The 11th annual West Hollywood Women’s Leadership Conference, a full day of networking, leadership workshops, advocacy training, and more, will take place on Saturday at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium and West Hollywood Library.
This year’s conference is organized around the theme “Advocate. Connect. Unite.” It is presented by the City of West Hollywood through its Women’s Advisory Board, Lesbian and Gay Advisory Board and Transgender Advisory Board, as well as more than two dozen organizational partners.
“This year’s Women’s Leadership Conference is particularly vital in the current political climate, as women experience a dramatic escalation of efforts that seek to push us to the sidelines,” said West Hollywood Mayor Lauren Meister. “The conference is a wonderful opportunity for community members to come together, meet new people, network, and learn new leadership skills.”
The Women’s Leadership Conference will begin at 8 a.m. with registration and continental breakfast. It will officially kick-off at 9 a.m. with a welcome address from members of the West Hollywood City Council and with special guest speakers, as well as a keynote address by Sandra de Castro Buffington, founding director of the Global Media Center for Social Impact at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health.
Hour-long leadership sessions will be held from 9:45 a.m. to 2 p.m., with a break for lunch. Sessions will include topics such as: “Taking the Lead — Get Appointed to a California State Commission or Board,” “Technology as a Pathway to Women’s Equality” and “Democracy Now: Local Leaders Speak Out,” among others.
In the afternoon, advocacy training breakout sessions will take place from 2:15 to 3:30 p.m., and from 3:45 to 5 p.m. Breakout sessions will include topics such as “Tech Platforms and Cool Tools for Advocacy,” “Be the Grassroots Change,” “Storytelling for Change” and “Stronger United,” among others.
The conference will wrap up with “Amplify for Good,” an art and music closing reception, from 5 to 7 p.m., which will feature a live DJ set by DJ Voomz and guest speaker Cleo Barnett, program director of The Amplifier Foundation, a nonpartisan campaign dedicated to igniting a national dialogue about American identity and values through public art and story-sharing.
Advance registration tickets for the conference are available online for $45 at www.wehowlc.org/attend-2. Tickets will be available for $55 on the day of the conference. Tickets for seniors and full-time students will be available for $15. Ticket prices include breakfast, lunch, the full day of conference activities and free onsite parking in the adjacent five-story structure, accessible from North San Vicente Boulevard. The conference sites are adjacent to one another at 647 N. San Vicente Blvd. and at 625 N. San Vicente Blvd.
The “Amplify for Good” closing reception is free and open to all ages; RSVPs are required by registering at www.eventbrite.com/e/amplify-for-good-tickets-34085782493.
Additional information and a full conference schedule, including information about speakers and workshop leaders, is available online.
