Spotlights Ready to Shine

The last time I had an in-person meeting on Girlfriend business was a lovely breakfast upstairs at Café Du Berry in late February. Five of us met to begin planning our Spotlight Study Series -- four teams to research and present out on topics that members had identified as priorities. The coffee was strong, the conversation was stirring and I left energized and excited to begin the work.

Three weeks later, our world completely changed and we wondered if we could go ahead at all and if so, how would we do it. With a pandemic coursing through our nation and the planet, would enough girlfriends be interested? Was this the right time to launch the project? After much discussion, and with some trepidation, we decided to move forward.

The spotlight is now shining on the 28 team members who researched, wrote reports and are planning virtual presentations. You can access their written reports here and sign up to attend the virtual presentations (formerly called Discovery Forum) here.

I very much look forward to the next time I can have breakfast out with a group of Girlfriends and plan another project together in person. And the experience is a wonderful reminder of what we can accomplish, even when we are only coming together in the virtual world.

— Barbara Hilyer

Member Spotlight: Nancy Johnson

I have been looking forward to writing Nancy Johnson’s member profile as she was the one who introduced me to ninety-nine girlfriends three years ago. Nancy is a close family friend who I have known my whole life. I’ve spent countless birthdays, holidays, and movie nights with her and her family. As I’ve gotten older, Nancy has been a wonderful friend and even flew all the way to Connecticut to attend my college graduation. I’m excited to share a bit more about Nancy and what she does within the organization. 

Nancy first heard about ninety-nine girlfriends through her friendships with founders Eileen Brady and Molly Cliff Hilts. “At first I thought it was way over my head,” says Nancy.

That changed when Eileen asked her if she wanted to design the logo for the organization. Once a specific role presented itself, she became convinced to join as a member. Nancy has been contributing her graphic design skills to the organization ever since and is on the Communications Committee. 

If you’ve admired the simple and hip formatting of the event programs, you can thank Nancy! Nancy designs all of the print material for ninety nine girlfriends, along with member Joya Menashe. She draws experience from years as a graphic designer for doctors, art galleries, and retail shops. “I was doing graphic design when we still had to hand-cut typesetter’s galleys and use wax to tack down designs on boards.” Nancy also designed the iconic ninety-nine girlfriend logo that we know and love. There is heartfelt meaning behind the crisp and simple design. “I wanted to pick a color that was feminine yet strong,” Nancy says. She selected the color out of a painting by Rick Bartow, the legendary Oregon Native American artist, who had recently passed away. The font was also wrought with meaning; it was from my mother’s business card who had also recently passed away. “It’s personal. It’s paying homage to two people that I felt connected to.” 

When she’s not designing, Nancy sings and plays percussion in a band with Molly Cliff Hilts and a few other members. Pre-COVID, they would meet weekly and play Neil Young, Tom Petty, and David Bowie covers. “We performed at a birthday party once, but it’s mostly just for us.”

With more time spent indoors lately, Nancy has tried her hand at the often daunting desserts featured in the Great British Baking show. “I think that COVID has inspired me to do more in-depth cooking projects” She recently made aebleskiver, danish spherical pancakes, using a special aebleskiver pan.

– Azul Tellez Wright, ninety-nine girlfriends Fellow