A story about my mother
Women's Voices Provides a Setting for Talking About Issues Pertinent to Females
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Women's Voices Provides a Setting for Talking About Issues Pertinent to Females
By Emily Crawford
Of the Journal
Charlie Romney-Brown was raised in a small town outside Salt Lake City, in a tightly structured world where she says obedience to the Mormon Church was paramount. It was a place "where women's options were so limited," she said in a recent interview at her home in Santa Fe.
Romney-Brown left the church and her arranged marriage in her 20s. Now in her 60s, she's spent the last 20 years promoting women's causes.
In Santa Fe, the former Georgetown University women's studies adjunct professor has created a women's forum called, appropriately enough, Women's Voices.
The mission of the group is to enrich women's lives through education, dialogue and outreach, she said of the grass-roots group she founded three years ago and which has swelled to more than 150 members.
"The value of it for me is that I never would have met some of these women," said Patricia Ann Rudy-Baese, a financial planner. "It is a positive experience. You walk out of there and think, 'Oooh good, I'm not alone.' ''
Each week, Romney-Brown invites local and national heavyweights like Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Pat Oliphant and author Natalie Goldberg to speak to the group in one of the member's homes. Issues as varied as violence against women, fostering daily creativity and protecting financial assets have been covered.
The value of the group "is for everyone to grow, to start thinking and sharing," said Santa Fe Living Treasure Mary Lou Cook, who is 87. Cook compared the group to a family where individuals learn from those in other generations. It provides a wisdom that comes from sharing life experiences, she said.
To facilitate the sharing part, Romney-Brown occasionally organizes smaller groups of 12 or so that meet privately and discuss a single topic like "betrayal." It is in these groups that many friendships are made. Professional women with jobs in the public eye benefit especially from having a safe and confidential place to air their thoughts and feelings, Romney-Brown said.
Offering support
Women's Voices also fills a social void for members who have lost husbands, partners, children or have moved far from their families. The community is similar to those found in a church or in service clubs like the Rotary Club, Romney-Brown said.
Women's Voices functions as a support group and an intellectual forum but does not have a specific political platform, though Romney-Brown herself is passionate about women's rights.
"We are inclusive," she said, noting that Women's Voices' membership includes both Republicans and Democrats.
Still, Romney-Brown feels that women today have to be very careful to not allow the achievements of the women's movement to be rolled back.
"If we slumber, we are going to lose those rights," she said, after discussing her thoughts on equal pay for women and abortion rights.
The members of Women's Voices are from diverse backgrounds and professions, and most range from 50 to 80-plus years-old. Many are distinguished in their individual pursuits and professions such as Sally Denton, an author and investigative reporter, and Cook, a longtime activist on many issues in Santa Fe.
Lucinda Marker, a financial planner, said the group is a great place to network and make meaningful friendships.
"It is a fascinating group; I couldn't believe what a high caliber group it was and how supportive they were of each other and to women," Marker said. "It has nothing to do with filling time and everything to do with making women's lives as good as possible."
Romney-Brown said that through the speakers and new friendships, women in the group learn and support each other and local causes.
"The potential power of this group to do transformative things is glaringly apparent. They (Women's Voices members) are individual and collective catalysts for positive change," said Barbara Goldman, the executive director of the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center.
Goldman spoke to the group recently about sexual violence in Santa Fe. The experience, she said, was "invigorating." The women put their hearts, time and money into the cause of fighting sexual violence after hearing her speak, Goldman said, and they remain staunch supporters.
"Most people, given a choice, don't want to think about (sexual violence). I loved the fact the Women's Voices wanted to be proactive."
Besides the Rape Crisis Center, the group also has provided funding for the New Mexico Women's Foundation.
Based on earlier group
Women's Voices is based on a similar group called Defining Destiny that Romney-Brown started in Washington, D.C., in 1990 with seven members. The group eventually grew to more than 500 members. It was at a time when women's studies programs were growing exponentially as was interest in the subject by older generations.
At first, the group, largely made up of Romney-Brown's friends, discussed literature that she taught in her Georgetown classes.
But her literary group expanded quickly, and soon Romney-Brown was scheduling speakers from many fields to address her burgeoning group of curious and active women from all generations.
"Every important woman author, thinker and philosophers in the axis of D.C., Boston and New York came and spoke," she said, including Hillary Clinton, when she was first lady and Elizabeth Drew, a former Washington correspondent for the New Yorker.
Romney-Brown led the group for seven years before moving to Santa Fe in 1997.
Now that the Santa Fe group is a success, Romney-Brown is thinking of starting a group for younger women that would address issues affecting them like affordable child care and equal pay.
She acknowledges that the issues facing younger women are different than some of those affecting women of her generation. Romney-Brown and her peers are concerned, she said, for their daughters' and granddaughters' well-being and want to keep their community multi-generational.
"We want to improve conditions for women in the future," she said. "We have to learn from younger generations. None of us can know it all."
