Since 1998, Napa County Branch is proud to have sponsored 157 young women to attend Tech Trek, a week-long residential STEM camp for girls finishing 7th grade. Over the years this camp has been held at several universities, intending to give each of the Trekkers the university life experience. Currently, our Branch uses the camps at Sonoma State University, Camp Franklin, and at UC Davis, Camp Jemison. All camps in California are named after a woman in STEM. To learn more about the camps, please visit AAUW CA–TECH TREK.
Our members and the community raise money each year to send as many girls as we can to these camps because we realize it makes a difference in these girls’ lives. We know that if one of our Napa County young girls has a passion for science and/or math and attends one of these camps, there is over a 50% chance she will choose a career in science, technology, engineering, or math.
It has been an exciting 2025 for our branch and our selection committee. Thanks to the generosity of our members’ donations and The Author’s Forum event, we were able to send ten girls to Tech Trek in the summer of 2025! Dedicated branch committee members coordinated by Lisa Roloff, interviewed fourteen young women from Napa County public middle schools. Each girl was recommended by a math, science, or technology teacher and submitted an application and essay. All girls are interviewed by a team of three Tech Trek Committee Members who have the difficult job of selecting the number of girls our branch was allotted for the year and two alternates. We always wish we could send them all!
Special thanks are extended to Julie and Robert Yocum for donating books to every applicant. The girls should enjoy their Playbook for Teens: Meet Fascinating Women in STEM.
September 5, 2025 will be our branch general AAUW meeting where each girl will talk about her life-changing camp experiences.
So Tech Trek does make a difference in these young girls’ lives and it is a fun and rewarding community partnership project. If you would like to join our committee contact our new Branch Coordinator, Namita Gandhi: email
Click HERE for a fun twenty minute recap of the UC Davis camp experience.
UC Davis Visitation Day. Front row: Morgan Cole, Vanessa Moreno Tejeda, Leila Septimo, Keomi Vides, Cinthia Gutierrez Quirino. Back row: Namita Gandhi, Lisa Roloff, Patty Friesen