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The public is invited to come to the General Meeting of the La Palma-Cerritos Branch of the AAUW (American Association University Women), on Thursday, April 21, 2022, at the Skyline Room of the Cerritos Library, 18025 Bloomfield Avenue, Cerritos, CA. Social time at 6:30 p.m. will be followed by guest speaker Norwalk resident and author Francine Rodriguez, at 7:00-8:00 p.m., who will discuss her life and her award-winning anthology, A Woman’s Story.
The book depicts the lives of nine Latinas of varying ages and lifestyles living in contemporary Los Angeles who had experiences with violence, exploitation, sexism, racism, or inner rage, and conflicts with gender identity, family, or religion. Her book won the Silver Medal at the 2022 International Latino Book Awards. A branch business meeting will follow the book presentation with Election of Officers for 2022-2023
Francine Rodriguez has an interesting story to tell about herself. She grew up in the Skid Row and
Echo Park areas of Los Angeles and had different kinds of employment in her lifetime. She worked her
way though college by driving a tractor trailer and delivering mail for the Postal Service. She received
her B.A. degree in Sociology from UCLA, her Juris Doctor degree in Law from U.W.L.A.
With her academic education completed, Francine worked in the fields of law and psychology. She became a Civil Rights and Discrimination Investigator, DOJ Appeals and Litigation Specialist, Federal Mediator mediating Title VII and ADA complaints of discrimination, LA County Court Mediator, Attorney, substance abuse and HIV counselor, Proposition 36 lobbyist, SEIU (Service Employees International Union) Labor Grievance Representative. She is retired from her previous occupations and now is known as an award-winning Author of stories and books.
While working at all her past occupations, Francine successfully raised five children, who are now adults. She also is a proud grandmother of five grandchildren. Currently, she finds time to volunteer for animal rescue of dogs brought to the U.S. for their meat. She also runs an impromptu shelter for feral cats.
The community is welcome to come and meet Francine Rodriguez at the April 21 st meeting of the La Palma-Cerritos AAUW and learn about her life and the lives of her Latina friends and neighbors that she depicted in her book, A Woman’s Story. A limited number of her book will be available for purchase with a portion of the sales donated to the AAUW Fund.
For more information about the AAUW’s future programs, contact Program Co-VP Karen Cox at 562-519-0596.
