November 5, 2024 • 21 mins
The Baroness is thrilled to welcome Sharon Suber, a passionate advocate for gender equity and a leader in advancing women's rights. As a dedicated member of the American Association of University Women (AAUW) and the League of Women Voters, Sharon has spent years championing the cause of equality for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy.
Explore Sharon’s inspiring work in breaking down barriers and driving systemic change in communities, schools, and workplaces. Please tune in to hear about Sharon’s journey, her vision for the future of gender equity, and the vital role of education and advocacy in creating lasting change. This conversation is a must-listen for anyone passionate about gender equality and social justice!
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Dr. Brooke Mailhiot (00:00):
Welcome to Rowan College of Burlington
County's Baroness Podcast. I'mDr Brooke Mailhiot, program
chair and assistant professor ofour entertainment technologies
department. I'm the co chair ofthe Women's Advocacy Group, a
subcommittee of the President'sAdvisory Council on diversity,
equity and inclusion. Thismonthly series highlights women
in leadership, while encouraginglisteners to build their skills,
(00:24):
connect with the community andvisualize the opportunities
available to women in variousprofessions, tune in for a
female perspective on theBurlington County. We are here
to listen to these amazingwomen, and if you want to hear
from women who lead and inspire,this podcast is for you. We are
joined today by Sharon Suber theAmerican Association University
(00:48):
Women state president, and shewas also the Vice President. She
has been a member of the AAUWfor 24 years. She is also the
president of the BurlingtonCounty branch, a member of the
League of Women Voters inBurlington County. She also
serves on that leadership team.She's a member of the NAACP. She
(01:08):
chairs the political actioncommittee for the greater
Delaware Valley branch ofBurlington County. She is a
board member of in fact, and Ican go on and on. You're a
retired school technologycoordinator and an owner of s3
Media Design. You're wearing somany hats, Sharon, I'm so
thankful that you're herejoining us today. Thank you. I'm
(01:28):
glad to be here. You know, whenI first was told you should, you
have to contact Sharon, she'syour person to connect with. And
then they said, Oh yeah, she'sshe's the A, A, u, w. And I was
like, Well, what is the AAUW? Sofor all of our listeners out
there, tell us what the AAUW is,the American Association for
(01:52):
university women who's beenaround for 142
Unknown (01:56):
years. Wow, I wouldn't have thought that. So
originally, when was started, itwas started by professors that
were at colleges, women who wereat colleges realized there were
not enough women in thoseleadership roles, and so they
set out to create more women incollege coming to college, and
more women in those leadershiproles in college. As we have
(02:18):
evolved through the years, weare now an organization
advancing gender equity forwomen and girls through
research, education andadvocacy. We were one of the
first groups that did a researchpaper on women who go to college
do not become some other kind ofanimal that then cannot be
(02:39):
mothers. So we we did a lot ofresearch on women who get
college degrees, women who go tocollege, women who have careers
don't then become somethingelse. And that was a big push
that people were always pushingso we were always advocating for
women in careers. We were alwaysadvocating for women in with
(03:02):
college degrees and withadvanced degrees, and definitely
in leadership positions acrossthe board, not just in colleges,
but in industry also.
We're a non partisan, non profitorganization, and we have about
a 1700
no 170,000
members that across the UnitedStates. We have about 1000
(03:25):
branches, and we have 900colleges and universities that
partner with us in New Jersey,we have 1000 members.
We have
nine colleges that are partnerswith this. So that does not mean
we only partner with thosecolleges. Those are the colleges
(03:46):
that actually have partneredwith us. We have colleges on all
our branches. We have 18branches, and many of the
branches partner with collegeswe are partner with with this.
Rcbc, yes, okay, and we do a lotof things here at the college.
One of the things that we do iswe provide scholarships to women
(04:08):
who are going on in theircareer. We are looking for non
traditional women who are comingback into college, the
workforce, and we look for womenwho are in the stems careers.
A UW does promote a stems wholeprogram. We recognize that women
are underserved in that area, sowe have a summer program for
(04:31):
rising students that are cominginto eighth grade that we pull
into Stockton University for oneweek, and it's supported by all
of the 18 branches in the state.So those are the kinds of things
that we are doing. Soscholarships across the board,
and all our branches and ourstems program, you are so
(04:53):
passionate that just that justrolled off your tongue, like,
like, like, easy. So my.
