AAUW National Leaders

Ruth Z. Sweetser
President, AAUW

Barbara L. O'Connor
President, AAUW Educational Foundation

Linda D. Hallman, CAE
AAUW Executive Director

Content Spokespeople

Lisa Maatz
Director of Public Policy & Government Relations

Catherine Hill, Ph.D.
Director of Research

Ruth Z. Sweetser
President, AAUW Association

Ruth Z. Sweetser was elected president of the American Association of University Women in 2005. She has been a member of the Gender Equity Advisory Committee of the Illinois State Board of Education since 1996. Appointed to the Commission on the Status of Women in Illinois in 1997, she chaired the Education and Training Working Group. Sweetser is director of professional learning and business relations in the Graduate College at the Illinois Institute of Technology. In this position she works to strengthen relations between the university and business and industry. She develops programs to meet the needs of industry; represents the university in areas of education and professional development, training and work force preparation, and research collaboration; and manages relationships with companies.

Sweetser has a bachelor’s degree from Hope College and a master’s degree from the University of Chicago, where she was a Ford Foundation Fellow.

Barbara L. O'Connor
President, AAUW Educational Foundation

Barbara O'Connor was elected president of the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation in 2005. O’Connor has worked as an educator whose professional and volunteer experiences enabled her to hone her leadership skills in diverse settings. A native of Illinois, she became a world traveler after her graduation from the University of Illinois with a degree in secondary social studies education. During her nearly 27 years abroad, O’Connor’s life has been marked by her commitment to equity no matter where she has lived. She joined AAUW in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1979 and has been an active volunteer for the Educational Foundation as a contributor, fundraiser, branch Educational Foundation chair, and Educational Foundation chair on the board of AAUW of Florida. She has served as an appointee to the Sarasota County Advisory Committee on the Status of Women since 1995.

O'Connor has remained active in educational issues as co-president of the University of Illinois Alumni Association and is a member of many organizations, including UNIFEM, the Virginia Gildersleeve Fund, and the Florida Women’s Consortium.

Linda D. Hallman, CAE
AAUW Executive Director

Linda D. Hallman joined AAUW in January 2008 as its new executive director. Hallman has a long history of executive-level association and foundation experience in the Washington, D.C., area. Most recently, she served as vice president of policy and government strategy, external and member relations, with the National Alliance for Health Information Technology (NAHIT) in Washington, D.C.

Hallman earned a master's degree in organizational management from George Washington University and a bachelor's degree in music education from Indiana University. She has acquired extensive continuing professional development and is affiliated with relevant organizations for professionals in the field, including ASAE & The Center for Association Leadership.

Lisa Maatz
AAUW Director of Public Policy and Government Relations

As AAUW's top policy adviser, Lisa Maatz works to advance AAUW’s priority issues on Capitol Hill, through the executive branch, and in coalition with other organizations. Maatz has done similar work for the NOW Legal Defense and Education Fund and the Older Women’s League, and was a legislative aide to U.S. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). Her grassroots advocacy career began when she was the Executive Director of Turning Point, a battered women’s program recognized for excellence by the Ohio Supreme Court. Maatz's areas of expertise include gender equity in education, Title IX, retirement security, pay equity, and other civil rights issues related to women and girls.

Maatz is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of Ohio University, has two Master’s degrees from Ohio State, and holds an adjunct appointment with the Women and Politics Institute at American University.

Catherine Hill, Ph.D.
AAUW Educational Foundation Director of Research

Catherine Hill is the Director of Research at the American Association of University Women Educational Foundation. She is an author of several recent AAUW reports including Mom’s Retirement Security (2006), Drawing the Line: Sexual Harassment on Campus (2006), Public Perceptions of the Pay Gap (2005), and Tenure Denied: Cases of Sex Discrimination in Academia (2004).

Before joining AAUW, Hill was the Director of Income Security Programs at the National Academy of Social Insurance and a Study Director at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. She has a bachelor and master’s degree from Cornell University and a doctorate in public policy from Rutgers University.

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