Board to Board July 2026
Leading Together
Sigrid Moranz
Co-President, AAUW California, statepresident@aauw-ca.org
Sharyn Siebert,
Co-President, AAUW California,
statepresident@aauw-ca.org
Sigrid: I have been the president of AAUW Laguna Beach for five years. Prior to that, I was president of AAUW Newport-Irvine-Costa Mesa for several years. Over the years, I have held most offices in the branch. I have been a member of the AAUW California board for four years, first as a director, then as president-elect, and now as co-president with my esteemed colleague Sharyn Siebert. My time as a director was with the Branch Development Committee, where I led Leadership Development.
My home is in Newport Beach, where I live with my husband and three cats. My career prior to retirement was in sales, marketing, and consulting with IBM for 15 years and then with Oracle for another 15 years.
I love reading, politics, and fashion, and even attended the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising after I retired just for fun.
Sharyn: When I moved to California from New Jersey in 2003, it was the first time I had ever heard about AAUW, even though I had always been passionate about women’s issues and had been married to a university professor. Two weeks after moving here, I learned about our amazing organization and joined. Later that year, I was asked: “Would you help with something for my branch?” I said yes, and here I am all these years later.
In my Monterey Peninsula Branch, now doing business as Monterey County Branch, I have held most branch leadership positions—twice as president. I also chaired our Monterey Bay IBC for several years and served on the AAUW California Branch Support Committee. While serving on that committee, I was asked to run for the state board and held various posts during the six years I served as a director. I termed out, but then was encouraged to run for state president. Now I have the great honor to be co-president with my alter ego, Sigrid Moranz.
Because I have said many times that AAUW is one of the best kept secrets, I want us to share our awesomeness more widely, hence our tag-line:
Inspiring Action through Community Engagement
Charmen Goehring,
AAUW Fund Coordinator,
aauwfund@aauw-ca.org
Charmen Goehring cares deeply about AAUW, as evidenced by her 34-year membership, her commitment to volunteer leadership, and her financial commitment as a Legacy Circle member and a monthly contributor of funds to support AAUW’s outreach and programming. Charmen has served in nearly every board position in numerous branches, including Program VP/President-Elect/President in Maine, two terms on the National Board, and several terms on the AAUW California state board, including as State President. She is also a Legacy Circle Liaison for AAUW National. In her spare time, Charmen enjoys the beach, traveling, spending time with family and friends, and learning new things.
MEMBERSHIP
Seena Trigas,
Director,
membership@aauw-ca.org
Seena Trigas: I am looking forward to being part of an amazing team as we support our members and spread the word about the opportunities within AAUW California. My background has centered on advocacy, whether it be concerning education (retired high school/community college teacher and school board member) or community service (past planning commissioner or library board trustee). I have been active in local politics, including campaign manager in non-partisan races, and of course, have found a home within our own organization, including my recent past presidency of the Carlsbad, Oceanside, Vista (COV) Branch, as well as a member of our Public Policy committee and School Board Project subcommittee. 2026-27 promises to be a year of challenges and opportunities, and I expect our membership to grow and thrive as we support women and girls and establish strong branch communities.
Leadership
Beckie Gomez,
Director,
leader-dev@aauw-ca.org
Beckie Gomez: I am serving as the Director for Branch Development for the third year. I will also be working with Mary Isaac to develop a new approach to Gov Trek. At the local level, I was the programs chair and am now in my third year as the president of the Tustin-Santa Ana-Orange Branch.
Along with AAUW, I have served as a city councilmember and a county school board trustee, and held several leadership positions in non-profit organizations.
Professionally, I was in healthcare administration and then became a tenured faculty member. A few years ago, I retired as the Dean of Health Science at Cypress College.
I look forward to meeting and working with the California membership.
Five-Star and Branch Support
Donna Holmes, Director
branch@aauw-ca.org
five-star@aauw-ca.org
Donna Holmes: I decided to continue for the next two years and hope to make a positive difference with your interactions with California and the National HUB. I am a forty-year, third-generation AAUW member who has held (or am holding) many branch positions, including president, finance, membership, and scholarship chair. I use the National Hub almost daily and will be happy to assist/train you in making your life easier. Peer group meetings will be with Branch Development.
The rules for 2027 Five-Star are posted HERE so you may hit the ground running!
