, Secretary: Alison Burke, Mary Lou Newbern
- Hostesses: Susan Eason, Mary Lou Newbern
- Committee: Doris DeAmicis, Connie Lewis
May 8, 2013
Community Supported Agriculture and Sustainable Farming, Farmer Dave
- President, Secretary: Leila Tutela, Monique Barnum
- Hostesses: Maureen Hatch, Monique Barnum
- Committee: Joyce Zeiner