Who We Are
The purpose of AWCD is to foster and encourage American-Irish relations and cross-cultural understating among American women and their families through educational and philanthropic activities.
Andrea Worker
AWCD President 2023-2024
Welcome to AWCD!
The American Women’s Club Dublin is a phenomenal support network for North American women – and women with ties to there, either having lived there or worked with North American companies, or whose partners work for North American companies – and you happily find yourself here in Ireland. We’ve got you covered! We offer a warm welcome and introduction to neighbors who quickly become friends through a wide assortment of activities and networking opportunities.
We have a proud fifty+ year history of fostering North American-Irish relations and cross-cultural understanding via fun, educational and philanthropic events. We have conveniently located monthly general meetings and special new members welcome coffees and wine and cheese gatherings. There are evening meetings and activities to accommodate those hectic schedules, and weekend adventures for all the family to enjoy. And when you become a member of our club, you also become a member of FAWCO, an amazing global network of American women living abroad.
AWCD is also a philanthropic group. This year we are focusing those efforts on ARC Cancer Support Centres.
Whatever brings you to Ireland, we hope you will connect with us on this incredible journey in this magical place. Even if you are based outside the immediate Dublin vicinity, consider joining us – we always find ways to connect!
Looking forward to meeting you and welcoming you to the AWCD family.
Meet the 2023-2024 Board
Andrea Worker - President
Born in New York City, Andrea was raised in the ex-pat life, from Spain to Australia to Norway. She married a Galwayman (who she met in Texas!) whose career moves took them from Southwest to Midwest, to the East Coast in the US, before they ventured even further east, with stops in Portugal, the UK, and Spain. In between packing and unpacking, Andrea managed to have her own career – first in HR and Risk Management in Hospitality and Retail, then as a reporter for a newspaper group covering Northern Virginia. Andrea and Sean finally put down roots in Ireland in January of 2021. The community they have already found through AWCD has made this one the easiest and best moves yet. Semi-retired, traveling (of course!), reading, writing, museums and historical tours, charitable engagement, friends, a good bottle of wine and a great cup of coffee all make her Happy List.
Eileen Fischer - VP Finance
Eileen spent most of her working life in Manhattan, with a lovely five year assignment in Paris. After retiring (and Covid years), she packed two suitcases, downloaded Daft.ie and started her adventure in Ireland. She finds Dublin the perfect combination of friendly people, extensive cultural events and ideal weather. Despite the distance, Eileen continues to mentor two teenagers in NYC who tug at her heartstrings daily.
Allison Flanagan - Treasurer
Allison was born and raised in Chicago and spent most of her adult life there, with stints in East Lansing, MI, for college and Memphis, TN for work. She spent many years as a primary school teacher before transitioning into the education policy space. In 2021, she relocated to Dublin for her husband’s work, but continues to work remotely from her living room. Aside from her love for numbers, she enjoys hillwalking and other people’s dogs.
Ashleigh Rizzo - VP Activities
Ashleigh was born & raised in the military beach town of Pensacola, Florida. Before coming to Dublin in August of 2022 with her husband Jordan and their golden retriever mix Fitz, she worked as a nurse and taught Pure Barre fitness classes. However, she has been shamelessly enjoying her transition to “funemployment” while living in Ireland. Ashleigh has found a new love of hiking and golf through the AWCD and says she can’t wait to plan her next trip!
Alison Hieb - Communications
Alison joined AWCD in 2021 after moving to Dublin from Charlotte, North Carolina. Retail and Digital Marketing has been her passion and career for over 15 years but she is currently enjoying exploring Dublin with her husband and two young boys. She learned to love the game of golf growing up in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida and seeks adventures around traveling, hiking, watersports, food and wine.
Carmen-Jeannette Stepek - Philanthropy
Carmen first fell in love with Ireland during an internship at Trinity College Dublin. After earning her BSc from a small university in California, Carmen returned to Dublin to pursue a PhD thanks to a Fulbright U.S. Student Award. Joining AWCD during the height of the pandemic was crucial to Carmen’s experience as a new Irish resident. While abroad, she continues to find joy in serving her local and global communities and is an advocate for a wide range of issues such as girls in STEM and mental health.
Margie O'Rourke - FAWCO Representative
Margie hails from Philadelphia and has resided in North County Dublin for the past 35 years. Retired for seven years, she’s taken up watercolour and acrylics, bought a piano (just tinkers), is a jigsaw puzzle lover and has devoted a lot of time becoming a PlayStation video gamer. Life for her is busy and full of the things she likes to do. She’s grateful that life is good.
Autumn Wood - Deputy FAWCO Rep
Autumn is an Army brat who grew up all over the United States. She met her Irish husband, David, while living in North Carolina. In October of 2021 they moved to Dublin. They are now in Carrick-On-Shannon and enjoying the quieter side of Irish life. After having worked in education and finance, she has gone back to her first love – art. When she’s not creating art, you’ll find her (still) taking photos, hillwalking with the dog and cracking jokes.
Noreen Griffin - Membership
Noreen was born and raised in Ireland, moving to the US on graduation from the University of Limerick. After almost 20 years in New York working in Finance, with a 3 year stint in North Carolina where her daughters were born, she moved to Dublin in 2012 with her family. Noreen found a number of activities as a way to connect with others in a new city. Noreen loves food, local history, walking and talking! Ideally all at the same time!
Margaret Jungels - Secretary
Margaret joined the AWCD in the fall of 2021 and completed the move to Dublin in January 2022 for her husband’s job. Margaret moved around a bit while growing up, but spent her adult life in Chicago. She is the proud mother of two amazing daughters currently in college in the US. In her free time, Margaret enjoys playing tennis (badly!), reading, traveling, and finding reasons to laugh.
Jenny Lavin - Parliamentarian
After two years in London, Jenny and her family were crazy enough to move to Dublin in October 2020 in the middle of a global pandemic. Her professional background is mainly in the education and non-profit sectors, working mainly as a project manager, workshop facilitator, and teacher. She loves great food, walks around the city, visiting museums, and sharing a bottle of wine or beer with friends.
Donate to our 2022-2023 Charity
As both a social and philanthropic organisation, each year the American Women’s Club of Dublin selects and raises funds for a local charity.
This year we are supporting ARC Cancer Support Centres, an organization that provides psychological, emotional, educational and practical support in a warm and welcoming environment to people with cancer and those who care for them.
Use the donation form below to make donation to ARC Cancer Support Centres.
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