College University
Susan Bangasser,
College/University Committee chair,
cu@aauw-ca.org
Susan Bangasser After earning her PhD in biochemistry and spending several years in research, Susan became a chemistry faculty member at a community college and later served as Dean of Sciences. She discovered a deep joy in teaching chemistry at a community college and supporting student success. As Dean of Sciences, she advocated for students, helping create opportunities that encouraged learning, persistence, and achievement. In retirement, Susan has continued to support student success by serving as the co-chair of the College and University Partnership Program for the Redlands Branch. She has also served on AAUW California’s Branch Development Committee for the past three years and is a valued resource for College and University Partnership programs across California branches. After serving as president-elect of the Redlands Branch this past year, she will now step into the role of co-president. Susan looks forward to continuing her advocacy for students and supporting AAUW branch leaders.
Sandi Gabe,
Director,
communications@aauw-ca.org
Sandi Gabe is passionate about helping organizations grow, adapt, and better serve their communities. A former President of AAUW California, she has served AAUW in numerous branch and state leadership roles and currently serves on the AAUW National Board of Directors, focusing on communications, technology, strategic planning, and leadership development.
Before retiring, Sandi held senior leadership positions with United Healthcare, Kaiser Permanente, and Catholic Healthcare West, where she led large-scale organizational and strategic initiatives. Sandi lives in Mariposa, California, where she enjoys traveling with her husband and friends and spending time with her two children and two grandchildren.
Renee MacArthur,
CFO,
cfo@aauw-ca.org
Renee MacArthur, CFO: I’m beginning my second year as the Chief Financial Officer. I’ve been a Certified Public Accountant for over twenty-five years. I’ve worked in both the for-profit and non-profit sectors, as well as in grant funding and oversight for the San Francisco Mayor’s Office and the federal Department of Human Services. I’m a member of the Danville Alamo Walnut Creek Branch, and I live in Walnut Creek. I look forward to supporting the branches in financial matters.
Marty McKnew,
Governance Committee chair,
governance@aauw-ca.org
Marty McKnew oversees governance matters that help ensure AAUW California operates effectively, transparently, and in accordance with its bylaws and policies.
Carol Holzgrafe,
Nomination and Elections chair,
nominating@aauw-ca.org
Carol Holzgrafe: I graduated from U.C. Santa Barbara, have a techie husband, two adult children, one a teacher and one a techie, one granddaughter now in college, and an attractive and persistent cat. Since discovering AAUW in 1981, I have belonged to five branches, been president six times, co-led Tech Trek California for six years, directed three Tech Trek camps for a total of 10 years, and continue to volunteer at several camps. After four years on the state board, I now co-edit three branch newsletters, manage branch Public Policy, and serve on two Tech Trek committees for Chico and Paradise. I also belong to the Morgan Hill and San Jose branches. Chairing Nominations and Elections should be enormously enjoyable because I’ll meet so many of our terrific California members as we work to improve the lives of women and girls. Expect to hear from me.
Amy Hom,
Public Policy and Advocacy,
Director,
publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org
Melissa Maceyko,
Public Policy and Advocacy,
Director,
publicpolicy@aauw-ca.org
Amy Hom began her career as a thermal engineer in the aerospace industry, specializing in the thermal modeling and design of commercial satellites. After eight years, she sought a more people-centered role and transitioned into large account management in the tech sector, where she built and maintained client relationships over a 24-year career. Since retiring in 2020, she has dedicated her time to advancing gender equity through her public policy work with AAUW. She has co-chaired the Public Policy Committee with the wonderful Missy Maceyko since 2023. In her spare time, Amy enjoys traveling, hiking, kayaking, cooking and eating, and spending time with her family.
Missy Maceyko continues to advocate for policies that support women and girls while partnering with Amy Hom to advance AAUW California’s legislative priorities.
Mary Isaac,
Director,
Tech Trek Program Director, Tech Trek Committee chair,
techtrek@aauw-ca.org
Mary Isaac is a boomer from the 50s, but she is definitely not Unc.
Second oldest of eight kids with a stay-at-home mom and an engineer Dad, she was gonna be a rockstar, but ended up a machinist, and ultimately, an engineer and business leader for a multinational company, General Electric or GE. After taking a golden parachute at age 52, she returned to school for her master’s in teaching STEM, then earned a PhD in STEM education, capitalizing on the engineering outreach she was leading with middle school girls while in the Society of Women Engineers (SWE) leadership team in various capacities.
She spent the last 20 years trying to understand what it takes to get (and keep) girls interested in STEM through college, and is heading into her fifth and final year as California Tech Trek Program Director as she brings her replacement up to speed, while taking on some additional responsibilities on the AAUW California board, such as assisting with the reintroduction of Gov Trek.
She and her third-time’s-a-charm husband Nick love cruises, music, dogs, good tequila, and Uber.
Mary says: “Think about it: cross-generational communities are the OG of AI – where do you think the experiential information comes from that gets programmed into the algorithms? Let’s keep the network growing and fill it with girlthink!”