Staff Writer Emily Crawford can be reached at ecrawford@abqjournal.com
Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal
Thursday, March 10, 2005
Women's Voices Provides a Setting for Talking About Issues Pertinent to Females
By Emily Crawford
Of the Journal
Charlie Romney-Brown was raised in a small town outside Salt Lake City, in a tightly structured world where she says obedience to the Mormon Church was paramount. It was a place "where women's options were so limited," she said in a recent interview at her home in Santa Fe.
Romney-Brown left the church and her arranged marriage in her 20s. Now in her 60s, she's spent the last 20 years promoting women's causes.
In Santa Fe, the former Georgetown University women's studies adjunct professor has created a women's forum called, appropriately enough, Women's Voices.
The mission of the group is to enrich women's lives through education, dialogue and outreach, she said of the grass-roots group she founded three years ago and which has swelled to more than 150 members.
"The value of it for me is that I never would have met some of these women," said Patricia Ann Rudy-Baese, a financial planner. "It is a positive experience. You walk out of there and think, 'Oooh good, I'm not alone.' ''
Each week, Romney-Brown invites local and national heavyweights like Pulitzer Prize-winning cartoonist Pat Oliphant and author Natalie Goldberg to speak to the group in one of the member's homes. Issues as varied as violence against women, fostering daily creativity and protecting financial assets have been covered.
The value of the group "is for everyone to grow, to start thinking and sharing," said Santa Fe Living Treasure Mary Lou Cook, who is 87. Cook compared the group to a family where individuals learn from those in other generations. It provides a wisdom that comes from sharing life experiences, she said.
To facilitate the sharing part, Romney-Brown occasionally organizes smaller groups of 12 or so that meet privately and discuss a single topic like "betrayal." It is in these groups that many friendships are made. Professional women with jobs in the public eye benefit especially from having a safe and confidential place to air their thoughts and feelings, Romney-Brown said.
Offering support
Women's Voices also fills a social void for members who have lost husbands, partners, children or have moved far from their families. The community is similar to those found in a church or in service clubs like the Rotary Club, Romney-Brown said.
Women's Voices functions as a support group and an intellectual forum but does not have a specific political platform, though Romney-Brown herself is passionate about women's rights.
"We are inclusive," she said, noting that Women's Voices' membership includes both Republicans and Democrats.
Still, Romney-Brown feels that women today have to be very careful to not allow the achievements of the women's movement to be rolled back.
"If we slumber, we are going to lose those rights," she said, after discussing her thoughts on equal pay for women and abortion rights.
The members of Women's Voices are from diverse backgrounds and professions, and most range from 50 to 80-plus years-old. Many are distinguished in their individual pursuits and professions such as Sally Denton, an author and investigative reporter, and Cook, a longtime activist on many issues in Santa Fe.
Lucinda Marker, a financial planner, said the group is a great place to network and make meaningful friendships.
"It is a fascinating group; I couldn't believe what a high caliber group it was and how supportive they were of each other and to women," Marker said. "It has nothing to do with filling time and everything to do with making women's lives as good as possible."
Romney-Brown said that through the speakers and new friendships, women in the group learn and support each other and local causes.
"The potential power of this group to do transformative things is glaringly apparent. They (Women's Voices members) are individual and collective catalysts for positive change," said Barbara Goldman, the executive director of the Santa Fe Rape Crisis Center.
Goldman spoke to the group recently about sexual violence in Santa Fe. The experience, she said, was "invigorating." The women put their hearts, time and money into the cause of fighting sexual violence after hearing her speak, Goldman said, and they remain staunch supporters.
"Most people, given a choice, don't want to think about (sexual violence). I loved the fact the Women's Voices wanted to be proactive."
Besides the Rape Crisis Center, the group also has provided funding for the New Mexico Women's Foundation.
Based on earlier group
Women's Voices is based on a similar group called Defining Destiny that Romney-Brown started in Washington, D.C., in 1990 with seven members. The group eventually grew to more than 500 members. It was at a time when women's studies programs were growing exponentially as was interest in the subject by older generations.
At first, the group, largely made up of Romney-Brown's friends, discussed literature that she taught in her Georgetown classes.
But her literary group expanded quickly, and soon Romney-Brown was scheduling speakers from many fields to address her burgeoning group of curious and active women from all generations.
"Every important woman author, thinker and philosophers in the axis of D.C., Boston and New York came and spoke," she said, including Hillary Clinton, when she was first lady and Elizabeth Drew, a former Washington correspondent for the New Yorker.
Romney-Brown led the group for seven years before moving to Santa Fe in 1997.
Now that the Santa Fe group is a success, Romney-Brown is thinking of starting a group for younger women that would address issues affecting them like affordable child care and equal pay.
She acknowledges that the issues facing younger women are different than some of those affecting women of her generation. Romney-Brown and her peers are concerned, she said, for their daughters' and granddaughters' well-being and want to keep their community multi-generational.
"We want to improve conditions for women in the future," she said. "We have to learn from younger generations. None of us can know it all."
Staff Writer Emily Crawford can be reached at ecrawford@abqjournal.com
Copyright 2005 Albuquerque Journal
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