Kelly Fogarty grew up in the Cowboy Capital of the World working on her family’s fifth generation beef operation. If you asked her “Where’s the beef”? – she would have a knowledgeable answer for you.

Fogarty will be the featured speaker at the Thursday, Nov. 16 meeting of the American Association of University Women (AAUW), Oakdale-Riverbank-Escalon Branch. She will talk about young women in agriculture as well as her own experience in the field.

Fogarty currently serves as the Vice President of Western Skies Strategies, a Washington, D.C. based executive management, government relations and strategic consulting firm that specializes in agriculture and natural resources-based organizations. She has worked for the firm since graduating from UCLA in 2009 and was previously based in D.C. for five years until moving back to Oakdale where she currently resides. She continues in her role at WSS while working on her family’s ranch.

She also currently serves as the Stanislaus County Farm Bureau’s Young Farmers and Ranchers Chair and is serving her first term as a Board of Directors member for Stanislaus County Farm Bureau.

Prospective AAUW members in the Oakdale, Riverbank, or Escalon area are invited to attend the 7 p.m. meeting. Call (209) 847-0271 for information and directions.

The American Association of University Women (AAUW) advances equity for women and girls through advocacy, education, philanthropy and research. Since 1881, members have examined and taken positions on the fundamental issues of the day – educational, social, economic and political. Graduates holding an associates or higher degree from an institution of the AAUW list of qualified institutions and persons holding an honorary degree are eligible for membership in AAUW. For further information about AAUW, log on to www.aauw.org. Information about AAUW, ORE is at http://ore-ca.aauw.net or by emailing the branch at AAUW.ORE@gmail.com.