Regional gatherings recap: June 2014

JAWS NYC: About 25 fabulous women converged on the East Side of Manhattan for a late spring gathering at Merrill Perlman’s apartment on June 12. Because most people brought dishes familiar on tapas menus, we called it a “tapaluck” rather than a potluck. Ruthie Padawer drove in from New Jersey to be an amazing co-hostess. Among our special guests were Margaret Sullivan, the public editor of the New York Times, being introduced to JAWS; longtime JAWdesses Betsy Wade, Joy Cook, Liz Seegert and Geneva Overholser; and a lot of new members or those who had not yet been to a JAWS event, including Kira Goldenberg, Hanan Kamal – who brought a wonderful lentil and rice dish – Meral Agish, Yvonne Leow and Stephanie Hughes, who just moved to New York and started a job at Bloomberg. (Not singling people out, but trying to give a good sampling.)

Barbara Selvin brought several of her students from Long Island, so we had several generations of journalists, engaged in lively discussions on such things as workloads (everyone seems to be doing the work of two or three people), asking for a raise, appropriate dress for the job (then and now, broadcast and print), and the dark days when women could be fired just for being pregnant. (Wait! That still happens!)

JAWS Southern California: Janice Rhoshalle Littlejohn hosted a group of female writers, professors, activists and performers at her home on June 1. There were delicious dishes from 22 participants. Many thanks to our social coordinator, Megan Sweas, for prompting this end-of-spring soiree.