A Journey of Pain, Purpose, and Hope

When I first joined BPW, I carried a quiet hope that this would be a space where women could come together with dignity and work towards meaningful change. Over the years, I have experienced both the strength of this sisterhood and its challenges.

There have been painful moments that pushed me to my lowest point. In those dark times, two shining examples of leadership and empowerment stood out. One long-standing member resigned after 39 years in protest against how I was treated. Another international leader travelled across the globe to clarify governance matters. Their courage and compassion reminded me that BPW can be a place of integrity and genuine support.

At the same time, I have also witnessed the power of this organization on the global stage. I have had the privilege of speaking at parallel events during CSW in New York. These experiences showed me what BPW can achieve when we truly live our mission of empowering women.

I have found a seat at the table on many occasions, and I have been inspired by countless role models across the globe. On my recent trip to Taiwan, where I met over 100 people, surpassed itself in terms of hospitality, care, respect, love, and affection. BPW Taiwan created an unforgettable experience and priceless cherished memories, overcoming the language barrier with the language of human kindness and love — something rare and deeply inspiring.

Today, as Chair of the Gender-Based Violence Committee and NAC Training Coordinator, I continue this work with deep commitment. We are developing practical resources, such as the INFORM Guidebook, to support members in understanding and responding to gender-based violence. I am also focused on leadership development and succession planning, so that more women can step forward with confidence and purpose.

Looking ahead, my hope is that BPW becomes an organization where every woman feels safe to contribute, where gatekeeping gives way to genuine inclusion, and where contributions are recognised rather than diminished. I envision a BPW that focuses less on titles and more on impact where open dialogue is welcomed and succession is handled with care and generosity.

To the newer and younger members reading this: BPW needs your voice, your ideas, and your courage.

And to my sisters who have walked this path longer than I have: thank you for the legacy you have built. Let us honor it by passing it forward with trust and openness as architects of the future.

BPW has given me both pain and purpose. I choose to stay because I still believe in what we can become together.

Sujata Tiwari
Virtual

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Nancy Werner
Chair Public Relations
prchair@nfbpwc.org

Share your NFBPWC Magazine—share YOUR BPW

Our magazine is something to be proud of, something that lets others know who we are, what we stand for, and what we do—in short, it’s the perfect membership recruitment tool!

Let’s use it that way!

https://www.nfbpwc.org/emagazine

How?

1. Post this link to the magazine page of the NFBPWC website wherever you share about your local organization: on your website, on your Instagram, on your Facebook page, on your TicToc.
2. Add it to the end of your club’s email signature and your own.
3. Add it to all your personal social media accounts as well.

Nominations for 2026/2028 Elected Officers

In accordance with NFBPWC Bylaws, Article XVIII, nominations for elected office for NFBPWC 2026-2028 are now closed.

Nominations received by the published deadline are as follows:

President
Barbara J. Bozeman NFBPWC Virtual

First Vice President, Membership
Nicole Mpouli NFBPWC Virtual

Second Vice President, Advocacy
Barbara Davis California

Secretary
Nermin K. Ahmad New York City

Treasurer
Dr. Jo Naylor North Carolina

Young BPW
no nominations received

Nominations Chair
no nominations received

Required information to the Nominations Chair no later than the time the General Assembly and Biennial Conference general session convenes.

2026-2028 Nominations Form Link

Please contact me with any questions nominations@nfbpwc.org

Angie Jackson-Wilson
Chair Nominations
nominations@nfbpwc.org

Remembering All the Rosies...

The dwindling number of Rosie the Riveters like 104-year-old Roberta “Randy” Tidmore were recently honored in New Orleans. At 104 years old, Ms. Tidmore has outlived most of the people she served beside, worked beside, and volunteered beside.

She has lived through the Great Depression, WW2, the Cold War, and the dawn of the digital age. During her life she helped build bomber wings as a Rosie the Riveter, joined the Marine Corps during wartime, worked as a United Airline stewardess, worked at a tomato farm in Mexico, and spent decades volunteering in her community.

At the end of May, Ms. Tidmore was in New Orleans as one of 31 surviving Rosie the Riveters being honored during the National WWII Museum’s 2026 American Spirit Awards, a gathering that occurred as the country prepares to mark its 250th anniversary and as the number of living Americans who remember WW2 continues to shrink.