My question to you, I know youare a retired school technology
coordinator,
and I feel obviously I couldtell the way you're speaking
your former teacher of somesort,
what is driving this passion tobe part of this? AAUW, for you,
(05:19):
for me, let me say, 220, 455,years ago, when I was still
teaching, I was looking forgrants for girls in technology,
and I was looking for grants andscholarships for women. And I
went online, because I could dothat, and searched and an AAUW
is the largest women'sorganization providing grants,
(05:43):
scholarships and funding towomen so we are also that
impressed me, that they weredoing all that I applied for a
grant for the program that I wasdoing with my school, but also
looked at all the grants andscholarships and fellowships
that they have out there For forwomen to advance their careers,
and that impressed me, so thatmy issues, most of the time,
(06:06):
were with women's issues. Sothat was an impressive thing,
and that's why I'm passionateabout this. Can you tell me a
little bit about some of theprojects that under your 25
years at AAUW that you've helpedfund, or programs that you've
brought to fruition. We havehere in Burlington County. We
have always had our scholarshipprogram with rcbc, contacting
(06:30):
with them. We have all we alsohave had a
stamp program. So last year, wedid a stamp presence dedication
for Constance Baker Motley, whowas the first African American
federal judge in the BurlingtonCounty, we recognized her as a
(06:50):
leader and a pioneer in herarea, so we provided a stamp
presentation. And one of thethings that we also did that was
a piggyback off what we did atthe state level. Ruth Bader
Ginsburg also had a stamp issuedfor her from the US Postal
Service last year, and wepartnered with Rutgers
University and provided a stampdedication in Rutgers in Newark.
(07:15):
And people say, Well, why didyou do it in Newark? And this is
why, because Ruth Bader Ginsburgwas a professor there for nine
years. Yes, and a lot of peopledid not know that, and they
didn't know why she was aprofessor there. She was
professor there, because whenshe came out of college, the
inequity, which is what we'retrying to do, was not present.
She could not get a position ina law firm, because she was a
(07:37):
woman and she was Jewish, sotherefore she became a college
professor, so we wanted torecognize that that particular
person in her stamp when it cameout. So we partnered at Rutgers
to do that, Constance BakerMotley we partnered down here in
Burlington to do thatpresentation. We have also done
book and author luncheons withwith authors who have books on
(08:00):
gender equity and things thatadvance women. One of our
members now just wrote a book.She was a forensics
investigator, and she wrote abook on the inaccuracies and the
things that happened to women inthat profession, because there's
not that many women in thatprofession.
Interesting. So what do you whatwould you say right now
(08:22):
are we're facing in thelandscape of of with women and
jobs? And I know you said a lotabout gender equity. What? What
do you think our biggest fightis now as women pay equity, in
terms of us getting this thesame pay that men are getting in
the same professions that we arein AAUW has a lot of programs
(08:44):
that deal with workshops on howto get pay equity, how to get
your your salary that you'redeserving. So we have two or
three different programs worksmart and Money Smart, that we
do for women to help them, helpthem with that. That is a big
issue. One of the other issuesthat we were promoting, and we
(09:05):
did this year, and I forgot tovent it to now, was we helped
the bill that went through thenight the state legislation to
provide menstrual products inthe high schools free in the
women's bathrooms. So that waslast October. It was passed. It
went into effect this Septemberin all schools. So what we are
(09:27):
now doing here in BurlingtonCounty is going in to see, did
those schools put that in? Oneof the things that we had we put
into the bill is that it waspaid for by the state, as
opposed to the state budget, ourschools, not state budgets.
Presence of school budget,because a lot of schools we got
a kickback that says we don'thave any money for that. So that
(09:48):
was an equity issue, becausejust like we provide toilet
paper in the bathroom, weprovide soap, we need to provide
menstrual products free ofcharge in the bathrooms. And I
do notice that this college.
Does have it in the bathrooms,even though it's not mandated in
the college this school has hasthat in the bathroom. Well, I'm
sure that's kudos to you andyour and your foundation so
(10:10):
interesting that you were sayingabout passing bills and pay
equity and things like that. I'mgoing to segue this into your
league of women voters hat for alittle bit. Tell me about why
you felt that, like the AAUWrole, and then you kind of being
involved in the week League ofWomen Voters. How that kind of
(10:30):
morphs together and what youbring to the table there at the
League of Women Voters. So theLeague of Women Voters, well,
another group that I joinedbecause I was interested in
making sure that people, firstof all, vote, but that they're
educated on the issues thatthey're voting for. Because a
lot of people say, I don't knowwhat the issues are. So that was
(10:51):
something that sparked me tocome in there that they're not
just registering people, they'reeducating people on what the
issues are and what they'resupposed to be doing in the
education in this process. Andthe League of Women Voters
provides educational workshops.They also provide forums, which
are the candidates forums, tohave them come out and speak.
(11:13):
And I am a forum moderator intraining right now, but
we get to go out and talk to thelegislators about our issues,
what things that are that we areconcerned about, not just
women's issues. We're concernedabout the the economy. We're
also concerned about theenvironment. So we, when we go
(11:34):
out to talk to legislators, wealways talk about all the issues
that we have the League of WomenVoters, because a lot of people
think we only do voting. TheLeague of Women girls has a
panel of issues that we'reconcerned about in our
communities, and we do speak tolegislators about that. We do
advocate in the state legislatorand the capital. What do you
(11:55):
think the biggest thing inBurlington County is that you're
advocating for the book banning.We did some advocacy on book
banning, and and and those kindof issues in the local area in
Burlington County. So yeah,that's something that we did
too. So share with me you knowyou, you had said that you are
(12:15):
passionate about highlightingthe accomplishments of African
American scientists andinventors. Is that from your
educational hat and now you're,I know you spoke about, you're
passionate about women joiningSTEM careers. Is that how you
kind of collaborated and thenbuilt this, like, you know,
professional space for yourself?Yes, that's, that's where it
(12:39):
came from. I was, when I was inschool, we were always talking
about inventors, becausetechnology science and all the
different fields. So I used todo things with the students and
tell them about who inventedsomething, not just African
Americans, but women and men.And the kids were like, Oh, I
didn't know. So that out of thatled to let me present something
(13:00):
that I now can go out and speakabout in terms of inventors. And
then it led to me creating anAfrican American inventors
Museum, which is a travelingpresentation that I go out and
do. I have also partnered with
another group in North Jerseywho do the same kind of thing,
(13:22):
but they also have a buildingand the black Inventors Hall of
Fame, and they will be cominginto and partner with them to
bring them as a presentations toSouth Jersey, so that they can
so that we can introduce this inin this area also. So, so how do
young women get involved in AAUWto create a change, to have a
(13:44):
voice, to find other voices, tohelp lift them up. How do they
get involved? So it's amembership based organization,
and they can join any of thelocal branches and and because
we know people like to be allaround, some people don't like
to join branches that they haveto come to meetings for. We have
in the state of New Jersey, avirtual branch which you join.
(14:07):
And if you don't want to be inthe virtual branch that are just
coming together talking, you canjust be a state member. So and
we keep all of these branches,the virtual branch and the state
members involved in what's goingon in the state with our state
newsletter that comes out andour website that we introduce
(14:27):
things to. So we are looking forwomen who want to advance that,
to advance equity, and we werelooking for women who want to
educate other women about what'sgoing on for women. And we're
looking for women who want toadvance their careers, and
that's everyone who has who'scoming out, either in high
(14:49):
school, going into college orleaving college, going into the
workplace. So it says, with theAAUW, make a powerful voice some
of the things that are.
