Meeting Minutes

 


LaPalma-Cerritos AAUW Administrator, Treasurer and Secretary

La Palma-Cerritos AAUW
Board Meeting Minutes
September 4, 2025

  1. Call to Order

Administrator Celia Spitzer called the informal meeting to order at her home at 2:05pm.

Attendance:    Marilyn Forsstrom, Joan Pylman, Celia Spitzer, Chris Taxier

  1. The Minutes for the January 6, 2025 Board Meeting were distributed and read. Marilyn moved that the minutes be approved, and Chris seconded the motion. The minutes were approved as submitted.
  2. The Treasurer’s Report dated June 30, 2025 was accepted as submitted.

Branch Account:  $7,781.19

The proposed Annual Budget for 2025-2026 was distributed and discussed.  Three categories were removed:  Cerritos College Display, LACIC, and Leadership Training.

Joan presented an idea on how to recruit new members at Cerritos College.  She suggested using budget funds from three categories (Public Information, University/College Relations, and Miscellaneous) in order to pay for ads targeting students in the college newspaper. She also suggested that flyers be put up in faculty lounges.

  1. Program

September 25 Program will include informational presentations by the various chairs, facilitated  by Celia. Prepared salads, pizza, lasagna and dessert will be brought in for the kickoff.  All meetings will be held at the ABC USD Adult School Cabrillo Lane site.

October 16 Program will feature Tech Trek alumnae, facilitated by Edna Ethington and Celia.  Nine of the sixteen Tech Trek alumnae were contacted to participate in this program.

November 20 Program will feature the topic of Book Banning.  A speaker recommended by Tobi Balma will be presenting, with Faith Herschler facilitating the program.

January 15, 2026 Program will feature the speaker Jodi Balma who will address the current White House/ Administration in its attempt to rewrite history.

December 20 Holiday Party will be held at the Niederman’s home.

  1. Fund

Gail Ross will arrange for dine out fundraisers.

  1. Academic Achievement Awards

Joan Pylman reported that two Cerritos College recipients received awards of $1,500 each, for a total of $3,000.  This was based on $3,550 being sent from our AAUW Fund to National in 2024. Both recipients were “continuing” students this last spring.

Joan reviewed the requirements mandated prior to the students receiving their awards. In the spring, each student must send a copy of her acceptance letter to the college. Then her enrollment in classes must be verified before the “drop date” in the fall. When these two requirements are met, then Joan forwards that information to Marilyn who then releases the funds to the recipients.

For 2026, we are limited to $2,350 for student awards. This is based on what our branch sent from our AAUW Fund to National in 2025.  If we were to select two recipients, this would mean about $1,175 per student.

  1. AAUW Five Star Recognition
Celia reported that during the summer, she filled out an annual branch survey. Based on those results, recently Celia received an email from Tremaine Parquet that our branch has been awarded Four Stars out of the Five Stars possible!
  1. City of Cerritos Meeting Notices will no longer be available in printed editions. Furthermore, the digital versions will no longer include any community groups, including our branch of AAUW.
  1. Adjournment

The meeting was adjourned at 5:00 pm.

Respectfully submitted,
Christine Taxier, Secretary

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La Palma-Cerritos AAUW
General Meeting Minutes
October 16, 2025

  1. Call to Order

Administrator Celia Spitzer called the meeting to order at 7:00 pm in the auditorium of the ABC USD Adult School Cabrillo Lane site.

Attendance:  25 (including 6 guests for Tech Trek)

Starting at 6:30 pm, attendees had social time. Ceci Borja-VanZitter provided decorations and snacks. Joan Pylman greeted members and guests at the door with name tags and sign-in sheets.

  1. Minutes for the September 25 General Meeting were passed around on a clipboard, and three signatures were obtained to approve them.
  2. Treasurer’s Reports were accepted as submitted.

Branch Account                      $6,439.54

Fund Account                         $1,351.26

 

  1. Reports

Public Policy

Sondra Cohen encouraged members to attend the “No Kings” Day events on Saturday, October 18, at various locations, of which AAUW is an official partner.

