April 2023

Public Policy Interest Group had the pleasure of a presentation by Andrea Dalessandro, a member of Green Valley AAUW and former Arizona state senator and representative. It was an informative look at her political career and at those issues and accomplishments that were most important to her.

Although Andrea hails from New Jersey, she now calls Arizona home. She earned a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts in mathematics education from New Jersey City University. Her work as a teacher provided a foundation for her future legislative interests in education. Andrea also earned an MBA from Rutgers University.

Elected, over the years, to both the Arizona Senate and House of Representative, Andrea represented the former 2nd district. During her time in office, Arizona had only Republican governors. When she began, Jan Brewer was governor, followed by Doug Ducey. This, and the political makeup of both the House and Senate, required Andrea to “work across the aisle” in order to accomplish legislation most meaningful to her.

Andrea Dalessandro

Member of the Arizona House of Representatives

In office Jan. 11, 2021 –Jan.9, 2023

In office Jan. 14, 2013 –Jan.21, 2014

Member of the Arizona Senate

In office January 21, 2014 –January 11, 2021

Expansion of Medicaid under Jan Brewer was a landmark accomplishment. As part of Obama’s healthcare program, Arizona’s Medicaid rolls were expanded. This was especially important as it was accomplished despite stiff opposition by the Governor’s own party. Signed into law July 2013, it made Arizona one of the first states to sign on to the expansion.

A major victory for survivors of sexual abuse was afforded by legislation which increased the statute of limitations. Knowing that abused children may not immediately recognize the abuse for what it is or may not be able to speak up until they are older, Andrea worked tirelessly to extend the “look back window” to file a lawsuit for sexual abuse to twelve years from their 18th birthday or, in certain cases, when they turn 30 years old. Prior to the passage of this law the limitation was generally two years from the child’s 18 birthday.

In November 2021, Governor Ducey provided the details for a $40.7 million investment in helping people who are experiencing homelessness and the prevention of homelessness happening again. Through Andrea’s efforts, $1,854,893 of that money went for Habitat for Humanity Tucson. This investment helped to create a community-based job training program as well as building and maintaining affordable housing.

Viewing these significant legislative victories in the rear-view mirror allows for a perspective on a political career. Andrea, however, cautions that we, as people who care about healthcare, housing, and our children, must continue to speak out on these issues.

We thank Andrea for her service.

Karen Lueck, Co-Chair Public Policy

January 2023

The Public Policy Interest Group has spent the last two months learning more about the state of education in Arizona as a whole and locally at Continental School District 39. In January, Nicky Indicavitch, State Outreach Director of Save Our Schools, spoke about the history and current status of the legislation which established vouchers, officially known as Empowerment Scholarship Accounts. She also outlined the impact that vouchers have had financially and educationally. In February, Greg Schubert, Director of Business Services for Continental School District 39, explained how our local school district is funded and the services it provides to the students. Both programs certainly gave us a clearer picture, but they also raised many questions and concerns.

In her article “The Indispensability of Community Public Schools,” Linda Lyons observes that Merriam Webster’s dictionary defines “indispensable,” as “absolutely necessary” and not “subject to being set aside or neglected.” As such, the importance of public schools to our communities and country cannot be overlooked. State funding of students who are being home schooled or attending charter or private schools, which have no accountability, reduces the ability of public schools to provide standard education. The Office of the Governor estimates that at the current rate of expansion, Arizona’s Empowerment Scholarship Account program will cost $1.5 billion over the next ten years.

Stephen Owens of Common Grace, Common Schools, writes “the brutal truth of schooling in this U.S. is that parental income is strongly predictive of educational outcomes.” Anya Kamenezt of the New York Times observes, “by robbing our community schools of critical funding, dedicated teachers, and the ability to teach the truth, students of privilege will stay confined in their bubbles. Americans will lose the most powerful social innovation that helps us construct a common reality and try, imperfectly, to understand one another.”

We can do better. We must do better.

December 2022

AAUW members are connected by the privilege of education. We have each benefited from the opportunities that an education brings. It is heartwarming to know that our Green Valley chapter has extended this privilege to other women. In December, Public Policy Interest Group enjoyed a presentation by Karla B. Gonzalez-Quezada, Assistant Director of Scholarships and Outreach at Pima Community College (PCC). She is our contact person when we award scholarships each year. She expressed how much the money that has been raised by us has helped other women achieve their goals.

PCC has five campuses in the greater Tucson area and centers located throughout Tucson and the greater Pima County area including one in Nogales, AZ. PCC offers programs from career focused to academic transfer programs in liberal arts and humanities. In 1966, citizens of Pima County approved its formation, and construction of the first campus, now known as West Campus, began in 1969. In that year, classes began to meet at the Tucson Medical Center in Marana and the first academic credits were issued to 28 Native American students who qualified as Head Start teachers and aides. By 1970, 16 respiratory therapists had graduated, and 3543 students were enrolled. By 1978, PCC enrolled more female than male students. That ratio continues to this day. PCC continues to grow and innovate.

Last year our branch awarded six scholarships totaling $9,000 to six students attending PCC. These students enrolled for an average of eleven credits each. You can find more information about these awardees on our website. In the last three years, sixteen students received our scholarships totaling $23,725. Their average GPA was 3.59. What an extraordinary record. Congratulations to these gifted and hardworking women.

Karen Lueck, Public Policy Co-Chair

October Public Policy Meeting

Although we learn as children to respectfully listen to others, especially to adults, how well we learned this lesson is put to the test during the election cycle. I feel like I have been bombarded over the past months with opinion polls, op eds, interviews, panels, advertisements, and “news” reports. There seems to be no end! It is important to remember that only the votes we cast, not the noise of opinions, make a difference in an election.

However, in the October Public Policy meeting, we learned about opinions which do make a huge difference in our lives in the United States. These are the opinions of the Justices of the Supreme Court. We had the pleasure of a presentation by Honerable Richard D. Sievers, Retired. Judge Sievers graduated from University of Nebraska law school. He joined the Lincoln law firm of Marti, O’Gara, Dalton & Bruckner where he practiced civil trial law until he was sworn in as judge on the new Nebraska Court of Appeals. He was named as the court’s first chief judge. He remained on the court until May 31, 2013, when he joined the Perry Guthery law firm in Lincoln.

Richard gave us an overview of the court system in the United States. He then detailed some of the most important cases which have been recently decided by the Supreme Court as well as those cases in this court session that will have the greatest impact on our lives as well as the legal foundation of our country.

In the case of Dobbs, State Health Officer of The Mississippi Department of Health v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the court decided on June 24, 2022, that “the Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.” The majority opinion was written by Justice Samuel Alito.

In the case of Donald J Trump, applicant v. United States of America, Richard directed us to the Supreme Court website where we can read the Department of Justice’s brief (22A283). Trump has made an application to the Supreme Court regarding the classified documents seized at Mar-a-Lago. It was interesting to actually read the brief and then go to news reports for their interpretations and predictions. Only time will tell how this and other landmark cases will be decided by the Supreme Court and who will be writing the opinions. Opinions of the Supreme Court do matter.

Karen Lueck, Public Policy Chair

October 2023

News alert!!! The Little Mermaid’s Ariel is Black! What? How can this be? I, a very White person, had always envisioned her as a White character and the animated movie certainly confirmed that. The brouhaha that has developed over the color of the skin of a fairy tale character, let alone a mermaid, is confirmation of the importance of all people being able to see themselves in literature. Books that are “diverse, promote respect and empathy for all people.” In addition, “students gain self-respect from reading about characters with whom they identify.” This is one of the premises of Books for Classrooms.

In September, Public Policy had the pleasure of a presentation by Linda Laird about Books for Classrooms. It is a 501(c )(3) nonprofit corporation formed in June 2019. It developed because of the recognition that Arizona’s school systems rank near or at the bottom in the United States. No matter what parameters were in place, access to books by children always tops the list for achieving academic success. Unfortunately having accessibility to books, let alone current, quality books, was increasingly difficult in Arizona. This was an even larger problem in Title 1 districts. With that, a group of retired educators in Green Valley established Books for Classrooms. Their primary mission is to provide every Title 1 district public school classroom in Pima County with current, high quality, supplemental books. These books emphasize the mirroring of the diversity in the classroom to encourage students to read and become life-long learners.

Books for Classrooms is on its way to fulfilling the goal of filling all the classrooms on the Tohono O’odham Nation with books and building back the school libraries in Baboquivari School District. In addition, with the help of the Green Valley Woodworkers, little free libraries were built to be placed in the community centers of the reservation. These little libraries were decorated by and will be maintained by the students. They are always looking for used 500-or-less-piece puzzles and games suitable for 4th-6th graders. If you are cleaning house and have any you would like to donate, they can be dropped off at the GV Chamber of Commerce or at Linda Laird’s house, 1432 S San Luis in Green Valley.

Books for Classrooms recognizes that these accomplishments are because of volunteers and organizations who are working together to be sure that all children see themselves in books and can have access to these books in their classroom. For more information and to find out how you can help, check the website Booksforclassrooms.org.

Karen Lueck, Public Policy Chair

March 2022

AAUW-Green Valley members recently participated in the Rally to End Violence Against Women and Girls and celebrated International Women’s Day. Public Policy participants were further inspired by Cosette Thompson’s presentation at our March meeting. Cosette is a human rights consultant who was the Western Regional Director of Amnesty International USA (AIUSA) for ten years. She co-founded and coordinated AIUSA’s Human Rights Education and LGBT Networks, as well as the Ginetta Sagan Fund for Women’s Rights.

Cosette’s realization of the impact of rape and violence against women occurred during her studies in literature at La Sorbonne University (Paris). Many of her fellow students were escaping violence in their home countries and had themselves been torture victims. Through her interactions with these students, she was inspired to focus her career on promoting human rights education and campaigning to eradicate torture and discrimination and violence against women.

A priority for Cossette in addressing rape and violence is viewing it not as a tragedy but in a human- rights framework. By doing so, the violation cannot be normalized, and all stakeholders must become involved. One stakeholder is the media. A goal is for the media to be an ally and not part of the problem. Too often a media story includes triggers to the act of violence, like what the women were wearing, what they were doing, how fast they reported the incident, and if they withdrew their compliance with law enforcement after registering the incident. The need for the victims to retell the story or to justify their own actions can add to their trauma. Incidences are reported as isolated as opposed to reporting them in the context of a global epidemic of acts of violence which have similar root causes. To assist the media, Cossette contributed to the writing of Silence and Omissions: A Media Guide for Covering Gender Based Violence. This publication is free and downloadable at gbvjournalism.org.

Rape and other acts of violence against women including femicide were addressed in an international treaty adopted in 1979 by the United Nations General Assembly and instituted on September 3, 1981. The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is the only international human rights treaty that specifically addresses the rights of women. Although it has been twenty years, the United States has yet to ratify the treaty. Neither has Sudan, Somalia, nor Iran. This is not a club that we should be proud to be part of.

As women, we must continue to educate ourselves on how to be agents of change. We can make a difference for future generations of women.

Karen Lueck, Public Policy Co-Chair

February 2022

It is that time of year again! It is the dreaded tax time. For those of us who pay income tax in Arizona there is, however, an opportunity to further help children who attend Arizona public schools. You can direct a portion of your state taxable income directly to a public school and receive a dollar-for-dollar reduction in the actual tax you owe. This school tax credit is limited to $200 for an individual or $400 for those filing married or jointly. The credit may be split among more than one public school. You do not have to have children enrolled in school. You do not have to donate the full amount. Your credit will be limited to the amount of your donation. You do not have to live within the school district. You can take advantage of it even if you owed taxes or are receiving a refund.

When paying your taxes, think of the children and their education. Take advantage of the Arizona School Tax Credit. For more information, visit the Arizona Department of Revenue webpage and always consult with your tax advisor.

Karen Lueck, Public Policy Co-chair