The Carrie Chapman Catt Center for Women and Politics is pleased to recognize the accomplishments and activities of its faculty, staff, students and alumni:
Amy Aronson, recipient of a 2009 Carrie Chapman Catt Prize for Research on Women and Politics, will have a book published from Oxford University Press in December titled, “Crystal Eastman: A Revolutionary Life.” Aronson’s research for the book was supported by the Catt Prize. Aronson is an associate professor of journalism and media studies at Fordham University where she serves on the American Studies Program executive committee and is the program director for New Media and Digital Design. She serves as the U.S. editor for “Media History: An International Quarterly.”
Martha Broadnax, senior in political science, was one of 10 students selected to serve on Iowa State University’s Homecoming Cardinal Court. She also was selected as a finalist to interview for the Marshall Scholarship on Nov. 15. The Marshall Scholarship supports candidates who have the potential to excel as scholars, leaders and contributors to improved U.K.-U.S. understanding; assessment is based on academic merit, leadership potential and ambassadorial potential and will be awarded to just five students. Broadnax is the director of residency for Student Government, volunteers with Habitat for Humanity, and is the Political Science Alumni Legacy of Heroines scholar. She is from Minneapolis, Minnesota, and will be honored on the 2020 Women Impacting ISU calendar.
Dianne Bystrom, director emerita, moderated a panel discussion on Nov. 4 as part of a three-session class on “Dark Money: Montana to Nebraska and Beyond” presented in Lincoln, Nebraska, by the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. Panelists included current and former Nebraska state legislators, two of whom were targeted and defeated in 2016 through efforts of dark money-funded groups, and an investigative television journalist.
Vivian Cook, graduate student in sustainable agriculture and community and regional planning, directed her play, “Climate Change Theatre Action: Lighting the Way,” Sept. 30 at the Iowa State University Parks Library as part of their Monday Monologues series. The play addresses climate change issues and serves as a call to community action in partnership with the international Climate Change Theatre Action initiative. Full length performances were performed at Fisher Theatre Oct. 4-6, Parks Library lawn on Oct. 10 and at the Ames Public Library on Oct. 20. Cook graduated from Iowa State in May 2019 with degrees in performing arts and French and was the James R. and Lauri K. Young Legacy of Heroines scholar from 2015-19. She is from Prescott, Arizona.
Jessica Holtkamp accepted a new position with the Campus Election Engagement Project as their assistant fellowship director in September. Holtkamp was a 2018-19 Haselhoff Family Legacy of Heroines scholar and graduated in May with a degree in political science. Holtkamp also worked as the Archives of Women’s Political Communication intern at the Catt Center for the past two years and as a CEEP fellow as a student. She is from Mount Pleasant, Iowa.
Karen Kedrowski, center director, presented on the 19h Amendment Centennial Kickoff at the USDA in Ames on Sept. 4. On Sept. 24, she presented on breast cancer and prostate cancer activism at the Iowa Cancer Summit in Ankeny. On Sept. 30, she spoke on the history of suffrage and its lasting impact at the Ames Rotary club meeting. On. Oct. 17, she was an invited guest on the women and politics panel at the Iowa State History Museum in Des Moines, and on Oct. 21, she was a guest lecturer in Eric Olson’s political events planning course and later that evening moderated a panel discussion on women in politics for the Young Professionals of Des Moines. Kedrowski spoke with eight women leaders from Europe who were hosted by the Iowa International Center on Oct. 28 at the Catt Center office to discuss “Women Leaders: Promoting Peace and Security.” And on Oct. 30, she presented a public lecture, “The Women’s Suffrage Movement and 100 Years of Women’s Votes” at the Muscatine Community College.
Sarah Meisch, a senior in political science and international studies and the Jane Greimann Legacy of Heroines scholar, represented Iowa State as a delegate to the Student Conference on U.S. Affairs 71 in West Point, New York, from Oct. 30-Nov. 2. The conference is hosted by the United States Military Academy at West Point each year and inspires delegates to pursue a career in public service and provides a foundation for strong civil military relationships among future leaders in the military and public policy. This year’s SCUSA 71 theme was “Advancing the National Interest – The Intersection of Domestic Politics and American Foreign Policy.” Meisch is from Kansas City, Missouri.
Kristine Perkins, public relations/student programs coordinator for the center, was selected as one of 53 authors to have her short story, “Ione,” published in “Running Wild Press Anthology, Volume 4,” which is projected to be released in June 2020 by Running Wild Press. This will be Perkins’ first fiction piece selected for publication.
Jennifer Spencer, Connie Wimer Legacy of Heroines scholar from 1997-2000, was recently promoted to senior program manager at Microsoft Netherlands. As part of the company’s global engineering team, she helps customers enable the power of Microsoft Endpoint Manager (Intune, ConfigMgr and desktop analytics) and provides customer insights to program managers as they develop the products’ future roadmap. Spencer has been with Microsoft Netherlands, located near Amsterdam, for two years. She graduated from Iowa State in 2001 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and mass communication and Spanish.
Kelly Winfrey, assistant professor in the Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication and coordinator of research and outreach for the Catt Center, will present two research papers on Nov. 16 at the National Communication Association annual convention in Baltimore, Maryland: “Fun at the State Fair: Gender Dynamics and the Iowa Soapbox Speeches of Presidential Candidates in 2019” and “Confirming Sexual Misconduct: Rhetorical Themes in the Confirmation of Clarence Thomas and Brett Kavanaugh.”