The Western Association of Women Historians (WAWH) was founded in 1969 to promote the interests of women historians both in academic settings and in the field of history generally. The WAWH is the largest of the regional women’s historical associations in the United States. Although the majority of our members come from the Western United States, we have members from across the United States, Canada, and other countries and encourage people from any geographic area to join and participate in the organization. The WAWH holds an annual conference each spring for the presentation of scholarly work, new research, and the discussion of teaching methods, writing, and other issues of importance to women scholars. Sessions devoted to the work and interests of graduate students are encouraged. During the conference, WAWH awards seven prizes for outstanding publications and presentations by members. Past WAWH conferences have been held in cities across the West, including the Asilomar Conference Center, the Huntington Library, Lewis and Clark College, the Black Canyon Conference Center in Phoenix, Arizona, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. The WAWH encourages the participation of academic historians and independent scholars, and welcomes literary scholars and art, theater, and film specialists. Independent scholars consistently play an integral role in the organization.