The Womens Conference
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A Special Giveaway!
The Women’s Conference, in partnership with The Omega Institute, our Health & Wellness Partner, is presenting a special giveaway July 21 – 27. The Women & Power conference at The Omega Institute in Rhinebeck, New York, is joining us to connect women from across the country by offering a bi-coastal chance to win a free seat at both of our conferences.
WHAT YOU WIN
- One free ticket to A Day of Health, Wellness & Transformation and Night at The Village at The Women’s Conference 2010 on Monday, October 25 at the Long Beach Convention Center.
- One free ticket to The Omega Institute’s Women & Power conference September 24 – 26, 2010 in Rhinebeck, NY. You’ll also meet Omega co-founder and best-selling author Elizabeth Lesser and get an autographed copy of her book.
(Please note: Travel & hotel are not included for either conference.)
HOW YOU WIN
- Just post your response to What unique qualities empower you, as a woman, to be a strong and compassionate leader? in the COMMENTS section at the bottom of this page. (Please keep responses to 200 words or less.)
- We’ll pick our favorite response & announce the winner on July 30.
About The Omega Institute’s Women & Power Conference
Omega's annual Women & Power conference is one of the most celebrated women's gatherings in the world, unique in its rich diversity of speakers, performers, and participants. The conference is dedicated to empowering women to bring hope, healing, and change into their own lives and to the world around them.
This year, the conference is a call-out to women of all ages and backgrounds to become the leaders we have been waiting for. Whether you are a professional, activist, volunteer, student, artist, mother, spiritual seeker, or social visionary, it is time for us to dig deep, retrieve our authentic voice and values, and lead with courage and heart—at home, work, and in the world.
Join with hundreds of other women for a weekend of celebration and conversation guaranteed to wake up your inner leader and leave you with renewed purpose. Presenters include Gail Collins, Ani DiFranco, Elizabeth Lesser, Anna Deveare Smith and many others.
For more information on the Women & Power conference, click here.
A Special Offer to The Women’s Conference Community:
You can save 25% on tuition for an Omega lifelong learning program at the Rhinebeck, New York campus. The offer runs through October 2011. Use discount code CA25 when you register. Restrictions apply.
Her Real Face
- Family and Friend
I don’t know about anyone else, but I love “no-makeup” time. I have nothing against makeup in and of itself, and I can see how going to the opera or the White House might require a little fancying up of even the most objectively beautiful face. (In such instances, I would have to wear cufflinks to insure that my cuffs don’t flap open embarrassingly, I suppose.) I don’t know if this is tradition, pageant, or kabuki, but there’s no reason the human race can’t be seen once in a while promenading in its finery.
I am often happiest, though, in the no make-up zone. This would be in the evening hours that are backed up against bedtime, when the woman in my vicinity has closed the door to the pressures of the outside world and lets her hair, both figuratively and literally, down.
This evening place is one of trust, a sacred cove where the woman allows her armor to slip away, where she is out of range of the arrows of body- and beauty-worries that rain down everywhere she goes, from other women, from other men, from television screens, magazines, billboards, mud flaps, and album covers.
Here she can laugh as she would really laugh, however goofy or braying. Here she does not have to preen, but can let her limbs go lazily where they please. I wonder how these peaceful home hours feel to a woman. Maybe it is something akin to a faint tingle of childhood, for it was from a moment in her youth that the path diverged in front of her, where she realized that she was expected to come up with that second face for certain times, the one that fights the shadows better, the one she washes off with alcohol and hot water as her day winds down and she expects no more guests to call. The face that needs no love, that she can dispose of nightly, that ends up wrapped around Kleenex in the waste basket.
Oh, the next day, she’ll be back on the beat, eyes flitting at every other woman’s figure, like a man’s, never knowing when the gods of fashion will dictate a new paradigm shift, from thin to curvy, from this hairstyle to that. As a guy, I can only (faintly) imagine the pressure. Men only have to remember to zip their flies, and they’re ready for the world.
I am reminded of those fantastic beasts one sees on BBC documentaries, the ones where one of the sexes, often the dudes, has to put on great displays of plumage, fin, or tusk in order to attract a mate. These are truly respectable creatures, but many of them have smallish brains that are in constant danger of tumbling out their nose or ears. For what it’s worth, we humans have big meaty brains, and it’s a little surprising that we still force women through the physical ringer, as if we didn’t have conversation and eyebrows to communicate our appeal to each other. We’re still suckers for a pretty face, and perhaps that’s hard-wired, and perhaps that’s the way it’s always going to be out there.
But behind closed doors and as the day cools down into dark, we can both be actual human beings. Myself, forever grateful to be trusted enough to share that safe zone with her, and as a man no less: let’s face it, I’m part of the sex that is at least somewhat responsible for certain physical issues that have been deeply ingrained into women like tics (or ticks, for that matter). The fact that any woman can relax in this world of men, aimed forever at them with fingers on triggers, is good to know. The fact that I can sometimes still chance to see her real face curve into a smile, however, is a kind of absolution.
Yancy Jack Berns is a screenwriter and freelance television producer living in Los Angeles.
More by Yancy Jack Berns: Surround Yourself with Women
When My Husband Became A Hero
- Family and Friend
- Life Balance
As the wife of Captain Sullenberger, the pilot who landed US Airways Flight 1549 on the Hudson River and saved the lives of 155 people, my life has, since that day, ricocheted from one emotion to another. The nation seemed to be celebrating in the aftermath of the events, but we were in shock.
The personal letters and well wishes that started to pour into our house helped us start processing our emotions. We have personally received over 20,000 emails, as well as thousands of personal cards, letters and packages. I joked with Sully that he has achieved Santa Claus status as many of the letters come without our personal address. They simply state Captain Sullenberger, or “Sully” hero pilot USA. And like Santa at the North Pole they show up at our door. One of my favorites was from Europe and was addressed to “Hero Pilot USA.” Then in a side note it said, “Dear Postmaster, I don’t know his address but I think you can find him. Please help me and forward to him.”
The letters are funny, sad and profound, but mostly they express an overwhelming gratitude -- that just when our country needed it most we had a collective feel good moment. And not just for the United States, but the world. We even received a recent letter from a young woman in Iran. Many of the letters stated that while Sully did not ask for this and is not seeking the limelight, we need a hero to feel good about, so please don’t turn away. And with that we feel a certain responsibility. As Sully likes to say, gratitude is a two way street. As the outpouring of support and gratitude came our way, it helped us to give back as well.
One young man wrote us early on and said his family had to cut back on gifts this year and were trying to be creative in gift giving. His dad was a huge fan -- could we possibly visit them? While that was not possible, Sully placed a call to their home, where the young boy answered the phone. I could hear the boy’s shrieks all the way across the room. After talking with him for a few minutes, Sully asked to speak to his dad. He told him what a thoughtful young son he had, a son who obviously loved him very much. I remember crying that night thinking how such a simple act on our part had made them so happy.
In all these months since the accident I can only recall three days when we had no mail regarding the accident. Just today we received a wedding invitation from an engaged couple who were on Flight 1549. Included in the invitation was a note that said, “Words cannot express how much we thank you. We now look forward to our marriage and starting a family.”
And so as I reflect on what my personal gratitude letter should include this year, I hardly know where to begin. But to those many people who wrote to us, my heartfelt thanks. And like so many letters say to us, thank you hardly seems enough.
Before January 15, 2009, Lorrie Sullenberger led a quiet—yet accomplished—life as a fitness expert, local television personality and suburban mom. With infectious enthusiasm, strength and candor, Sullenberger shows that the only way to make it through trauma is to point yourself in the right direction and take one step at a time. Currently working on a book on preparing for and making it through life’s challenges, Sullenberger empowers audiences by showing what skills are necessary to make yourself ready for whatever life throws your way.
A longer version of this post was first published in Woman’s Day November 2009 issue.
It's Time to Pay It Forward
Especially in hard times, we need to remember how powerful one kind gesture can be. When people are losing faith in the economy and in trusted institutions, small acts of unanticipated kindness can help restore faith in the fundamental goodness of mankind.
I like to think of myself as someone who looks for the good in others. I must admit, however, that in the past few years, in a culture where individuals seem to be have become increasingly self-focused, I have gradually become more cynical about peoples’ willingness to reach out and help others. But just last week, I re-learned a valuable lesson. Here’s what happened.
I got home from work to discover that our mailbox and the post supporting it had been destroyed. My first thought was that it had been done by kids pulling a prank, or by vandals. But that evening my husband answered a knock at our front door. Two women who barely spoke English had come to tell us that they had accidentally backed into our mailbox. They expressed remorse, and said that they intended to replace the mailbox the next day. My husband and I were genuinely surprised that these strangers had gone out of their way to do the right thing, but frankly we didn’t really expect that they would fix it. Surprised yet again, the next evening we returned home from work to find that the post and mailbox had, indeed, been replaced.
But the story continues. That day, my husband, who was under a strict deadline for work, found himself offering to drive a co-worker to pick up his car at a repair shop. My husband attributed his own willingness to help his co-worker, despite his own stressful circumstances, to the kindness demonstrated by the women who had hit our mailbox. He remarked that he wanted to “pay it forward.” I thought back over my own day, and realized that I had also been especially understanding with a client in difficult financial circumstances, for exactly the same reason.
Now imagine if the people my husband and I each helped, in turn, decided to help someone else, and so on. It’s amazing how one simple act of random kindness can create an ongoing ripple effect.
We understand how these small acts can help those around us, but here are the reasons why reaching out to someone in need may also benefit you, personally:
- Doing so will help you, in the moment, to forget your own problems.
- You will be acting as a great role model for those around you, and especially for your children.
- You will feel better about yourself as a person.
- You will be helping, one deed at a time, to restore others’ faith in humanity.
- Maybe, in time, the good deed you’ve done will come back around to you.
Maud Purcell, MSW, LCSW, CEAP, is a skilled and seasoned psychotherapist, as well as a trained Coach and Corporate Consultant. She is the owner of Maud Purcell & Associates Inc., and she writes a regular column for The Stamford Advocate, Greenwich Time, The Danbury Times and CT Post Newspapers.
More by Maud Purcell:
What Your Emotions Are Trying to Tell You
The 6 Hidden Blessings of Being Single
A Family Survival Guide for the Holidays
When Your Family Doesn't Cut It, Create a New One
Overwhelmed? Dump, Delegate & Deal
Seeking Architects of Change to Be The Face of Our Movement
- Architects of Change
- Maria's Post
Dear Conference Community,
Has The Women's Conference empowered you to be an Architect of Change in your own life or in your community? Did it inspire you to make positive changes, whether large or small, that made a real difference for you?
If so, we would like to honor your work as Architects of Change. In 2004, we set out to create a conference event and year-long organization that would empower women to become Architects of Change. This was our mission. And YOU have made this movement happen.
We want to feature YOUR PHOTO on the cover of our Main Event program cover that will be given to 14,000 attendees.
Your photo will combine with thousands of other headshots to create beautiful photomosaics of some of our favorite conference moments from past years.
If you consider yourself an Architect of Change, you are an important part of the success of this conference. Whether you are attending this year's conference events or not, we want to include you as a face of our movement.
To be featured on the cover of our Main Event program, simply email us a high resolution (300 dpi minimum) close-up photo of you to the following address: quick94one@photos.flickr.com. Sorry, we can't feature group photos -- just individual head shots.
The Subject line of your email should read "Architect of Change: Your Name". Please email your photo no later than next Thursday, July 15.
I am looking forward to seeing you!
Warmest Regards,
Maria Shriver
P.S. Stay tuned. We'll be posting the final artwork later in the fall on WomensConference.org and our Facebook Page for all to see.
Announcing The Great June Giveaway Winner
- Family and Friend
- Architects of Change
Guys We Love: Who do you love & why?
At The Women’s Conference, we focus on women and women’s issues – covering everything from women entrepreneurs to women’s health to women Architects of Change. But we know that – as men need women, we women need men – to make a difference in the world, to inspire us, and to give us moral and emotional support.
Our Great June Giveaway offered The Women’s Conference community the chance to reflect on the great “guys” in their lives – and to share those guys with the rest of us.