Fund

Gail Ross reported on the recent Dine-out Fundraiser at the Fish Grill in Cerritos, with $106.11 donation being made to our branch.

Fund – State Information

Tobi Balma reported that Rebecca Wells was the most recent recipient of the Gloria Scanlon Research & Projects Grant. She is working on a career development fellowship. Because of a lack of businesswomen in the work force, she is working toward her Accounting Degree.  Her goal is to help women in her community.  As of yesterday, the situation for the AAUW international fellows is now straightened out with the federal government and awards will be made.

If our branch wants to invite a fellow to come to speak to us, there is a $100 honorarium involved, as well as mileage, and possibly meals and overnight accommodations.  The list of fellows will soon be on the AAUW-CA website.  Currently, there are 19 fellows studying in the State of California.

Academic Achievement Awards

Joan Pylman asked for volunteers to serve on the committee to select the award recipients.

Regarding Proposition 50, Joan remarked that ballots should be mailed BEFORE election day.

  1. Program – Tech Trek Alumnae

After briefly describing the work that she and Edna Ethington had done to contact the former Tech Trek girls, Celia introduced the two alumnae who were able to attend in person:  Julianna Castellon and Kristen Valmidiano. She presented the questions that were asked of each alumna:

  1. Where did you attend high school and in what year did you graduate?
  2. What STEM classes did you take/are you taking in high school?
  3. Were you involved in any extracurricular or leadership activities in high school, and if so, what?
  4. What college are you attending, and what is your major, if you have decided?
  5. How has attending Tech Trek influenced your educational decisions?
  6. What do you hope to do after graduating from college?

Eight former Tech Trek students participated in the program, six who had emailed written responses, since they were unable to attend, and two who presented in person.  Their presentations were delivered in chronological order, starting with one of the 2017 attendees and continuing through a 2022 alumna.  Branch members who served on the selection committee over the years read the written replies.

  1. Naima Dellawar (2017 – Ross MS) is a senior at Stanford University majoring in Psychology, with a minor in Comparative Studies in Race and Ethnicity. She plans to go to law school and become an attorney to help marginalized communities and work for equity in educational institutions.
  2. Ariana Munoz-Austin (2018 – Ross MS) is a junior at UCLA majoring in Physiological Science with a minor in African American Studies. She is on a Pre-Med track to be a physician.
  3. Edrianna Simbol (2018 – Ross MS) after attending Cypress College for a year, is in her second year at West Coast University in Orange County pursuing a BS in Nursing to become a Registered Nurse primarily in the ER or ICU. She plans to eventually return to school to get her Master’s in Nursing, with an ultimate goal of becoming a Nurse Practitioner.
  4. Hannah Hughes (2019 – Walker Jr. High School) is in her second year at Fullerton College. Her major is Musical Theater and she dreams about singing on Broadway and teaching music.
  5. Hannah Redoblado (2019 – Fedde MS) is a sophomore at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo majoring in Mechanical Engineering. She wants to be a project manager designing prototypes or in construction designing structures.
  6. Sophia Chicas (2021 – Walker Jr. High School) is a freshman at Oregon State University with a major in Construction Engineering Management with the intent to go into heavy civil construction, possibly in El Salvador to rebuild structures that were damaged during its Civil War.
  7. Julianna Castellon (2021 – Haskell MS) is a freshman at Cal State University Long Beach. She has not decided on a major yet but is thinking about Mechanical Engineering. She also stated an interest in aviation and possibly building airplanes.  (in person)
  8. Kristen Valmidiano (2022 – Walker Jr. High School) is a junior at Kennedy High School in La Palma. Currently, she is taking IB, Honors and AP classes and plans to have dual enrollment at Cypress College next year.  She hopes to study abroad or out of state for college.  Her goal is to become a nurse practitioner or a doctor and work with children or older adults with a focus on their struggles with environmental and health conditions.  (in person)

The alumnae expressed their appreciation to our branch for making Tech Trek available to them as well as other rising eighth grade girls. After the presentations, Celia introduced the families of Julianna and Kristen.

  1. Interest Groups

GOURMET – Joan Flax wanted to confirm that all the Gourmet members had received the recipes and rotations via email.

