Rose Hernandez lives in Morgan Hill now, but she has been in the area since 1946!  Rose is the youngest of 10 children, and her three older sisters are 94, 96, and 98 years old.  She practices yoga and writing at the Blue Lotus Meditation and Yoga Center in Gilroy.  Rose loves art, the opera and the symphony.  She joined AAUW MH to make new friends, and join some of our interest groups.  

Wendy Thowdis has lived in Morgan Hill since 2008. Her children and five grandchildren all live in Syracuse,  NY, so she frequently travels to see family. She retired from San Jose State University recently, and has been spending her time hiking, biking and seeing friends. Wendy heard about our community and political activities from many members who are also part of her social group and decided to join us.

Evelia Rosso has lived in Gilroy for 50 years and belongs to the Gilroy AAUW branch as well. Evelia taught elementary school for 30 years. She has recently retired from running Rosso Furniture with her husband. They have three children and nine grandchildren who live locally, and keep them very busy attending all their sports games! Evelia enjoys volunteering locally, and was voted Woman of the Year in Gilroy in 2019.

Karen Perry moved to Morgan Hill seven years ago; she has two grown children who live in the Bay Area. She works fulltime as a long-term care insurance specialist, and feels passionate about educating people about the importance of planning for their future needs. She loves to garden with her husband, ride bikes, and be with friends as often as possible. Members Denise Weyl and Marcia Fishman urged her to join.

Elle Taketa moved to Morgan Hill two years ago from Almaden, where she lived for 54 years. She has a large extended family, many of whom live locally and keep her very busy! Her passions include playing golf, traveling, mahjong and watching her favorite sports teams in person. She enjoys volunteering and working with others, especially young people. Community involvement has always been important, and she hopes to continue that in Morgan Hill.

Kelsey Raidt is originally from Arkansas, but has spent the last 13 years touring the country for her husband’s job. She works full time as an archivist and museum collection manager for the USC digital library, creating descriptive metadata for digital collections. Kelsey is very interested in animals, and she makes her own sourdough bread and ginger beer. She’s looking for interesting people and activities to do in our local area.

Karen Davis is a native Californian; she moved from San Jose to Morgan Hill in 2023. She was in the 2024 class of Leadership Morgan Hill. She and her husband Rick have two daughters and two grandchildren. Karen loves playing mahjong, pickleball, and traveling – so much so that when she retired from her HR career, she became a travel agent! Karen is looking forward to new challenges and making new friends in Morgan Hill.

Adrienne Walcer is originally from Pennsylvania and Ohio, but has lived in California for 12 years, the last three in Morgan Hill. She has degrees in Biostatistics and Systems Engineering from the University of Rochester and George Washington University. Adrienne saw AAUW MH in the 4th of July parade and decided to join us. She enjoys creative activities, like photography, resin-art, and sewing. Adrienne is also very active, enjoying kayaking, dancing, kick boxing, and roller skating.