We received many thoughtful, heartfelt responses from you. An overwhelming number of women chose husbands, partners, sons & fathers -- those who gave them love, respect, encouragement and affirmation. The winning response and two honorable mentions are below. Visit The XX Effect: Generation to Generation for more Guys We Love.
Winner
Cynthia Harty:
I love the guy at the auto dealership who talks to me like he would any man who walks through the door. I love the guy who installs or repairs something in my home and initiates a conversation with me as to what he is doing and accepts critique or suggestions. I love the man who defers to a woman in the room when she is an expert. I love my Internal Medicine Doctor whose first words when he met me were "Okay lets start from the beginning, tell me everything that happened", and then he listened. He then followed that up with "I'd like to get a second opinion". I love and admire the respect and will return it always.
Honorable Mentions
Jacquelon:
The man I love passed away over 20 years ago. That man was my father. He adopted me when I was four years old and was never anything but my "real" Dad. I only discovered that he was my stepfather when I was 12 years old. However, I never once questioned his love for me as his daughter. If someone made a comment about how much I looked like him considering I was not his biological child, he would immediately correct him or her and say, “of course she looks like me, she is my daughter”. He was the gentlest, kind, and loving person I have ever known. I never heard him raise his voice at me when he often had cause. He did not have to... all he had to say was how disappointed he was in my actions. And, then state that he was certain that I was more disappointed in myself.
I made a decision that the only way I could ever repay my Dad for accepting me as his daughter was to do the same for another child. My husband and I are now in our 60's and have three grown children. One child is adopted; I just cannot remember which one.
Kay Presto:
Who is the man I love?
He‘s a special person who has opened up a whole new life for me. He's explained things that I never had explained before, made me feel safe in my own body, helped me understand many mysteries, and so much more.
He has explained terms I’ve never heard before, has shown me eye-opening things I’ve never seen before, and taught me how to live a long and happy life.
And he does it all with a jolly smile and makes all these mysteries fun.
Who is this man? Of course, it’s Dr. Mehmet Oz himself!
Here’s a man who has shared with us the beauty and strength of our human bodies, showed us the bad effects of poor eating, smoking, and other bad habits, and makes it fun to live a good healthy life.
I’ve watched him ardently on television, even before he had his own show, and have marveled at his knowledge of our bodies, and how clearly he presents every single fact.
And why do I love him so much? Because he has demystified our bodies, and taught us to be proud and happy with the one God gave us.
And don’t forget to participate in The Great JULY Giveaway! We want to know – As a woman, what personal freedom do you value most?
A Message to Our Community
The Women’s Conference team would like to extend our apologies again for the technical issue experienced during registration last Wednesday. We understand how disappointed and frustrated many of you are with the process.
We’ve investigated the problem and wanted to make sure we fully understood what happened. After reviewing our server records, we've discovered that the technical problems resulted when thousands of users continually refreshed their browsers. When registration began, we had about 10,000 unique users produce approximately 500,000 requests to the server. Because this same problem occurred during registration last year, causing the site to crash, we posted a warning about it last Wednesday on the homepage of the registration site informing people not to refresh more than once and to use only one browser. We now realize that the warning was not enough as our servers could not handle the load. We’re confident that this problem will be addressed and resolved so that, in the future, the entire process can accommodate the overwhelming demand by our community.
We pride ourselves on creating empowering experiences for our audience and this has clearly fallen short of that. For many years, The Women’s Conference was a one-day event. Because of popular demand, we have continued to expand it over recent years so that more and more women could attend. Now, in 2010, the conference includes three days of six amazing events with top level speakers and authors. While the Main Event is currently sold out -- and there are simply not enough tickets for everyone who wanted one -- tickets do still remain for several of our other extraordinary conference events.
A note to our Women’s Conference Facebook community -- You are part of an important forum to help us better understand what’s on your mind. The complaints and posts during the registration process were very valuable to us and, as you may have seen that day, many of the posters were contacted directly by the registration team. By Friday, we felt it was important to use our Wall to promote the other events that were available for attendees. We received calls in the office from many people unaware that these events were still open and we wanted to get that information out via Facebook without confusion. The intention was never to censor any of your posts. If you have something to say – we want to hear it.