For Ms. Tidmore, the recognition is appreciated, but she is still puzzled by it. “I don’t know that we deserve all the recognition we’re getting… The majority of Americans were patriotic.”

That humility is a common thread among the women being honored. Many spent decades without public recognition for their contributions to the war effort, viewing their work not as extraordinary, but as necessary. Ms. Tidmore and fellow honoree, Elizabeth Tate never met during WWII, but together their lives show how the war pulled American women into jobs, training programs, and military service that had long been closed to them.

Ms. Tidmore built B-26 Marauder bomber wings before joining the Marines. Ms. Tate learned to read blueprints through wartime training programs before becoming a machinist producing parts for military ship building. Eight decades later, both are among the dwindling number of women who can still describe what it was like when an entire country mobilized for war.

From Bomber Wings to the Marines

Before becoming a Marine, Ms. Tidmore was one of millions of American women who entered the workforce during WWII to fill jobs left vacant by men deployed overseas.

After leaving nursing school, she followed friends to Rockford, IL, where she worked at the J. I. Case Company, a farm equipment manufacturer that had shifted to producing aircraft components for the war effort. Her job involved fitting metal gap covers over sections of the leading edge of the B-26 wings where the electrical equipment was housed, to help maintain smooth airflow over the aircraft. 

Six months later, she wanted to do more.

While passing through a bus terminal, she watched a group of Marines moving through the station and decided to enlist. “I thought they looked pretty good,” she recalled with a laugh.

She joined the Marine Corps in 1944 and trained as a motor transport operator, learning to drive and maintain military vehicles at a time few women were expected to work around engines, trucks, or mechanical equipment.

Looking back, Ms. Tidmore says the Marine Corps changed her life. “It taught me respect for other people. It taught me the chain of command.”

A Wartime Job That Built More Than Ships

For Ms. Tate, wartime work began with government training. She arrived in Washington through the National Youth Administration and Works Progress Administration programs.

There she learned to read blueprints, a skill she quickly excelled at according to responses shared to Military.com through her guardian. That skill opened the door to more advanced defense work.

from HyperScale Forums

After completing her initial training, Ms. Tate was given the chance to test for machinist positions. She remembered a trainer named Julio who helped guide her during that period.

Her daily work involved large tubs of metal pieces that workers machined into bolts and nuts for ship-building. Ms. Tate believes some of the work took place at Puget Sound, though she was not certain whether part of it also occurred at Hunter’s Point.

From the beginning, Ms. Tate understood the parts she handled were for the war effort. She was proud, her guardian said, to leave home to contribute to the country while providing financial support for her parents.

The job gave Ms. Tate more than a paycheck; it gave her a purpose. Eventually she saved enough money to help buy a modest home for her parents in New Orleans.

Women entered wartime jobs for different reasons, Ms. Tate said through her guardian, but many shared a great pride in helping the country. For her, that pride remains close to the surface.

Asked how she feels about being honored alongside other Rosies at the museum event, Ms. Tate became emotional. She said it brought back the same feelings she experiences while attending Rosie events in Richmond, California: pride in knowing that she and other women had worked hard and has been part of something special.

The Real Women Behind the Poster The public image of Rosie the Riveter has become one of the most recognizable symbols of American wartime labor, but Ms. Tidmore believes the poster can sometimes overshadow the women behind it.

“I think so, yes’,” she said when asked if the image has eclipsed real women. “So many women were working during WWII… everybody was working for the war effort.”

The work took many forms. Some women built ships, others assembled aircraft. Many filled transportation, logistics, and administration jobs that kept the military functioning. Women entered professions and industries that men had traditionally dominated.

Bonnie O’Leary
WA

Adapted from by Ryan Thomas LaBee’s article in Military.com, June 8, 2026.

BPW Founders Day: 107 years of Working Women Helping Women Work

We wish every BPW member glad tidings as we celebrate BPW Founders Day on July 16th – commemorating 107 years of working women helping women work.

The Membership Committee had their last meeting of the 2024-2026 term on June 15th. The Committee completed both the quarterly Board Report and the Biennial Board report collaboratively.

As we begin the final month of this term, the Membership Committee extends its thanks to all who have participated over the past 24 months.

Due to the Biennial, the Membership Committee will not meet in July.

VP Membership
vpmembership@nfbpwc.org

Are You Considering Attending the NFBPWC Biennial Conference in Person?