Affecting women. Help break downbarriers, interact with like
minded people, impact yourcommunity network and learn from
other people. Share commoninterests in social groups, make
(15:09):
career connections, exerciseyour mind. What are the top ones
out of that list that resonatewith you, of what being a part
of the AAUW has meant to you.For me, it's it's
meeting other women with likeminds that have things that that
I have issues on, so that whenwe talk about
(15:31):
the issues and in the equitiesof women, and an example is
we're doing a program on onhate, on different women who
have had hate issues that havecome out in their lives
and how it has affected them. SoI like the conversations and the
programs that we offer to thecommunity
(15:52):
that's speaking about our hateand our racism that's going on
with us, that's coming out inOctober we have, and that's part
of our Diversity Equity andInclusion program that we do,
and we also have another programin November that's coming out
that's about inequities anddisparities in sexual harassment
and things that happen to womenveterans. And a lot of people do
(16:16):
not know that you have a lot ofwomen veterans that are
homeless. So all of those issuesare women's issues, because
they're issues that affect us aswomen, and we need to talk about
those. So we provide those,those kind of issue based
programs to the community, andthat, I like those kind of
things that we do. I think it'samazing. I don't think a lot of
people know that you have allthese, they have all these
(16:38):
wonderful like buckets ofknowledge, like waiting there
for them, and you're you're inthese two really amazing groups.
I mean, these are like powerfulgroups in in Burlington County
and and thank you for helpingmake a change here in Burlington
County. It's absolutelybeautiful thing. When we were
(16:59):
talking, I write down a wholebunch of words while we're
talking that I think arepowerful words, and I just want
to read them to you right now sowe have leadership, evolve,
advocacy, scholarship, stemtechnology, women pioneer, pay
equity, conversations likeminded dei landscape. Those are
(17:20):
just some words that kind ofresonated with me. Out of those
words, if you to pick a hashtagto kind of make this whole
discussion and your career withAAUW and your American women
league voters, what would thathashtag be? I think by
diversity, equity and inclusion,that would be more of my
(17:44):
hashtag. I'm about how to createthose places where everyone
feels comfortable, everyonefeels wanted, everyone belongs.
And I think that that's what Ilook at across all of my
platforms. You know, also withlike the NAACP, doing that comes
all of that work, everything isinclusive, so that people feel
(18:08):
that they're included, that theyfeel that it's equitable, that
they feel that they have a seatat the table, not just a seat at
the table, they're heard at thetable, and their opinion is
respected. So in all of myprograms, that is what I look
for to do. So tell our listenershow they can find out about the
(18:29):
AAUW and the American Women'slegal voters. So AAUW has a
website. You can go to AAUW,nj.org,
and join our branches. You cansee our branches. You can see
all the things that we do andwhat branches are close to you,
that you are interested in beinga part of our branches or just
(18:51):
being a part of theorganization. That's fine, too.
The League of Women Voters alsohas a website. Is L, W, V, b, u,
R, L at.org
and it also lists all theactivities and events that we
are doing and coming up with. Ifwe're meeting with a legislator,
you go online and see whatlegislator we're meeting with.
(19:13):
If we're coming together to talkto an author about voting and
how they vote, you'll see all ofour events and planning,
everyone is always welcome tocome to our meetings. And we
meet at the Burlington CountyLibrary for the AAUW, the League
of Women Voters. We meet onlinea lot of times, so they're
(19:33):
virtual. The NAACP, we meet inMount Holly, and let
me see who else I was gonna say.What else are you adding to
that? How do you have any timeduring the week to go to
anything else?
You know? People say, Oh, youare doing so much. The in fact
that, as a organization atthere, there will be doing, like
a Kwanzaa program in December,we have done a taste of two
(19:58):
cultures where you have.
Two restaurant from some twodifferent cultures come in and
do presentations to people, soyou get to learn about something
that's the diversity andinclusion kind of thing. So
people often say, how do youhave time to do all this stuff?
Well, I was a teacher. I live inSouth Jersey, and I worked in
North Jersey, and I did acommute of an hour and a half
(20:21):
each way on Fridays because oftraffic, it was two hours. So
now I don't have that to do, andthat in that opened up me to be
able to do all these otherthings that they were waiting
for me to do. So I'm, I'mexcited that I'm in all the
organizations that I'm in, youknow, and I honest, and I'm
(20:43):
excited that I have my own, youknow, program, I have my own
business, but I also have thenonprofit that does the museum.
So all of those things kind oflike fit in together with
diversity, equity and inclusion,because we want everyone to know
that we're all here and we allcan be respected. I was very
excited when you when you saidyes to being here today, and we
(21:04):
want to thank you so much forjoining us here at the Baroness
podcast. Thank you, Sharon, forjoining us, and you have been
listening to the Baronesspodcast here at rcbc. Take care.
