Sonia Pressman Fuentes
Contact Ms. Fuentes at: spfuentes@comcast.net
Sonia Pressman Fuentes has given talks on the women's movement and her role in it and done memoir readings at universities, women's and Jewish organizations, law firms, genealogical societies, libraries, bookstores, and book festivals since 1965. Among the places where she has done programs are the University of Virginia, the University of Texas--both its Austin and Edinburg campuses, George Washington University, New College in Sarasota (FL), the University of Tampa, the University of West Florida (Pensacola, FL), Cornell University, the Jewish Community Center of Greater Washington, the Friends of the [Montgomery County] Library, Borders and Barnes & Noble bookstores, the National Archives, the Chautauqua Institution, and various venues overseas, including Manila, in the Philippines; Chiang-mai and Bangkok, Thailand; Spain; Oxford in the UK; China; Germany; and Japan.
On April 22, 2009, Sonia gave three talks at Cornell University, the principal one of which, at the Law School, was entitled, “The Beginning of the Second Wave of the Women’s Movement and Where We Are Today: A Personal Account.” On October 24, 2012, she gave two talks at Cornell University. One was entitled “My Life as a Community and Feminist Activist” and was given at the School of Industrial and Labor Relations. The other was entitled “The Legal Revolution in American Women’s Rights—and the Problems that Remain” and was delivered at the Law School. The 2009 and 2012 Cornell Law School talks are in the law school’s legal repository and may be downloaded. Click here.
Sonia's talk on "How Being an Immigrant Shaped My Life," delivered at the 11th annual conference of the International Association of Yiddish Clubs at the Marriott East in Warrensville Heights, OH, on Aug. 4, 2007, is on the website of the Museum of Family History.
On Oct. 12, 2001, Sonia delivered the keynote address at the 20th anniversary of the Women Lawyers of Utah in Deer Valley. Her talk is here. One of those lawyers was Christine Durham, who was about to go on the Utah Supreme Court as its first woman judge.
On Feb. 25, 2023, Sonia gave a talk over Zoom entitled “My Friend and Colleague, the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray” to the Manasota, FL chapter of ASALH, the Association for the Study of African American Life and History. ASALH is the oldest Black history organization in the US and the Manasota chapter is its largest chapter in the U. S. with about 450 members. The speech will be on the Manasota chapter’s website in a week. Please contact Marion Black-Ruffin at mruffin@gmail.com of the Manasota chapter to find out how to access the speech.
Excerpt from Jan. 10, 2014, newsletter to the Sarasota-Manatee Phi Beta Kappa Association members from Nancy A. Gold, president, discussing Sonia’s Dec. 14, 2013, speech to the Sarasota-Manatee chapter.
Dear Members,
I would like to thank everyone who attended our opening meeting on December 14, 2013. ... The best part, however, was a presentation by our member Sonia Pressman Fuentes. Her own escape from the Holocaust at a very young age and her keen observations of gender discrimination fostered her fierce devotion to civil and women's rights. One of her biggest contributions was being one of the founders of the National Organization for Women. She has used her training as a lawyer, her keen intellect and her passion for justice prove the adage that one person can make a difference. Sonia is showing no signs of slowing down and is more active than ever with international travel, speeches and awards here and abroad.
Excerpt from Jan. 10, 2014, newsletter to the Sarasota-Manatee Phi Beta Kappa Association members from Nancy A. Gold, president, discussing Sonia’s Dec. 14, 2013, speech to the Sarasota-Manatee chapter.
Dear Members,
I would like to thank everyone who attended our opening meeting on December 14, 2013. ... The best part, however, was a presentation by our member Sonia Pressman Fuentes. Her own escape from the Holocaust at a very young age and her keen observations of gender discrimination fostered her fierce devotion to civil and women's rights. One of her biggest contributions was being one of the founders of the National Organization for Women. She has used her training as a lawyer, her keen intellect and her passion for justice prove the adage that one person can make a difference. Sonia is showing no signs of slowing down and is more active than ever with international travel, speeches and awards here and abroad.
