Women Making a Difference American Association of University Women in Milwaukee 1890-2012

The American Association of University Women was organized in Boston in 1881 to advance equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy, and research. Its founders, all college educated at a time when few women pursued higher education, were responsible for the creation of an organization that today includes more than 100,000 members, 1,000 branches, and 500 college and university partners.

Over the years, the association has weighed in on the nation's major educational, social, economic, and political issues, and, more specifically, analyzed the way these issues have affected women.

Locally the work of the AAUW was taken up by its Milwaukee Branch. WOMEN MAKING A DIFFERENCE: AMERICA ASSOCIATION OF UNIVERSITY WOMEN IN MILWAUKEE - 1894-2012 is the detailed story of the AAUW Milwaukee branch's service, accomplishments, and philanthropy. With more than 200 images, most from the branch's archival collection,the book is visually compelling. It stands as a tribute to the foresight and hard work of a group of remarkable women and an inspiration to their successors.

Priscilla Pardini is an author, editor, journalist, researcher, and teacher. A former education reporter for The Milwaukee Journal, , she currently freelances for a variety of publications. She has written histories of several local organizations, including St. Aemillian-Lakeside Inc and the Bel Canto Chorus. Her history of the Faye McBeath Foundation won the Wilmer Shields Rich Award for Excellence in Communication. She is also the author of ON HER OWN: THE LIFE OF BETTY BRINN, a biography for children about the philanthropist for whom the city's children's museum and children's room at the Milwaukee Public Library are named.

Pardini works as well as an instructor for the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Center for Academically Talented Youth. She holds a bachelor's degree from the UW-Madison and a master's degree from the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies.