Betty Bayless

Betty presently serves as a member of the AAUW national Public Policy Committee and is Public Policy Chair for AAUW of South Carolina. She holds degrees from College of St. Catherine in St. Paul, University of Minnesota and McGill University. She retired as a scientific computer programmer and manager and is now a full-time volunteer and advocate. She also served as President of the Canadian Federation of University Women while living in Canada. She now resides in Beaufort, South Carolina. She can be contacted at tbbayless@islc.net.

Phyllis Carrera

                Phyllis is a graduate of Indiana. Living proof of our ability to re-create our own lives, Phyllis has built expertise as a certified coach, inspirational speaker and author through 26 years in education and business, graduate studies in counseling psychology, and most importantly, through her unfailing commitment to transcend an abusive past. She is founder of HumanArts, a human development practice dedicated to guiding people through daring change so they can live their dreams. Phyllis is deeply committed to bringing an end to family violence, and delivers speeches and workshops on this critical subject to expand awareness, unite leaders in the cause, and address advocate burnout. She may be contacted at pcarrera@humanarts.biz,  or visit her website at www.journeyofmychoosing.com.

Gail Evans

Gail Evans’s career is vast, beginning in government in the early 1960s working on a number of congressional staffs and culminating as the Executive Vice President of CNN. Early in her career, she worked at the White House in the Office of the Special Counsel to the President during the Johnson Administration and was instrumental in the creation of the president’s Committee on Equal Employment Opportunity and the 1966 Civil Rights Act. Gail Evans’s myriad honors include an appointment by President Clinton to the Commission on White House Fellows, an election to the Council on Foreign Relations and an election to the YWCA’s Academy of Women Achievers. Her weekly syndicated radio segment “It’s Not Just A Man’s World” is syndicated to 1900 CNN radio affiliates throughout the United States. She is the author of the bestseller Play Like A Man, Win Like A Woman and her latest book, She Wins, You Win. Gail is currently a Visiting Professor at the Dupree School of Management at Georgia Tech where she specializes in cultural diversity in the workplace.

Beth Farokhi

                Beth holds degrees from LaGrange College, Emory University and University of Georgia for her doctoral. She currently serves as an administrator at Georgia State University in Atlanta. She has been recognized with awards for service and dedication to the College of Education at Georgia State University, as outstanding alumni for LeGrange College, and for significant contributions to gender equity by American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education. She has served AAUW as Georgia State president, South Atlantic Regional Director, Legal Advocacy Fund Board member and as Association Executive Vice President/Secretary. She may be contacted at bfarokhi@gsu.edu.

Fawn Germer

                Fawn is a resident of Florida and has made many AAUW friends as she’s traveled the author circuit. She makes us put up our dukes, take risks and blast past our obstacles. With leadership secrets from more than 200 famous trailblazers she personally interviewed, this four-time Pulitzer nominee forces us to stop making excuses and boldly charge ahead. Her message, from her best selling, Oprah-featured book Hard Won Wisdom and its forthcoming sequel, Mustang Sallies, has been a favorite of Lifetime TV, the American Banker’s Association, Motorola, Capital One and even the CIA. Fawn’s acclaimed journalism career stretched from The Miami Herald to The Washington Post and led her to interview everyone from presidents to CEOs to Nobel Peace Prize winners. Their surprising success secrets, told exclusively to Fawn, ignite a performance surge that won’t stop. In addition, she taught as an adjunct journalism professor for more than 12 years at universities in Florida and Colorado. Contact her at fpgermer@aol.com.

Lynn Hagan

                 Lynn has spent her 4 years in Kuwait by working with The Scientific Center , performing crisis intervention for contractors from Iraq, and offering homestudies for international adoptions. She holds a degree from Texas A&M University, two Masters from University of Southern Mississippi, and a doctorate from Southern California University for Professional Studies. She has worked as a clinical social worker, a college instructor, and administrator at both zoos and nature centers.  She is the recipient of an AAUW Educational Foundation Career Development Grant and numerous awards for her volunteer and educational efforts. She has served AAUW as officers at the branch and state level, and received a leadership award from the Slidell, Louisiana, Branch. She can be contacted at lhagan@tsck.org.kw,  or lynn_hagan@yahoo.com.

