Category Archives: UWF

UWF Celebrates 30 Years

Our University Women’s Foundation of Jefferson County was certified as a non-profit WA State organization on February 11, 1994. Later, the IRS declared us as an official 501(c)(3) organization on March 14, 1995. This status as a non-profit organization allows us to raise money to carry out our charitable, educational, and public service endeavors, which promote education and equity for women and girls in East Jefferson County. Our Port Townsend Branch of AAUW is one of the few branches nationwide to have this certification and 501(c)(3) status, thereby allowing us to keep our raised funding just for our local girls and women. All AAUW branch members are automatically members of UWF, so this celebration is truly one for all of us!

We had a 30th Anniversary Celebration during the March 2024 Branch meeting.

The original investment was a $7,566 seed grant from members and branch fundraisers like the Centrum Food Concession (1986-91), piano concerts, and theater events.  The branch named its first Named Gift Honorees and UWF made a donation to AAUW National’s Education Foundation.

The original investment was a grant from members and branch fundraisers like the Centrum Food Concession (1986-91), piano concerts, and theater events

 

2023 Tech Trek Campers WA Jefferson County


We had a great camp July 9-15! See our videos below. Big thank you to our middle schools for nominating wonderful students. We are so sorry that many families could not finish the paperwork and health requirements, as we wanted to send everyone to camp this year! But those who went had the time of their lives.

 

See the second week of camp and overview of the CORE CLASSES – CLICK HERE –>

All about the Tech Trek Washington program — CLICK HERE –>

2023 Scholarships

We enjoyed being together on a beautiful May morning to celebrate and meet our 2023 scholars and their families.

See below the slide show/Youtube and the film/Youtube of the full ceremony for all the details.

Melinda Bower 2007 Scholar

Dr. Melinda Bower and Susan Bone O’Brien, ARNP, MN at March 2023 AAUW PT program

We were thrilled to have our March 2023 program centered around Jefferson Women’s health care, and speaker Dr. Melinda Bower who currently works with Jefferson County Health Department. She was our UWF 2007 Elmira K. Beyer Endowed Scholar. UWF aims to support women who will contribute in the future to Jefferson County, and Dr. Bower certainly fits that wish.

Dr. Melinda Bower is a naturopathic doctor who received her Doctorate of Naturopathic Medicine from Bastyr University in Seattle, Washington. Dr. Bower completed a one-year residency at Bastyr Center for Natural Health in Seattle, rotating through community health centers and major regional hospitals.  Prior to medical school, she received her BS in Environmental Science from Antioch College in Yellow Springs, OH.  Dr. Bower also teaches herbal medicine and gynecology at Bastyr University.  In 2015, she was recognized by her peers as one of Seattle’s “Top Doctors.”

Dr. Bower practices with a focus on family medicine and women’s health. She has special interests in treating thyroid disorders, women’s health, autoimmune diseases, and digestive disorders. She works with people to optimize health while utilizing a variety of tools including nutritional support, botanical medicine, and the foundations of health to achieve health. Dr. Bower’s integrative approach to medicine focuses on addressing the root cause of illness rather than just looking at the symptoms. Through this work, she is dedicated to helping her patients restore health and well-being in their life.

2022 Tech Trek Campers WA Jefferson County

Marie and Yemaya testing their robot

Back to LIVE IN-PERSON CAMP after 2 years of pandemic and too many ZOOM meetings! We loved being together for week of camp at Pacific Lutheran Univ./PLU in Tacoma. Just to BE ON UNIVERSITY CAMPUS and eating in the dining hall and looking through university science lab microscopes – it was awesome!

AAUW Port Townsend/UWF sponsored students from Blue Heron, Chimacum and Quilcene Middle Schools.

LOTS of videos and pix at the Washington State Tech Trek website – click here –>

See snapshots of Jefferson County 2022 campers — view/download –>

 

2022 Scholarships

Photos below plus YouTube video of full 45 minute ceremony and YouTube shorter slideshow.

In May 2022 women and girls from East Jefferson County were awarded over $83,000 in scholarships from UWF’s endowed and non-endowed funds.
Anya Callahan — Elmira K. Beyer (EKB) Endowed Scholarship
Megan Weller — Academic EKB Scholarship
Lacey Bishop — Lisa T. Painter Endowed Scholarship
Megan Bland — Academic Excellence Scholarship
Leah Russell — Academic Excellence Scholarship
Melanie Bakin — Academic Excellence Scholarship
Leianna Kunz — Academic Excellence Scholarship
Rachel Matthes — Constance Anna Pash Endowed Scholarship
Lily O’Shea — Constance Anna Pash Endowed Scholarship
Bethany McWilliams — Susie Pool Moses Scholarship
Hailey Gallagher — Environmental Scholarship
Kelly Grace — Technical Career Scholarship
Karynna Eichmann — Technical Career Scholarship
Olivia Nivison — Technical Career Scholarship

High School Scholarships to help with first year of college/university to Maya Dow of Port Townsend High School, Eryn Munn of Quilcene High School and Akira Anderson of Chimacum High School with their

High School STEM awards to Maya Dow, Aurin Asbell and Emily Grant of Port Townsend High School; Eryn Munn, Sara Eldridge and Anastasja Gossette of Quilcene High School; and Madison Burgess and Layla Franson of Chimacum High School.