Thanks. You've been listening tothe rcbc Baroness podcast, which
highlights women in leadership,while encouraging listeners to
build their skills, connect withthe community and visualize the
opportunities available to womenin various professions. For more
(21:27):
information about this podcastor other podcasts available on
the rcbc Podcast Network, visitrcbc.edu/podcast
and be sure to subscribe to thercbc Baroness podcast available
on all streaming platforms you.
Welcome to Rowan College of Burlington
County's Baroness Podcast. I'mDr Brooke Mailhiot, program
chair and assistant professor ofour entertainment technologies
department. I'm the co chair ofthe Women's Advocacy Group, a
subcommittee of the President'sAdvisory Council on diversity,
equity and inclusion. Thismonthly series highlights women
in leadership, while encouraginglisteners to build their skills,
(00:24):
connect with the community andvisualize the opportunities
available to women in variousprofessions, tune in for a
female perspective on theBurlington County. We are here
to listen to these amazingwomen, and if you want to hear
from women who lead and inspire,this podcast is for you. We are
joined today by Sharon Suber theAmerican Association University
(00:48):
Women state president, and shewas also the Vice President. She
has been a member of the AAUWfor 24 years. She is also the
president of the BurlingtonCounty branch, a member of the
League of Women Voters inBurlington County. She also
serves on that leadership team.She's a member of the NAACP. She
(01:08):
chairs the political actioncommittee for the greater
Delaware Valley branch ofBurlington County. She is a
board member of in fact, and Ican go on and on. You're a
retired school technologycoordinator and an owner of s3
Media Design. You're wearing somany hats, Sharon, I'm so
thankful that you're herejoining us today. Thank you. I'm
(01:28):
glad to be here. You know, whenI first was told you should, you
have to contact Sharon, she'syour person to connect with. And
then they said, Oh yeah, she'sshe's the A, A, u, w. And I was
like, Well, what is the AAUW? Sofor all of our listeners out
there, tell us what the AAUW is,the American Association for
(01:52):
university women who's beenaround for 142
Unknown (01:56):
years. Wow, I wouldn't have thought that. So
originally, when was started, itwas started by professors that
were at colleges, women who wereat colleges realized there were
not enough women in thoseleadership roles, and so they
set out to create more women incollege coming to college, and
more women in those leadershiproles in college. As we have
(02:18):
evolved through the years, weare now an organization
advancing gender equity forwomen and girls through
research, education andadvocacy. We were one of the
first groups that did a researchpaper on women who go to college
do not become some other kind ofanimal that then cannot be
(02:39):
mothers. So we we did a lot ofresearch on women who get
college degrees, women who go tocollege, women who have careers
don't then become somethingelse. And that was a big push
that people were always pushingso we were always advocating for
women in careers. We were alwaysadvocating for women in with
(03:02):
college degrees and withadvanced degrees, and definitely
in leadership positions acrossthe board, not just in colleges,
but in industry also.
We're a non partisan, non profitorganization, and we have about
a 1700
no 170,000
members that across the UnitedStates. We have about 1000
(03:25):
branches, and we have 900colleges and universities that
partner with us in New Jersey,we have 1000 members.
We have
nine colleges that are partnerswith this. So that does not mean
we only partner with thosecolleges. Those are the colleges
(03:46):
that actually have partneredwith us. We have colleges on all
our branches. We have 18branches, and many of the
branches partner with collegeswe are partner with with this.
Rcbc, yes, okay, and we do a lotof things here at the college.
One of the things that we do iswe provide scholarships to women
(04:08):
who are going on in theircareer. We are looking for non
traditional women who are comingback into college, the
workforce, and we look for womenwho are in the stems careers.
A UW does promote a stems wholeprogram. We recognize that women
are underserved in that area, sowe have a summer program for
(04:31):
rising students that are cominginto eighth grade that we pull
into Stockton University for oneweek, and it's supported by all
of the 18 branches in the state.So those are the kinds of things
that we are doing. Soscholarships across the board,
and all our branches and ourstems program, you are so
(04:53):
passionate that just that justrolled off your tongue, like,
like, like, easy. So my.
