Workshop 1 (10:45am-12:00 noon):

Let's Get Political: Women Leading the Charge for Change  Assemblymember Joan Buchanan (15th District), Contra Costa County Supervisor Gayle Uilkema, Moraga City Council Member and former Mayor Karen Mendonca, with discussion facilitated by Linda Best (President and CEO of the Contra Costa Council)

Hear from women holding office at the state and local level. What experiences and passions brought them to elected office? What do these challenging times demand of them as leaders? How do they balance work and family? What advice can they share with the next generation of women in leadership, about service, active citizenship, and more? This session will include time for questions and answers with the panelists.

Title IX Turns 40: Women in Athletic Administration  Claire Williams (SMC kinesiology professor), Sandy Barbour (Director of Athletics, University of California, Berkeley), Teresa Kuehn Gould (Deputy Director of Athletics / SWA, University of California, Berkeley)

In 1972, Congress enacted Title IX.  Although originally intended to help women gain equal access to institutions of higher learning, female athletic administrators adopted it as their own.  Girls and women now participate in sports and physical activity at record levels, however, the number of women athletic administrators has been on a steady decline since the passage of Title IX.  In this session, women working in leadership positions in intercollegiate athletic administration will shed light on this trend.

Healing Through Activism  Gillian Cutshaw (SMC Women’s Resource Center Coordinator of Sexual Assault Awareness, Outreach, and Education), Jenny Cruz (SMC student), Angelina Torres (SMC student)

Have you ever wanted to speak out, stand up, or start a movement? The organizers of SMC’s ‘Uniting Our Voices, Breaking the Silence Rally’ will share their experience of becoming activists. They will examine the elements involved in creating a community call to action and help participants to start their own journeys to action. Presenters will explore the history of the movement to end violence against women and look at activism as part of the healing process for survivors of trauma.

Telling Lives: a storytelling workshop  Mary Volmer (SMC Alumni, Honors Program founder and English professor, published author)

Playwright and director Mary Zimmerman says: “Through storytelling we cultivate empathy.”  In this workshop we will learn and practice storytelling techniques that will allow us to explore women’s daily experience in the household, the classroom, the boardroom, and the community.  While we will use the raw material of personal experience, our goal is not to accurately capture real events, but to discover, through fiction, the universal nature of our experiences.  

Leading from Spirit: Spiritual Activism and Visionary Leadership Alka Arora (Assistant Professor, California Institute of Integral Studies, Women’s Spirituality Program), Sara Salazar (CIIS student and Holy Names College instructor)

What is your spirituality? How would you explain or define it? Does it inspire you to act, and in what ways? In this workshop you’ll consider your own answers to these questions and develop strategies for greater self-awareness about how your spirituality impacts your leadership and activism. Discover frameworks for feminist spiritual activism, and create your own mission statement for making change.

Workshop 2 (1:30-2:45pm)

Who Are You In Your Body?  Dana Lawton (SMC Performing Arts faculty member and dancer/choreographer)

This workshop will focus on a series of improvisational exercises, using movement and vocalization to explore self-image and habitual patterning of one’s own body. Individual experiences of how we feel about our bodies and the power they possess will be the dominate theme. The workshop will identify important tools and develop ways of expression to foster insight, promote empowerment, and free negative perceptions of self and others.

Gender and Power in California: A Historical Perspective  Diana Stephens (historian), Mary Ann Irwin (CSU East Bay professor, author, and historian), and Jessica Weiss (CSU East Bay professor, author, and historian)

Throughout the 20th century women fought to participate in the political struggles that shaped California. From the suffrage movement through the radical reshaping of our state in the 60’s, women worked to establish their rights within both the personal and public spheres. Three historians will consider the challenges met by politically active women working to secure their right to political participation, equal education, financial security, and gender parity. Mary Ann Irwin will speak on Jewish activists and the 1911 Women’s Suffrage Campaign. Jessica Weiss will explore the transformation of women's roles in California from suffrage to the radical 60’s. Dianna Stephens will describe the climate in Berkeley in the 60’s and how the sexual revolution radicalized women activists.

Sistah, Push Through the Fog; We Need Ya! Vicki Ward (author, presenter, speaker)

Women in our culture have become emotionally separated from each other. This separation causes divisiveness, exacerbates self-esteem issues, and negatively impacts gender identity. What do we assume and really know about other women? In this workshop participants will engage in discussions about differences in race, culture, body image, age, and more to deepen their understanding of how personal biases among women can develop. Real and perceived differences will be considered, as well as shared needs. Women will learn how to celebrate these shared needs and better focus on collective experiences and individual goals.

