Dear Friends of WRIN,
It’s amazing to think that we’ve launched our twenty-fourth year here on the UNLV campus. We are thankful for the many supporters who have believed in our mission from our early presence in 1999 and over the many years since.
Despite the challenge of the past several years, our staff has found creative ways to move our projects forward. Their dedication is the driving force behind our institute. We are in full planning mode for the June 2023 NEW Leadership Nevada program. This will be our twenty-first year of providing this critical leadership and civic engagement training.
Our WRIN Interns continue to craft Status Briefs to hone their researching skills and provide a snapshot view of women’s wellbeing in Nevada. The latest two detail: Alzheimers & Women/ Reactions to the overturning of Roe v Wade.
Barbara Agonia Empowerment Scholarship
We are pleased to announce the launch of the Barbara Agonia Empowerment Scholarship in honor of our first Community Advisory Board Chair, Barbara Agonia. Barbara’s leadership during our institute’s early years provided critical support and encouragement while our young institute worked to establish its impact across Nevada. This scholarship honor’s Barbara’s leadership role in empowering women and girls. The $2,000 annual scholarship is awarded to students who have worked to uplift women and/or girls in their community.
GEMS that S.H.I.N.E. (formerly GALS with H.E.A.R.T.)
WRIN recognizes the humanities sector as an essential component of economic and civic life. This grant helped us restore, sustain and supplement the Girls Empowerment Middle School’s (GEMS’) core education. GEMS that SHINE (Students with Humanities Instruction and Needs Enrichment) specializes in the needs of diverse adolescent girls going through a very transformative time in their lives. GEMS that S.H.I.N.E. complements the school’s mission—guiding students through their middle school experience with better preparation for high school, college, and beyond. Our focus on empowering and education aligns with the humanities criterion to nurture, understand, and enhance of one’s wellbeing.
Veteran’s Voices: We’re Listening
It is estimated that over 160,000 veterans live in Southern Nevada and veterans make up approximately 9% of the state’s population. To date there has been little to no organized effort to collect and preserve the untold stories of our local veteran population. Now is the time to let our veterans know we are listening; that we honor and respect their service.
The Veterans’ Voices: We’re Listening is a collaborative oral history project between the Military & Veterans Service Center and the Women’s Research Institute of Nevada. The project is designed to affirm the value veterans contribute to our community. By providing a trusted listener (aka, an oral historian), our military veterans may record both their civilian and military experiences so that these memories do not simply fade away.
Please check our website for upcoming announcements and program notes.
As always, our work could not continue without the support of our Community Advisory Board and many community supporters.
With much gratitutde,
Dr. Caryll Batt Dziedziak, Director