Your Legacy Committee has committed up to $1,000 for each affiliate (Arizona, California, Colorado, Michigan, North Carolina, New York City, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virtual, and Washington) to help with travel and hotel expenses for two members in good standing who are attending the conference in person.

The money will come in the form of a reimbursement to the affiliate so they can disburse it to their members. See the ad on page 11 for more details.

Is your committee or affiliate in need of funding for a special event?

The Legacy Fund Committee is a standing committee designed to handle and disburse incoming funds from Heritage Clubs. Members are Deb Fischer (chair), Barbara Bozeman, Jo Naylor, Megan Shellman-Rickard, and Sandy Thompson.

Our purpose is to support BPW’s committee and affiliate activities. If you are planning something special and need little financial assistance, please email the committee for an application. An example of the form itself is on the next page for your review.

The current value (as of May 28, 2026) of our investment portfolio is $300,478.72. Of which, $10,000 has been transferred to checking per the approved 2026 budget.

Interested members who would like to serve on the committee, please send us an email.

May love and friendship keep your days bright!

Deborah Fischer
Chair Legacy Fund
legacyfundchair@nfbpwc.org

Mary Edwards Walker: America’s First Female Medal of Honor

Dr. Mary Edwards Walker, America’s first female surgeon and first female Medal of Honor winner was born in November 1862 in Oswego, NY. She graduated in 1855 from Geneva Medical College in New York, just six years after Elizabeth Blackwell graduated from there as the first female doctor with a medical degree.

After college, Mary and her physician husband tried to open a medical practice in NY, which failed since the public did not accept a female doctor. Although she was not permitted to serve as a Medical Officer due to her gender. In 1863, Mary was certified as a US Army surgeon, treating wounded soldiers near the front-line battlefields such as Fredericksburg, VA, and Chattanooga, TN, during the Civil War.

In 1864, she was captured and held as a spy for four months by the Confederacy.

On November 11, 1865, President Andrew Johnson awarded her the Medal of Honor for that service. Although her medal was rescinded in 1917, it was restored in 1977 by President Jimmy Carter.

After the Civil War, she was awarded a disability pension but was denied a military pension since she had never been officially commissioned as an officer.

She then became an advocate for women’s rights, including the right to vote.

She wore men’s clothing, saying it was less restrictive on the farm and the battlefield. She was arrested several times for her clothing choices and was not permitted to vote in 1871.

When the suffrage movement gained traction in the 1900s, she testified in the US House of Representatives in support of women’s right to vote.

She has been publicly honored twice. In 2023, Fort Hill in Virginia was renamed in her honor and in June 2025, her image was put on a quarter as part of the American Women Quarters Program. The coin shows Walker holding her pocket surgical kit and wearing her surgeon’s pin and her Medal of Honor, which is also highlighted on its own within the design.

Bonnie O’Leary BSN, RN, LGBHC, LNC

Content from https://www.pcscoins.com/. Image from United States—Online Coin Club.

Online and Mobile Security Tips

I would like to thank the Federation for allowing me to serve as the Finance Chair for the last two years. It has been a rewarding and learning experience.

I received the following from the Bank of America and thought it was good information to share. Hopefully you will find it helpful.

10 Online and Mobile security tips As more people bank and shop online, proper internet security is more important than ever. There are a number of things you can do to stay safer online. Here are ten tips to help protect you and your money.

Use strong passwords

A strong password (one that is not easily guessed by a human or computer) will have eight or more characters, including letters, numbers and symbols.

Make sure to use different user IDs and passwords for your financial accounts and any other sites you use online.

Check out our best tips for creating a strong password.

Be mindful of the numbers you use. Don’t use any part of your Social Security number (or any other sensitive information, such as credit card numbers or birthdays) as a password, user ID, or personal identification number (PIN). If someone gains access to this information, it may be among the first things used to try to get into your account.

Look out for strange emails

Don’t respond to emails that claim to be from your bank (or any other company) requesting your account details. No bank is ever likely to approach you this way to ask for personal information.

Beware of email attachments

It’s never a good idea to click on email attachments or free software from unknown sources. You could end up exposing your computer (and the information on it) to online fraud and theft.

Keep in mind that links you receive in emails or in messages on social networking sites can be harmful or fraudulent, even if they appear to come from friends.