My question to you, I know youare a retired school technology
coordinator,
and I feel obviously I couldtell the way you're speaking
your former teacher of somesort,
what is driving this passion tobe part of this? AAUW, for you,
(05:19):
for me, let me say, 220, 455,years ago, when I was still
teaching, I was looking forgrants for girls in technology,
and I was looking for grants andscholarships for women. And I
went online, because I could dothat, and searched and an AAUW
is the largest women'sorganization providing grants,
(05:43):
scholarships and funding towomen so we are also that
impressed me, that they weredoing all that I applied for a
grant for the program that I wasdoing with my school, but also
looked at all the grants andscholarships and fellowships
that they have out there For forwomen to advance their careers,
and that impressed me, so thatmy issues, most of the time,
(06:06):
were with women's issues. Sothat was an impressive thing,
and that's why I'm passionateabout this. Can you tell me a
little bit about some of theprojects that under your 25
years at AAUW that you've helpedfund, or programs that you've
brought to fruition. We havehere in Burlington County. We
have always had our scholarshipprogram with rcbc, contacting
(06:30):
with them. We have all we alsohave had a
stamp program. So last year, wedid a stamp presence dedication
for Constance Baker Motley, whowas the first African American
federal judge in the BurlingtonCounty, we recognized her as a
(06:50):
leader and a pioneer in herarea, so we provided a stamp
presentation. And one of thethings that we also did that was
a piggyback off what we did atthe state level. Ruth Bader
Ginsburg also had a stamp issuedfor her from the US Postal
Service last year, and wepartnered with Rutgers
University and provided a stampdedication in Rutgers in Newark.
(07:15):
And people say, Well, why didyou do it in Newark? And this is
why, because Ruth Bader Ginsburgwas a professor there for nine
years. Yes, and a lot of peopledid not know that, and they
didn't know why she was aprofessor there. She was
professor there, because whenshe came out of college, the
inequity, which is what we'retrying to do, was not present.
She could not get a position ina law firm, because she was a
(07:37):
woman and she was Jewish, sotherefore she became a college
professor, so we wanted torecognize that that particular
person in her stamp when it cameout. So we partnered at Rutgers
to do that, Constance BakerMotley we partnered down here in
Burlington to do thatpresentation. We have also done
book and author luncheons withwith authors who have books on
(08:00):
gender equity and things thatadvance women. One of our
members now just wrote a book.She was a forensics
investigator, and she wrote abook on the inaccuracies and the
things that happened to women inthat profession, because there's
not that many women in thatprofession.
Interesting. So what do you whatwould you say right now
(08:22):
are we're facing in thelandscape of of with women and
jobs? And I know you said a lotabout gender equity. What? What
do you think our biggest fightis now as women pay equity, in
terms of us getting this thesame pay that men are getting in
the same professions that we arein AAUW has a lot of programs
(08:44):
that deal with workshops on howto get pay equity, how to get
your your salary that you'redeserving. So we have two or
three different programs worksmart and Money Smart, that we
do for women to help them, helpthem with that. That is a big
issue. One of the other issuesthat we were promoting, and we
(09:05):
did this year, and I forgot tovent it to now, was we helped
the bill that went through thenight the state legislation to
provide menstrual products inthe high schools free in the
women's bathrooms. So that waslast October. It was passed. It
went into effect this Septemberin all schools. So what we are
(09:27):
now doing here in BurlingtonCounty is going in to see, did
those schools put that in? Oneof the things that we had we put
into the bill is that it waspaid for by the state, as
opposed to the state budget, ourschools, not state budgets.
Presence of school budget,because a lot of schools we got
a kickback that says we don'thave any money for that. So that
(09:48):
was an equity issue, becausejust like we provide toilet
paper in the bathroom, weprovide soap, we need to provide
menstrual products free ofcharge in the bathrooms. And I
do notice that this college.
Does have it in the bathrooms,even though it's not mandated in
the college this school has hasthat in the bathroom. Well, I'm
sure that's kudos to you andyour and your foundation so
(10:10):
interesting that you were sayingabout passing bills and pay
equity and things like that. I'mgoing to segue this into your
league of women voters hat for alittle bit. Tell me about why
you felt that, like the AAUWrole, and then you kind of being
involved in the week League ofWomen Voters. How that kind of
(10:30):
morphs together and what youbring to the table there at the
League of Women Voters. So theLeague of Women Voters, well,
another group that I joinedbecause I was interested in
making sure that people, firstof all, vote, but that they're
educated on the issues thatthey're voting for. Because a
lot of people say, I don't knowwhat the issues are. So that was
(10:51):
something that sparked me tocome in there that they're not
just registering people, they'reeducating people on what the
issues are and what they'resupposed to be doing in the
education in this process. Andthe League of Women Voters
provides educational workshops.They also provide forums, which
are the candidates forums, tohave them come out and speak.