Her, Their, Hir: What Wo/men’s Spaces Mean for Gender Variant Individuals  Mckenzie Mullen (USF student and Intern, USF Intercultural Center/Vice President, Queer Alliance)

Do painted nails and a shaved head categorize an individual’s gender? Does gender expression always have to follow a binary?  Come explore the difference between “gender expression,” and “gender identity.”  Join a safe space for participants to question and challenge how gender is commonly defined.  Engage in an activity to learn about the language surrounding gender.  Participate in a dialogue around the inclusion of gender variant individuals within feminist spaces and actively consider how cisgender individuals can become better allies.     

Opting In
Sharon Sobotta (Director of the SMC Women's Resource Center), Juanita Abundiz Henderson (teacher), Arlene Ganancial-Santos (CEO Creative Design Company), Christine Kim (veterinarian), Carrie Lamy (independent contractor), Maura Wolf (leadership consultant)

Gone are the days when women needed to choose between a career and a family. But retaining our independence, moving forward in our careers and being fully present as parents is a challenging balancing act. Engage in conversation with a panel of independent feminist women who opted in to motherhood and are still making a difference through meaningful work in a number of fields. Panelists will discuss their personal peaks and valleys, and consider feminism's relationship to motherhood. 

Workshop 3 (3:00-4:15pm)

Living a Congruent Life: Food, Fashion, and Finance  Justher Gutierrez (CILSA student leader at SMC), Kristine Chase (SMC economics and business professor and personal finance expert), Stephanie King (founder of Fair Trade Designs), Julie Welch (SMC Legacy Garden Steward and environmental educator)

Ghandi once said, “Happiness is when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.” We all have the potential to reach happiness by living congruently. In order to live congruently, our actions must match our values - from the clothes we buy to the food we eat. This workshop focuses on how we can live congruently through three fundamental F’s: food, fashion, and finance.

Occupy God: A Wo/man’s Guide to Social Change from a Catholic Perspective  Carrie Rehak (Holy Names University Director of Campus Ministry and instructor at SMC)

In this workshop, participants will bring the major concerns of the Occupy Movement into dialog with Catholic Social Teaching and the apostolic mission of the faithful—to be the sacrament of love, a love that does justice in the world— by exploring creatively and concretely not only how current social and economic injustices impact wo/men but how wo/men can impact these injustices through the threefold office of priest (sacrifice), prophet (witness), and leader (service and stewardship).

Supporting Women in Creative Arts: Creating All Female Spaces & Showcases  Valerie Troutt (musician & founder of ShePeople's), Aiko Shirakawa (founder of 5th Element & member of Jam Patrol), DJ ZITA (founder of Queendom & Bay Area Sister Sound), FLUIDGIRL (popper/performance artist, member of Media Sirkus), Mona Webb (poet/founder of SF City Slam), Lila Rose (musician), Cleome Bova (Blues/Roots musician), Jen. Ay Anolin (founder of Mix'd Ingrdnt's), Mika Lemoine (original member of Mix'd Ingrdnt's), Marina Nurse Boogy Stankov-Hodge (sisters of the underground & extra credit), Facilitated by: Agatha Agatron Rupniewski (creater of Dream Come True All Female battle & showcase)

It is well known fact that most creative fields are male dominated. In this workshop, women who have created all female collectives, spaces and showcases will share the struggles and triumphs associated with supporting women in the creative arts. Agatha is founder of Dream Come True: All Female Battle & Showcase, DJ Zita is founder of Queendom, an all female hip-hop showcase and Valerie Troutt is founder of ShePeople's, an all female artists collective & showcase in Oakland.

Reproductive Justice 101 & Healthcare Reform: Historical Reproductive Oppression and its Relevance Today Jean-Arellia Tolentino (SMC alum and member of The National Asian Pacific American Women's Forum/NAPAWF), Jenny Ton (NAPAWF)

This workshop will help to build a shared understanding of reproducitve oppression and reproductive justice throughout the history of the United States and its relevance today. From a reproductive justice perpsective, we will also discuss the Affordable Health Care Act and healthcare reform: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Wisdom Circles: How Who You Are=the Change You Make  Amber Picou-Broadnax (National Hispanic University faculty member), Darlene Conwell (Assistant Director, USF Upward Bound Math/Science Program)

This workshop will examine the relationship between ethnic identity development and wisdom development for college students. Leaders should exhibit an understanding of how their life experiences, personal history and relationships with others guide their ability to create meaningful social change. Through participation in Wisdom Circles, attendees will begin the process of unpacking the many experiences and beliefs that have shaped their identity and affect their work in the community.

The sponsorship of external speakers---including the conference’s keynote speaker and workshop presenters---does not imply that Saint Mary's College of California endorses or approves the views expressed.