The Wheaton-Glen Ellyn Branch is the proud recipient of AAUW’s
5 STAR AWARD!

“This distinction highlights the Wheaton-Glen Ellyn Branch’s exceptional alignment with AAUW’s strategic priorities and our leadership in advancing equity in our community.”
Tremayne Parquet, Deputy Director of Advancement, AAUW

March Branch Meeting

Date:  Wednesday, March 4, 6:45 p.m.
Location: Glen Ellyn Police Station, 65 South Park Ave., Glen Ellyn
Topic:  Combating Poverty in DuPage County
Speakers: Laura Glaza and Kara Murphy
In-person ONLY- Panel Presentation- NO ZOOM

Did you know that there are people living in DuPage County who are experiencing poverty? Now more than ever, many local individuals and families are facing the threat of going hungry or being without basic healthcare. Join us for an informative presentation on poverty in our area and ways we as community members can help. Our panelists for the evening are Laura Glaza, Executive Director of the Glen House Food Pantry, and Kara Murphy, President of the DuPage Health Coalition (DHC.)

Laura Glaza joined the Glen House Food Pantry as Executive Director in Sept. 2020. The Pantry serves neighbors-in-need who live, work, or attend school in DuPage County. She brings a broad range of corporate, nonprofit, and marketing experience to her role, including a decade each at two Fortune 500 icons – Quaker Oats and Allstate. Ms. Glaza served stints at the following DuPage County organizations: The Morton Arboretum, The Conservation Foundation, and Loaves & Fishes Community Services. She also created and managed the largest after-school food service program for needy children through Feeding America. She graduated from the University of Illinois, started her career at Marshall Field’s in advertising, and also worked in public relations for the Chicago Bears. Ms. Glaza is a devoted fan of movies, the Cubs, and lives in Glen Ellyn.

Kara Murphy has served as the President of the DuPage Health Coalition (DHC) since 2015 and worked in nonprofit healthcare leadership for twenty-five years. DHC coordinates comprehensive health access for low income un/underinsured DuPage residents through a host of patient facing programs. DHC’s

longest-running program, Access DuPage, has coordinated comprehensive healthcare for more than 75,000 individuals since the program began (2002). Passionate about health justice and collective impact, Ms Murphy is chair or board member for a host of community leadership councils and boards, including Impact DuPage, DuPage Health Equity and Access Response Team (HEART), Northwestern Medicine Institutional Review Board, Communities Joined in Action, WeGo Together for Kids, and DuPage Federation. Ms. Murphy received her undergraduate degree from Grinnell College and her master’s degree from Benedictine University.

The March Meeting is our Annual Branch Meeting where we elect incoming officers. A quorum of members is required to certify the vote. Please make every effort to attend.

February Calendar

Feb. 3 – Great Decisions (Trump 2.0), 1:00 p.m., Zoom
Feb. 4 – Branch Meeting, 6:30 p.m., Wheaton Public Library- Meeting Room “A” Lower Level, 225 Cross St., Wheaton
Feb. 5 – Great Decisions (Ukraine), 1:00 p.m.
Feb. 6 – AM Lit, 9:30 a.m., Glen Ellyn Public Library, 400 Duane St. Glen Ellyn
Feb. 13 – Film Group, 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 16 – PM Lit, 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 24 – Board Meeting, 7:00 p.m.
Feb. 25 – PM Non-Fiction, 7:00 p.m

* Members: Click here to access Twigs. Password required. Please email us at:   WGE-AAUW@comcast.net for assistance.

AAUW CEO Gloria Blackwell issued the following statement on October 31, 2025 regarding a new Department of Education regulation:

     “Public Service Loan Forgiveness is not just a repayment program – it is a lifeline that helps teachers, social workers, advocates, and other public-serving professionals stay in the work their communities rely on.  PSLF helps make those careers possible.

Let’s be clear:  this rule is not about protecting taxpayers.  It creates a new and subjective test for which nonprofits ‘deserve’ relief, and that invites the federal government to pick winners and losers in public service.  We are deeply concerned that this discretion could be used to intimidate nonprofits and silence lawful advocacy by threatening their employees’ access to loan forgiveness.

This part of a broader pattern.  We have seen this Department use federal leverage to pressure colleges and universities to roll back diversity, equity, and inclusion effors, limit speech on campus, and even restrict which students are welcome – including international students.  AAUW has already opposed those efforts as political litmus tests that attempt to condition federal support on abandoning inclusion and academic freedom.”

Other Branch Activity Updates:

• Our Branch initiative, Science Girls on the Go™, provides STEM-related activities in community settings. Click here for more information.

• Please email us at:  WGE-AAUW@comcast.net if you would like to donate to the Branch’s Opportunities Fund. This fund annually provides Higher Education Incentive Awards to girls from local high schools who are continuing their education at the College of DuPage. From time to time, the Opportunities Fund also supports other Branch-sponsored gender equity initiatives and national AAUW projects.

What is AAUW?

AAUW’s Mission:
To advance gender equity for women and girls through research, education, and advocacy.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) is the nation’s leading voice promoting equity and education for women and girls. Since our founding in 1881, AAUW members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day — educational, social, economic, and political. Click here for more information on AAUW’s Mission, Vision and Values.  Join us!

As AAUW continues to move forward in a changing world, so have our Strategic Plan and our Vision Statement. Click here to read the complete plan.

Questions?  Please contact us at:  WGE-AAUW@comcast.net