(11:13):
And I am a forum moderator intraining right now, but
we get to go out and talk to thelegislators about our issues,
what things that are that we areconcerned about, not just
women's issues. We're concernedabout the the economy. We're
also concerned about theenvironment. So we, when we go
(11:34):
out to talk to legislators, wealways talk about all the issues
that we have the League of WomenVoters, because a lot of people
think we only do voting. TheLeague of Women girls has a
panel of issues that we'reconcerned about in our
communities, and we do speak tolegislators about that. We do
advocate in the state legislatorand the capital. What do you
(11:55):
think the biggest thing inBurlington County is that you're
advocating for the book banning.We did some advocacy on book
banning, and and and those kindof issues in the local area in
Burlington County. So yeah,that's something that we did
too. So share with me you knowyou, you had said that you are
(12:15):
passionate about highlightingthe accomplishments of African
American scientists andinventors. Is that from your
educational hat and now you're,I know you spoke about, you're
passionate about women joiningSTEM careers. Is that how you
kind of collaborated and thenbuilt this, like, you know,
professional space for yourself?Yes, that's, that's where it
(12:39):
came from. I was, when I was inschool, we were always talking
about inventors, becausetechnology science and all the
different fields. So I used todo things with the students and
tell them about who inventedsomething, not just African
Americans, but women and men.And the kids were like, Oh, I
didn't know. So that out of thatled to let me present something
(13:00):
that I now can go out and speakabout in terms of inventors. And
then it led to me creating anAfrican American inventors
Museum, which is a travelingpresentation that I go out and
do. I have also partnered with
another group in North Jerseywho do the same kind of thing,
(13:22):
but they also have a buildingand the black Inventors Hall of
Fame, and they will be cominginto and partner with them to
bring them as a presentations toSouth Jersey, so that they can
so that we can introduce this inin this area also. So, so how do
young women get involved in AAUWto create a change, to have a
(13:44):
voice, to find other voices, tohelp lift them up. How do they
get involved? So it's amembership based organization,
and they can join any of thelocal branches and and because
we know people like to be allaround, some people don't like
to join branches that they haveto come to meetings for. We have
in the state of New Jersey, avirtual branch which you join.
(14:07):
And if you don't want to be inthe virtual branch that are just
coming together talking, you canjust be a state member. So and
we keep all of these branches,the virtual branch and the state
members involved in what's goingon in the state with our state
newsletter that comes out andour website that we introduce
(14:27):
things to. So we are looking forwomen who want to advance that,
to advance equity, and we werelooking for women who want to
educate other women about what'sgoing on for women. And we're
looking for women who want toadvance their careers, and
that's everyone who has who'scoming out, either in high
(14:49):
school, going into college orleaving college, going into the
workplace. So it says, with theAAUW, make a powerful voice some
of the things that are.
Affecting women. Help break downbarriers, interact with like
minded people, impact yourcommunity network and learn from
other people. Share commoninterests in social groups, make
(15:09):
career connections, exerciseyour mind. What are the top ones
out of that list that resonatewith you, of what being a part
of the AAUW has meant to you.For me, it's it's
meeting other women with likeminds that have things that that
I have issues on, so that whenwe talk about
(15:31):
the issues and in the equitiesof women, and an example is
we're doing a program on onhate, on different women who
have had hate issues that havecome out in their lives
and how it has affected them. SoI like the conversations and the
programs that we offer to thecommunity
(15:52):
that's speaking about our hateand our racism that's going on
with us, that's coming out inOctober we have, and that's part
of our Diversity Equity andInclusion program that we do,
and we also have another programin November that's coming out
that's about inequities anddisparities in sexual harassment
and things that happen to womenveterans. And a lot of people do
(16:16):
not know that you have a lot ofwomen veterans that are
homeless. So all of those issuesare women's issues, because
they're issues that affect us aswomen, and we need to talk about
those. So we provide those,those kind of issue based
programs to the community, andthat, I like those kind of
things that we do. I think it'samazing. I don't think a lot of
people know that you have allthese, they have all these
(16:38):
wonderful like buckets ofknowledge, like waiting there
for them, and you're you're inthese two really amazing groups.
