The American Association of University Women is one of the oldest nonprofits in the United States. AAUW’s story begins in 1881, when a small group of female college graduates banded together to help open doors for women’s career advancement and encourage more women to pursue higher education. As of 2024, the organization has more than 50,000 members, 749 branches nationwide, and 422 college and university partners.
AAUW has published hundreds of research reports and supported the academic achievements of many thousands of scholars, from scientist Marie Curie, the first woman to win a Nobel Prize, to astronaut Judith Resnik, the second woman in space.
Their advocacy efforts have also propelled countless new laws, including the Equal Pay Act, first proposed in 1945 and finally passed in 1963; the Title IX amendment in 1972; the Family and Medical Leave Act in 1993; the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act in 2009; and the Paycheck Fairness Act, which was passed by the U.S. Representatives in 2019 but is awaiting action in the Senate.
Today, AAUW fights to remove the barriers and biases that stand in the way of gender equity. They fund higher education, train women to negotiate for pay and benefits and to pursue leadership roles, and advocate for federal, state and local laws and policies to ensure equity and end discrimination.
Raegan has been a member of the New York City branch since 2016, and was appointed as Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for the New York State Board in 2024.
Throughout her membership she has frequently performed and presented at various AAUW events, including scholar welcoming receptions, the NY State conference at Cazenovia College (2017) and in Saratoga Springs (2018), and a feature-length set at a celebration of women university presidents at The Harvard Club in New York City. Raegan also worked on the NYC Branch’s 2019 fellows feature video series as an project management assistant and video editor.
