Membership Programs

2024-2025 Schedule

Poughkeepsie AAUW, Inc.’s General Membership Programs are planned both to fulfill the mission of the Association and to target members’ interests. Detailed information about each program can be found in the monthly newsletter, The Branch.

Questions: Program Co-VPs: Kay Saderholm or Gail Sisti at program.aauw.poughkeepsie@gmail.com

The following programs/meetings and events are free and open to the public.

Meetings are generally held on the second Thursday of the month, either in-person or via ZOOM as indicated below. Please check “The Branch,” your AAUW email, and this website for updates and details as well as links to register for Zoom meetings.

Unless otherwise indicated, IN-PERSON meetings from October-December and March through May are at  the Freedom Plains United Presbyterian Church, 1168 Route 55, LaGrangeville, NY 12540. Directions HERE

January and February meetings will be via ZOOM.

Confirmations are still in process. The schedule will be updated as details are finalized.

Thursday, September 12, 2024 : AAUW Poughkeepsie Open House                                                 7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                      All ongoing, new or deciding members are invited to attend this in-person, annual “Meet and Greet” event for an overview of programs, interest groups and initiatives and all our Branch has to offer.

Thursday, October 10, 2024: “The New York State Equal Rights Amendment”                        Cindy Lanzetta, Board member of the League of Women Voters Mid-Hudson Region/Chair of ERA Task Force                                                                                                                                          7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                       A discussion of the ERA amendment to the NYS constitution on the ballot this November that would prohibit discrimination based on a person’s ethnicity, national origin, age, disability and sex, including their sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy and pregnancy outcomes as well as protect against any government actions that would curtail a person’s reproductive autonomy or access to reproductive health care.                                                                                                                                                                                                       Thursday, November 14, 2024: “Mexico and Dutchess County: We are one Habitat”      Maureen Brennan Lashlee, CEO, Habitat for Humanity of Dutchess County                                         7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                    An oft-heard phrase at Habitat is “You don’t need a hammer to build a home.” This presentation will look at both local and international needs and and key ways to address both.

Thursday, December 11, 2024: “Artificial Intelligence: An Overview”                                                  Jean-Claude Fouéré                                                                                                                                  7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                           This presentation will examine the impact of AI on the economy and our society as well as its moral and ethical considerations. 

Thursday, January 8, 2025: “Credit Where Credit Is Due!”                                                                   Arnie Serotsky 
7:00 pm via Zoom/Registration required                                                                                  Register in advance for this meeting:                                                   https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZUtcO-urjksGNzxx8Lq8nTQa0E6Fi1QNcgK         After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.                                                                                                                                                     This discussion will examine the history and role of 20th century women scientists whose contributions and discoveries were under-recognized.

Thursday, February 12, 2025: “Critical Race Theory” 
7:00 pm via Zoom/ Registration required                                                                                              Jacqueline Goffe-McNish                                                                                                                          CRT (Critical Race Theory), created in 1980, is described as a movement that emerged when minorities developed a race-conscious form of legal criticism that focused on addressing the question of color in American law. This presentation will discuss the true meaning of CRT and its implications for education, and will facilitate an active discussion of the impact on our lives.

Thursday, March 12, 2025: “Mother Jones: A Labor Movement Heroine”                                         7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                        Sandra Opdycke, PhD.                                                                                                                            Relatively little is known about Mary Jones’ early life. But starting in her mid-fifties, and for the next forty years, she devoted herself to supporting strikes and building unions. She covered any number of industries, but her closest attachment was to the nation’s coal-miners, who gave her the name Mother Jones.

Thursday, April 9, 2025: TBD                                                                                                                   7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                   

Thursday, May 8, 2025: TBD
7:00 pm IN-Person                                                                                                                                

Thursday, June 11, 2025: Annual Meeting. Details to follow

General Schedule

Our schedule usually looks like this when we meet in person and we generally follow this approximate schedule for our virtual meetings, as well:

7:00 – 7:30 pm: Welcome from Celia Serotsky, Poughkeepsie Branch AAUW President, and others as scheduled.

7:30 – 8:30 pm: The program presentation and a “questions and answer” period

8:30 -8:45 pm: Additional announcements and socializing