GREAT DECISIONS – Dorothy Edwards announced that the next meeting will be at 3pm on Wednesday, October 21. For those intending to continue in January, there will be a $35 fee per person.

  1. Open Positions

A volunteer is needed to be a greeter for our monthly meetings to oversee the sign-ins, name tags, and welcoming of guests. Celia thanked Joan Pylman for filling this role this evening.

Volunteers are also needed for International Relations and to help organize a Fund Luncheon for next February.

  1. Announcements
    Our next general meeting will be on Thursday, November 20, 2025 at the Cabrillo Lane Adult School auditorium with social gathering at 6:30 pm and the meeting starting at 7:00 pm. Faith Herschler is facilitating the meeting about Book Banning.   The speaker will be Leslie Criswell, a retired attorney and a member of the Palos Verdes and Beach Cities AAUW branches.

Joan Flax will have a jewelry fundraiser on Sunday, November 9, with AAUW Fund receiving some of the proceeds.

Celia recognized the birthdays of AAUW members this month.

  1. Adjournment
    The meeting was adjourned at 8:26 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Taxier, Secretary

Note:  These minutes have not yet been approved.

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La Palma-Cerritos AAUW
Planning Meeting
June 19, 2025

  1. Lunch

At noon, incoming Branch Administrator Celia Spitzer welcomed the many branch members in attendance at the planning meeting for the 2025-26 AAUW year at the Cabrillo Lane ABCUSD Adult School site.  She invited everyone to enjoy the lunch of pinwheel sandwiches, various salads, fruit, rolls, cookies and beverages that were coordinated by Chris, Marilyn and Celia.  Hospitality Chair Ceci brought the paper goods the like.  The meeting began at 12:40 pm.

  1. Recognition of Harriet Moses

Celia thanked Harriet for serving as our branch Administrator this last year. Then Marilyn Forsstrom announced that, in recognition of Harriet’s service, a donation was made to the fund of Harriet’s choice – Academic Achievement Awards.

  1. Installation of New Administrator

An acknowledgement was made that Marilyn Forsstrom and Chris Taxier are continuing to serve in their roles as Treasurer and Secretary. Then Celia was asked by Marilyn if she would accept the responsibilities as our new Administrator, and she said that she would.

BRANCH OFFICERS for 2025-2026

Elected Officers

Administrator:  Celia Spitzer
Secretary:  Chris Taxier
Treasurer:  Marilyn Forsstrom

  1. Distribution of Agenda, Calendar and Folders (with paper for notes)

Celia reviewed the schedule for future board meetings, which will include Administrator, Secretary, Treasurer and the facilitators for the upcoming general meetings. Board meetings will be held the first Thursday of September and probably in January and March.

  1. Attendance at Planning Meeting (17)

Judi Adams,  Edna Ethington,  Cathy Niederman, Esther Aronson ,  Joan Flax,  Joan Pylman, Ceci Borja-VanZitter, Marilyn Forsstrom, Gail Ross, Sue Carruthers , Faith Herschle, Celia Spitzer, Sondra Cohen , Diane Merrick, Chris Taxier, Karen Cox, Harriet Moses

Celia commented that of our approximate branch membership of 28, we have more than half of our membership in attendance today.

  1. Treasurer’s Reports dated June 19, 2025:

General Account:  $7,409.05
Academic Awards:  $3,780.83
AAUW Fund Account:  $998.73

Marilyn pointed out that the Academic Achievement Awards fund appears under the umbrella of the General Account.  Aside from the Academic Award monies, the unrestricted balance of the General Account would be $3,628.22.

  1. Focus, Direction and Big Picture

Celia led a discussion on what we hope to accomplish over this next year and on the future of our branch, including ideas about what to add, discontinue, and keep the same.

One suggestion was to have more interaction with students in a mentoring or support capacity.  Reference was made to a past reading program with students at Wittmann Elementary School.  Also suggested was tutoring students in math or in foreign languages.  It was pointed out that to volunteer our skills in classrooms now requires background checks.  Members expressed an interest in these suggestions.   Faith Herschler offered to explore this possibility and to write an article for our newsletter on this topic.