Jenny Higgins

Jenny is the recipient of an American Dissertation Fellowship from the AAUW Educational Foundation, and is a 2004 Emory University doctoral candidate in women’s studies and a candidate for a masters degree in public health with a concentration in international health. Her undergraduate degree is from Colby College, Waterville, Maine. She has been a contract researcher and policy worker at organizations such as the Alan Guttmacher Institute, Ipas, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Managing Contraception Project. She also served as an adjunct instructor at Emory University and Emory’s Rollins School of Public Health. She received the Unsung Heroine Award from Emory and the Volunteer of the Year Award from the Feminist Women’s Health Center in Atlanta. She recently took a position as Research Associate for the Empowerment of Women Research Program at the Academy of Education and Development in Washington, DC. She hopes to soon hold an AAUW leadership position. She can be contacted at jhiggin@emory.edu.

Elaine Hughes

Elaine currently serves AAUW as chair of its national Public Policy Committee and has served her state of Alabama as public policy chair, program vice president and state president. She holds degrees from Alabama College and a doctorate from University of Alabama. She is professor of English and Director of Academic Program Initiatives at the University of Montevallo and was recognized as Carnegie Foundation CASE Professor of the Year for Alabama. She can be contacted at hughes@Montevallo.edu.

Mary McElroy

Mary is Senior Associate Athletic Director and Senior Woman Administrator at Georgia Institute of Technology. She holds degrees from the United States Naval Academy and Georgia Institute of Technology. She can be contacted at mmcelroy@at.gtaa.gatech.edu.

Dee Mickey

Dee currently serves AAUW as Development Vice President for the Educational Foundation. She has also served her state of Alabama as membership vice president and treasurer and as a branch president. She holds degrees from Iowa State University and University of Florida. She can be contacted at deemickey@mindspring.com.

Nancy Rustad

Nancy is currently serving her second term as President of the American Association of University Women. She previously served as AAUW membership vice president, member of the Membership Committee, and chair of the 1996 Conference of State Presidents Planning Committee. She has worked on a variety of Association and cross-corporate committees.  She has served as president of Minnesota AAUW after holding numerous state and branch positions. A long-time activist for women and girls, Nancy enjoys bringing people together and making things happen. She initiated and led collaborative efforts such as the Women Vote project with the Minnesota Women’s Consortium and a Growing Smart media campaign with the Minnesota Women’s Fund; she brought in the UNICEF Girls and Girlhood exhibit with the Upper Midwest Women’s History Center. While she has served on a number of community and professional boards, she is currently co-chair of the Biomedical Engineering Department Advisory Committee at the University of Iowa. Professionally, she is a laboratory manager in the Medical Surgical Division at 3M. She leads a multidisciplinary group that develops biomedical electrodes and stethoscopes. She holds a master’s degree in pharmacology and a bachelor’s degree in zoology/chemistry. She led research programs in both the pharmaceutical and medical device areas before moving into product development and management. She can be contacted at mnrustad@minn.net.

Dorothy Shawhan

Dorothy currently serves as Chair and Professor of English in the Division of Language & Literature at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi. She holds degrees from Mississippi University for Women, Louisiana State University and George Mason University. She earlier worked as editor for Indiana University publications and as writer/editor for the Agency for Instructional Television in Bloomington, Indiana. She has served AAUW as branch president and corporate representative for her institution. She has received the Alumni Achievement Award from Mississippi University for Women, AAUW of Mississippi’s Woman of Achievement Award, and was chosen as Fiction Writer of the Year by the Mississippi Library Association. She has published a novel, Lizzie, and a number of short stories in literary magazines.  Another novel, Going to Graceland, and a biography of Judge Lucy Somerville Howorth, co-written with Dr. Martha Swain, are currently out with publishers. She can be contacted at dshawhan@deltastate.edu.

Roberta Sonnino

                Roberta comes to this conference as a plaintiff sponsored by the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund. Roberta hold a bachelor’s degree from University of Michigan and her MD from University of Padova Medical School. She previously served as Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics, Division Chief, at University of Kansas School of Medicine. Presently she is Professor of Surgery and Pediatrics at Mercer University School of Medicine in Macon, Georgia. She has been recognized with numerous awards for her medical research and service. She can be contacted at rsonnino2000@yahoo.com.

Michelle Wetherald

Michele serves as President of the AAUW Legal Advocacy Fund, which provides support to women dealing with discrimination at the university level. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Hiram College and her law degree was earned at University of Akron, Ohio. She is the Executive Dean of Eastern West Virginia Community and Technical College in Moorefield, West Virginia. Her service to AAUW also includes state and branch offices. She can be contacted at micheleww@frontiernet.net.

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