ABOUT NAUW NORTHEAST SECTION

In March 1910, Sara Winifred Brown, Nancy Fairfax Brown, Mary Elizabeth Cromwell, and Mary Eliza Church dis cussed starting an alumnae club for college women graduates; their "dream" resulted in the establishment of the College  Alumnae dub in Washington D.C. The membership grew over the years and in 1919 it became necessary to ask women from  other geographic regions to start another dub beyond the Washington, DC area. Baltimore answered the call.  

Four years later, one of the founders, Mary Elizabeth Cromwell, recommended moving beyond the local area to become  a national organization. In 1924, the Club expanded to become a national organization called the National Association of  College Women. Immediately, it was recognized that regions needed to be established in order to meet the needs of the  members in the various geographic areas. From that time until 1938 the East Region encompassed Maine, New Hampshire,  Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. The North Region encompassed New Jersey, Pennsylvania.  Delaware, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Washington, DC, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois.  

It was approximately in 1939 that this region, as it is known today, became the Northeast Section. An exact date of when  the region became the Northeast Section cannot be ascertained because journals were not on file for 1938, 1939, and 1940.  In the 1941 Journal, it was noted that this Section was combined with the east and north regions. The Northeast Section now  encompasses Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island,  Vermont, and Washington DC. Today there are 15 branches in the Northeast Section. Also, from 2012 through 2014, the  Harper-Maryland County Liberia Branch (first International Branch) functioned under the auspices of the Northeast Section.  

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This region is proud to be called the historic" Section of the organization since it all began in Washington, D.C. The  organization is incorporated under the laws of the District of Columbia with its national headquarters also located in the  District The Northeast Section also boasts about its rich history of having the most national presidents of the organization.  To date there have been twelve presidents out of the twenty-three from this section. Dr. Hilda A. Davis, from the Wilmington  Branch is the only president to serve two non-consecutive terms. In addition, it was this section (Philadelphia Branch) that  hosted the Jubilee Convention where the original charter was updated and the National Association of College Women became  known as the National Association of University Women.  

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Twenty-one dedicated women have served as sectional directors: Pansy Borders (1939-1941), Effie Simmons (1941- 1946), C. Gwendolyn Redding (1946-1948), Muriel Alexander ( 1948-1952), Willie L. Churchill ( 1952-1959), Lucinda Fox Ward  (1959-1961), Thelma Robinson (1961-1965), Lillian R. Bailey (1965-1968), Rhebena T. Castleberry (1968-1971), Ida L. Bell  (1971-1975), Lillian Ross (1975-1979), Leomae R. Good (1979-1981), C. Gwendolyn Colvin (1981-1985), Phyllis J. Eggleston  (1985-1989)), Eva Phoenix (1989-1993), Dr. Lenore R. Gall (1993-1996), Thelma W. Taylor (1996-1999), Dolores Y. Owens  (1999-2004), Rosalind Clarke (2004-2009), Pauline A. Chandler (2009-2013), Ann Glover-Lingham (2013-2017), Cynthia Johnson (2017-2018), Elva Brooks (2018-2021), and Deborah Thurmond (2021-present).