Members supported continuing fundraising for the AAUW Fund, specifically with the dine-out events.  Members also wanted to continue supporting the Academic Achievement Awards Fund.

Marilyn commented that once the $3,000 that has already been earmarked for two recipients this fall is gone, we will have about $781 left in the Academic Achievements Awards Fund.  Joan Pylman commented that we need at least $1,000 to make an award significant for the recipient. Marilyn reminded us that the AAA amount cannot exceed what we give to the AAUW Fund during the year.

Members expressed an interest in continuing support for the Falcon’s Nest at Cerritos Community College.  Joan Pylman said that she could be the contact person for this project and would also write an article for our newsletter about it.

Another suggestion was to recruit new members for our branch. We had a discussion about why many of our current members had joined this branch in the past – citing social reasons while raising young children. But currently many young people join organizations for professional reasons.  AAUW’s mission is not focused in that direction.  However, we could focus on retaining membership, a more practical priority.

In order to make us aware of what’s at stake for our branch, Celia reminded us that we need volunteers for the Administrator position next year in order for our branch to continue. Over the last few years, the responsibilities of leadership have been considerably lightened by changing from having a president to having an administrator.  That position has less responsibility.

  1. Program Ideas – Brainstorming

Although our bylaws require only five meetings, it was decided to plan for seven. September would still be an introductory meeting for the year, including interest group descriptions.  If we decide to have a potluck, we would need a location other than the ABC Adult School.  If we decide to bring in prepared foods, we could hold the meeting at Cabrillo Lane Adult School.  Most attendees stated that either plan was okay.

After brainstorming, attendees selected the ideas that were of most interest to them by using sticker dots.  Each person was given 15 sticker dots and could put all on one idea or split them up in any way.  There were 17 suggestions. The following is the ranking of the top seven program ideas:

1 – Book Banning and History Erasing
(26 votes) Possibly Jodi Balma as speaker and Faith Herschler as facilitator

2 – Games Night
(20 votes) Thea Siegel as facilitator

3 – Author (or panel of authors) as a meeting, or with Catered Lunch As Fundraiser
(19 votes)  Faith Herschler and Karen Cox as facilitators

4 – Tech Trek Alumni Panel
(17 votes) Edna Ethington and Celia Spitzer as facilitators

5 – Safety in the Home  (police, fire, …)
 (17 votes) Need facilitator

6 – Women’s History Month – lesser known women
(15 votes) ChrisTaxier as facilitator

7 –  Artificial Intelligence –related to use in schools
(11 votes) Need facilitator

  1. Break (10 minutes)
  1. Discussion of chair roles for 2025-2026

Membership – We need new sign-in sheets and volunteers to welcome guests to the general meeting.

AAUW Fund – Gail Ross will continue to facilitate dine-out fundraisers.

Academic Achievement Awards – Pending fundraising success, Joan Pylman will organize committee selection for recipients of the Awards.

College/University Relations – Tobi Balma

International Relations – OPEN

Public Policy – Sondra Cohen will continue to keep us aware of legislation and public policy issues.

Publicity – Edna Ethington will write informational articles and take pictures for local publications.

Hospitality – Ceci Borja-VanZitter will continue providing refreshments.

Newsletter – Marilyn Forsstrom will continue posting monthly articles from the Administrator, Public Policy Chair, and the program facilitator for the next two months.

Telephone Tree – Sue Carruthers and Patricia McClelland will continue to phone reminders of upcoming meetings and events to those who requested it.

INTEREST GROUPS for 2025-2026

Cover to Cover               Thea Siegel
Gourmet                          Joan Flax
Great Decisions             Dorothy Edwards
Readers Theater            Esther Aronson       (would like more members)

  1. Honorary Life Members

Current Honorary Life Members are:   Sondra Cohen, Mary Ann Quinn, Tobi Balma, Thea Siegel, and Dorothy Edwards.  Next year Joan Flax and Celia Spitzer will join the list.

  1. End of Meeting

Celia thanked everyone for coming and helping to keep our branch alive.

The meeting ended at 3:55 pm.

Respectfully submitted,

Christine Taxier, Secretary