Watch how much you share online The more you post about yourself on social networking sites, the easier it might be for someone to use that information to access your accounts, steal your identity and more. Maximizing your privacy settings on social networking sites can also help protect your personal information.

Be careful about what and where you click

Look for security-enabled website addresses that start with “https” (the extra “s” indicates security).

These sites take extra measures to help secure your information. This is particularly important if you’re making purchases using your credit card.

If you receive requests for personal information while surfing the web, or calls for immediate action, these are almost always scams. If you suspect a link might give you a virus or steal personal data, don’t click on it. If the link was sent to you, talk to the sender directly to verify where it came from.

Secure your smartphone

Many mobile devices give you the option of locking your screen, which helps keep data stored on them secure. Depending on your phone, this can come in the form of a password, a pattern you draw on your phone’s touch screen, or even your fingerprint.

It may also be a good idea to add extra layers of protection to payment apps that you use.

Don’t keep sensitive information on your phone

Sensitive information includes your bank account numbers, identification information, passwords, and other personal details such as answers to your security questions.

Think before you download apps

It’s a good idea to review the privacy policy and understand what personal data an app can access before you download. It’s best to purchase or download apps from authorized stores.

Keep your technology up to date

Make sure to update your computer’s operating system, your internet browser, and the software on your mobile devices. Updates generally include the latest security patches.

Be sure to also use antivirus and antispyware software: These programs help find and remove malicious programs from your computer.

By following these online and mobile security tips, you can help protect your personal information from falling into the wrong hands.

If you suspect information related to your bank account has been compromised, contact your bank immediately for assistance addressing the issue.

Sandy Thompson
Chair Finance
finance@nfbpwc.org

Amendments for NFBPWC’s Bylaws, Policies and  Procedures, and Proposed Resolutions for the 2026 Biennial and General Assembly

The proposed amendments to the NFBPWC Bylaws and Policies and Procedures were emailed to each member on June 15, 2026. These proposed revisions will be presented for discussion and action during the Biennial General Assembly on Saturday, July 18, 2026, in Raleigh, NC.

Two Resolutions were proposed along with several amendments to the Advocacy Platform.

All submissions were prepared in accordance with established procedures and are being circulated in advance to ensure members have ample time for thoughtful review.

Please note that only members in attendance at the General Assembly may vote on the proposed changes.

We encourage you to read through the documents, so you are familiar with the proposals prior to the business session. Your preparation and engagement help support a smooth, informed, and productive process.

Thank you for your continued commitment to strengthening our organizational framework and upholding transparent, member-driven governance.

Angie Jackson-Wilson
Chair Bylaws & Resolutions
bylaws@nfbpwc.org

NFBPWC 2026 PROPOSED NATIONAL BYLAWS AMENDMENTS.docx

NFBPWC 2026 PROPOSED NATIONAL POLICIES AND PROCEDURES AMENDMENTS.docx

PROPOSED JULIA K. ARRI RESOLUTION.DOCX

PROPPOSED RESOLUTION FOR NFBPWC.DOCX

REDLINED PROPOSED NATIONAL ADVOCACY PLATFORM EDITS 2026-2028.PDF

PROPOSED NATIONAL ADVOCACY PLATFORM 2026-2028.PDF

Our Founder Refused to Bend to Convention

Anna Lena Madesin Phillips (September 15, 1881 – May 22, 1955) was a lawyer and clubwoman from Nicholasville, Kentucky, who founded the National Federation of Business and Professional Women's Clubs (NFBPWC) in 1919 and the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (IFBPW) in 1930.

Her parents, Judge William Henry Phillips and his second wife, Alice Shook named her Lena in honor of his first wife, Selena, who often went by Lena.

From childhood, Lena chafed at the traditional roles circumscribing the life of a girl. She wanted an education and at seven convinced her parents to enroll her in the Jessamine Female Institute, where she studied every subject offered, including music, graduating at 18 with a Magna Cum Laude honor.

At just 11 years old, she changed her name to Madesin (an English transliteration of the French médecin) in honor of her oldest brother George who was studying medicine in Paris and became a doctor.

Medicine was not for her though; she attended Women’s College of Baltimore (now called Goucher College) where she continued her general studies and took courses in music hoping to become a concert pianist. She plunged herself into her studies, rehearsals, and extra-curricular speaking engagements, a choice that often left her depleted and exhausted.

Activities with such enthusiasm that she became ill from exhaustion and returned to Kentucky to recuperate.

