"We're reaching into whole new crowds," 1998 Fellow Patricia W. Chang says. "We're getting lots of in-depth information and support from new donors, corporations, and corporate women. We want to take the women's movement in California to the next step and include many women and girls who were left out of the first round."

As Executive Director of the Women's Foundation in San Francisco, Patti is well acquainted with issues affecting California's women. The foundation recently published "The 1999 California Report Card" which evaluated the state on five key factors. Her APAWLI project, co-sponsored by the foundation, is to survey 3,000 women and girls and identify their needs--and what will cause them to mobilize for action.

Using a combination of focus groups and a written survey, Patti hopes the survey will reveal the priority needs of the women and girls of her state, leading to development of a comprehensive strategy for acting on those needs. She envisions use of grass roots organizing, media campaigns, legislative policy work and the support of corporations and businesses to address these priority issues.

The survey will be done this summer, and the findings will be launched this fall. Patti jokes, "We're taking bets on how it will turn out. I believe economic issues unite all women. Pay inequity still affects women at all levels. That's one reason female business owners are the fastest-growing sector. My vision of this next stage is that it will include them, and many more women of color."