I mean, these are like powerfulgroups in in Burlington County
and and thank you for helpingmake a change here in Burlington
County. It's absolutelybeautiful thing. When we were
(16:59):
talking, I write down a wholebunch of words while we're
talking that I think arepowerful words, and I just want
to read them to you right now sowe have leadership, evolve,
advocacy, scholarship, stemtechnology, women pioneer, pay
equity, conversations likeminded dei landscape. Those are
(17:20):
just some words that kind ofresonated with me. Out of those
words, if you to pick a hashtagto kind of make this whole
discussion and your career withAAUW and your American women
league voters, what would thathashtag be? I think by
diversity, equity and inclusion,that would be more of my
(17:44):
hashtag. I'm about how to createthose places where everyone
feels comfortable, everyonefeels wanted, everyone belongs.
And I think that that's what Ilook at across all of my
platforms. You know, also withlike the NAACP, doing that comes
all of that work, everything isinclusive, so that people feel
(18:08):
that they're included, that theyfeel that it's equitable, that
they feel that they have a seatat the table, not just a seat at
the table, they're heard at thetable, and their opinion is
respected. So in all of myprograms, that is what I look
for to do. So tell our listenershow they can find out about the
(18:29):
AAUW and the American Women'slegal voters. So AAUW has a
website. You can go to AAUW,nj.org,
and join our branches. You cansee our branches. You can see
all the things that we do andwhat branches are close to you,
that you are interested in beinga part of our branches or just
(18:51):
being a part of theorganization. That's fine, too.
The League of Women Voters alsohas a website. Is L, W, V, b, u,
R, L at.org
and it also lists all theactivities and events that we
are doing and coming up with. Ifwe're meeting with a legislator,
you go online and see whatlegislator we're meeting with.
(19:13):
If we're coming together to talkto an author about voting and
how they vote, you'll see all ofour events and planning,
everyone is always welcome tocome to our meetings. And we
meet at the Burlington CountyLibrary for the AAUW, the League
of Women Voters. We meet onlinea lot of times, so they're
(19:33):
virtual. The NAACP, we meet inMount Holly, and let
me see who else I was gonna say.What else are you adding to
that? How do you have any timeduring the week to go to
anything else?
You know? People say, Oh, youare doing so much. The in fact
that, as a organization atthere, there will be doing, like
a Kwanzaa program in December,we have done a taste of two
(19:58):
cultures where you have.
Two restaurant from some twodifferent cultures come in and
do presentations to people, soyou get to learn about something
that's the diversity andinclusion kind of thing. So
people often say, how do youhave time to do all this stuff?
Well, I was a teacher. I live inSouth Jersey, and I worked in
North Jersey, and I did acommute of an hour and a half
(20:21):
each way on Fridays because oftraffic, it was two hours. So
now I don't have that to do, andthat in that opened up me to be
able to do all these otherthings that they were waiting
for me to do. So I'm, I'mexcited that I'm in all the
organizations that I'm in, youknow, and I honest, and I'm
(20:43):
excited that I have my own, youknow, program, I have my own
business, but I also have thenonprofit that does the museum.
So all of those things kind oflike fit in together with
diversity, equity and inclusion,because we want everyone to know
that we're all here and we allcan be respected. I was very
excited when you when you saidyes to being here today, and we
(21:04):
want to thank you so much forjoining us here at the Baroness
podcast. Thank you, Sharon, forjoining us, and you have been
listening to the Baronesspodcast here at rcbc. Take care.
Thanks. You've been listening tothe rcbc Baroness podcast, which
highlights women in leadership,while encouraging listeners to
build their skills, connect withthe community and visualize the
opportunities available to womenin various professions. For more
(21:27):
information about this podcastor other podcasts available on
the rcbc Podcast Network, visitrcbc.edu/podcast
and be sure to subscribe to thercbc Baroness podcast available
on all streaming platforms you.
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