The Association of American University and Professional Women is a private women's club in Munich, Germany. Our members are a diverse group of professional women who all have an American connection. They enjoy learning from, sharing their knowledge with and networking with one another.
Each member contributes to the club's unique character. This ranges from the top board members who work hard to manage the club and the program committee who help find captivating speakers to make our monthly meetings interesting and fun. It also includes members who organize book club, our seasonal choir or volunteer at our adopted charity. And it extends to our general membership who participate in monthly meetings. These gatherings give everyone a chance to reconnect with old friends, talk to new members, help each other solve problems and give or gain a new perspective. And of course, listen to a funny story or celebrate a joyful event together.
Our Mission
AAUPW works to further positive change in our society by promoting education, empowerment and equity for women and girls.
We are currently involved with one organization which supports and empowers women at a local level: IMMA Zuflucht - a shelter for young women in Munich.
Did you know
- The AAUPW women's club was founded in 1988.
- We have held more than 200 meetings on topics ranging from health to travel to business to higher education.
- We usually sponser a Presidental Debate with AmerikaHaus for every presidential election.
- Our Holiday Choir entertains at our Holiday and July 4th parties.
A Brief History of AAUPW
by Dee Pattee † 2021, one of our Founding Members
edited by Claudia Ziersch
The AAUPW began life here in Munich as a “satellite” of the American Association of University Women. Our founder, Suzanne Riemer, was a U.S. Army social worker who, in the spring of 1988, invited all interested American university women to a founding meeting on the campus of the University of Maryland in Munich. There were less than a dozen women at this first meeting, but the group quickly grew in members and enthusiasm.
Some early topics: Women’s health issues, “I was a Hostage in Iran” (member Kathryn Koob), “Getting a Job in Germany” and “What’s Happened to Volunteering.” We visited museums, the zoo, a chocolate shop, a goldsmith’s atelier, and even the Fertility Clinic at Frauenklinik on Maistrasse. A monthly newsletter was published…. typed, mimeographed, mailed to all the members. Quaint, wasn’t it?
For the first 10 years, our club had ties to the parent organization, the American Association of University Women, and was so named. In addition to local dues, we collected a sum from each member and sent it to the U.S. But the ties were weak, no advantage seemed to come from our status as a “satellite” and in the end the entire membership voted to sever the connection and adopt a new name: adding the word “Professional” to our title.
Along the way we founded a Book Club and added a Girls Night Out, and we began our support of the IMMA Zufluchtsstelle, a ‘safe house’ for young women in Munich. During it's initial years we also supported the “Sichere Wiesn" (Safe at the Oktoberfest), an initiative to help female visitors in trouble at the often rowdy Oktoberfest, both financially, by distributing flyers to various hotels and with proofreading their flyer. One of our most popular events have been the political debates at Amerika Haus, held every four years since 2004, with two exceptions (2020 & 2024) in the fall before the U.S. presidential elections.