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Northeast Metro Branch

President:   Kathy Burleson    email    
For more information about the branch please contact: Clara Gray  email  651-429-9131

NORTHEAST METRO Best of the Year

 The Northeast Metro branch made “Sharing Our Stories” the theme of the year. All of the programs revolved around connecting with others and learning about different viewpoints. We heard from Dr. Jo Ann Buysse from the University of Minnesota, who gave us a fascinating look at the media portrayal of women athletes at universities around the country. She is currently researching the portrayal of women athletes in the 2008 Olympics, and the differences around the world in how they are represented in the media. Bonnie Watkins, executive director of the Minnesota Women’s Consortium, spoke to us about how she came to be in her current position, as well as how her path there shaped important policies for equity for women. Krista Hanson, a young mother and author, shared her story about researching the historic homes of Minnesota and Wisconsin. Curtis Dahlin presented a slideshow of his research of the Dakota Uprising, and how this event shaped Minnesota history.

We were excited to be invited to participate in Pay Equity Day at Hamline University. The women’s studies department and the Feminist Majority Leadership Alliance (FMLA) teamed up with the Northeast Metro branch to hold a pay equity bake sale. The event was important in bringing awareness of pay inequities to campus as well as visibility for our organization. The FMLA was happy to have a strong women’s organization to support them, and were interested in planning future activities with our branch. We look forward to more interaction with these wonderful women!

The branch raised more than $1,900 for EF and LAF this year at our annual holiday auction. From part of the proceeds, the Northeast Metro provides an annual scholarship for continuing education to a woman graduating from Century College. Additionally, our branch president served on the Educational Foundation’s Career Development Grant panel for the third year, and was thrilled to be involved in this process to award fellowships to deserving women to change their careers, reenter the workforce, or advance within their field.

We also did our part to help the environment as well as cut back on expenses by converting our paper newsletter to an electronic one. Members are thrilled with the new format, and we anticipate expanding our Web site as well to entice more potential members. We will be moving our meeting place and date next year in the hopes of increasing attendance, and believe that by this time next year, we will have found more women with whom we can “share our stories.”