While she was there, she fell and injured a nerve in her arm, requiring her to stop playing music and drop out of college. At that point, she began working at the Jessamine Female Institute, teaching music for $500 a year before beginning her law studies at the University of Kentucky, driving the 12 miles to Lexington each day.

During this time, she also worked with and for her father maintaining his image and helping him to win the elections that allowed him to remain a judge and became involved in politics in Jessamine County and Kentucky politics.

She was not surprised by the resistance to female law students and in 1917 when she graduated, she was the first woman to do so with full honors and had the highest GPA of her entire class. She returned to Nicholasville and opened her own practice.

One of her clients was the Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA), for which she also served as secretary for its National War Work Council. This association required her to travel to New York City where her interest in uniting working women led her to rallying the businesswomen of the United States in the form of the National Business Women’s Committee to form a permanent organization when the war ended.

It was at their convention in St. Louis in 1919 that she started the National Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Clubs of the United States (NFBPWC).

Phillips also defied convention in her personal life. In 1919 she met Marjory Lacey-Baker, an American actress and playwright. When they began living together, Phillips described her as "the woman with whom I share my home." Their relationship lasted 36 years, until Lacey-Baker died in 1971.

According to historian Jacqueline Castledine, Phillips and Lacey-Baker "operated in a world of socially and politically committed women reformers, some also living in a same-sex relationship."

Inspired by this relationship, biographer Sergio dedicated her 1972 book about Phillips to Lacey-Baker.

Today, Phillips's collected papers, dating from 1881 to 1955, are held at the Schlesinger Library, Radcliffe Institute, Harvard University.

Phillips completed her master’s in law degree at New York University in 1923 and opened a private practice in NYC while serving as president of NFBPWC from 1926 through 1929. Its main focus at that time was promoting equality for women, especially in the area of parity of pay with men. It also worked toward reducing or at least regulating child labor and support global peace.

In 1930, NFBPWC endorsed the Equal Rights Amendment and she began touring the country promoting its adoption, giving speeches in Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, and California to men’s groups as well as women’s. As she had in law school, she drove herself to all her speaking engagements, a choice that often left her depleted and exhausted.

While doing all this, she also frequently published articles and pamphlets on these issues. After leaving her law practice in 1935, Phillips served as a columnist and assistant editor of the Pictorial Review from 1935 to 1939.

Phillips made goodwill tours of Europe in 1928 and 1929 in order to reach an international audience. The first trip, made with several colleagues included stops in England, France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, and Italy where she met with professional and business women and discussed starting clubs in their countries.

It was in Geneva, Switzerland, that on August 26, 1930, the International Federation of Business and Professional Women (IFBPW) was founded with Phillips as its founding president, a position she held until 1947.

Phillips believed that gaining economic equality would enable women to achieve equality in education and the social and political aspects of society, explaining her optimism with the words, " ...if our motive is right, if we have faith, vision and courage, accomplishment must come."

One can only wonder how she would feel today, seeing that we continue to fight for the ratification of that amendment, American women still earn X to a man’s $1, a women’s right to physical autonomy has been rescinded in the US child labor continues to be a blight on many nations, and there are still many places where women are routinely denied education, independence, and human dignity.

She continued to visit Europe and help establish and strengthen IFBPW clubs there, while maintaining her efforts to expand NFBPWC in the US.

Phillips continued to work as an activist until the end of her life. She died in Marseille, France, while on her way to the Middle East for a meeting with Arab women. Her body was returned to Jessamine County, Kentucky, and she was buried at the Maple Grove Cemetery in Nicholasville.

At the time of her death in XX, Phillips was working on an autobiography, from which biographer Lisa Sergio gathered the information for her 1972 book A Measure Filled: The life of Lena Madesin Phillips Drawn from her Autobiography.

Lisa Dicksteen

*British nurse Edith Louisa Cavell (1865 – 1915) is celebrated for treating wounded soldiers from both sides without discrimination during the First World War and for helping some 200 Allied soldiers escape from German-occupied Belgium.

She was arrested, court-martialed under German military law, and sentenced to death by firing squad. Despite international pressure for mercy, the German government refused to commute her sentence and she was shot. The execution received worldwide condemnation and extensive press coverage.

Information on Phillips, Sego, and Cavelle from Wikipedia, images from Sego’s book and Wikipedia.