Again, we are truly sorry about the problems encountered last week. We hope that you will consider joining the 30,000 attendees for a life-changing experience in Long Beach in October.
7 Top Tips for Conference Registration
- Architects of Change
Tickets to The Women’s Conference 2010 are now on sale. We’re thrilled that registration day is finally here. In an effort to make the process as easy for you as possible, we’ve listed 7 tips:
1. Be informed. Visit our Welcome to The Women's Conference 2010 page before registering. Here, you can learn about the Conference events – and decide which available events you want to attend.
- Be prepared. Have your credit card ready. All registrations require a credit card to purchase.
- Be patient. Because of the huge demand for tickets, you may be put into a "waiting room" on the registration site, where you will be updated regularly on your status in line, as well as ticket availability.
- If you are online waiting to register, DO NOT REFRESH your page, it will be done automatically for you. And do not use the back button – it will cause you to lose your place in line.
- Ticket availability for events will be listed – and updated -- at the top of The Women's Conference homepage throughout the morning.
- You'll need to sign up for Maria Shriver's March on Alzheimer's separately -- sign up here!
- If you don’t get a ticket to the event you want, visit Our Forum, where ticketholders can sell their unwanted tickets for the value of that ticket. And remember that you can enter The Great Giveaway for a chance to win 2 tickets to the Conference.
We look forward to seeing you in October!
It’s Time…
- Architects of Change
- Maria's Post
Along with The Women’s Conference team, I am thrilled to announce our most extraordinary lineup of speakers and events yet for the 2010 Conference on October 24 - 26. For our theme this year, we have chosen “It's Time.” It’s a phrase that so many of us use without really thinking about it. We use it when we're finally ready to make a decisive change in our lives. We often say, "It's time for me to find a new job or start my own business or work on a cause I care deeply about.” We just know when It's Time. And that's what our conference is all about. At this challenging moment in history, we want to inspire women to see this as an opportunity to come together and transform ourselves, our communities and our world as Architects of Change.
Every year, we try to take The Women’s Conference to an even higher level by expanding our events to reach more women with these life-changing experiences. This year, for the first time ever, The Women’s Conference is growing to three full days with six new and expanded events featuring more than 140 amazing speakers. We’ll kick off on Sunday afternoon, October 24th with my March on Alzheimer’s and a candlelight vigil. Thousands will join us to help defeat this mind-blowing disease with proceeds going to the Alzheimer’s Association. Later that evening, we’ll come together to celebrate at a brand new event – Night at the Theater with a special performance of Love, Loss, and What I Wore, an intimate collection of stories by Nora Ephron and Delia Ephron.
On Monday, It’s Time…To Take Action! Due to popular demand, A Day of Health, Wellness and Transformation has doubled in size with a full day of world class experts and interactive sessions on how to personally and professionally become an Architect of Change. Then on Monday evening, 10,000 attendees will gather at our third annual Night at The Village where It’s Time…To Experience the Best – the best speakers, authors, chefs, shopping, and entertainment.
On Tuesday, It’s Time…To Be An Architect of Change at our Main Event featuring our signature once-in-a-lifetime conversations and news-making moments where the world’s most influential voices discuss the issues that shape women’s lives. It’s an incredible lineup of speakers. Then on Tuesday afternoon, I’ll host a special ceremony to honor The Minerva Awards 2010 winners - Remarkable Women and Remarkable Legacies. You won’t want to miss this inspirational event and special concert.
To help you learn everything you need to know about our amazing 2010 Conference events, we’ve created a special page here on our website as your portal to all of the latest information -- Welcome to the Conference. We’ll be updating the site regularly over the coming months.
So, mark your calendars: Tickets go on sale next Wednesday, June 23 at 9:00 a.m. PDT.
I hope to see you in October!
Announcing The Great May Giveaway Winner
- Architects of Change
Just last week we announced the recipients of the 2010 Minerva Award®. This week we want to share with you the many, many more Minervas among us in The Women’s Conference community.
On May 1st we asked you to tell us when you first realized that you could make a difference -- What was your Minerva Moment?
Hundreds of you have had Minerva Moments and recognize the power you wield in your day-to-day lives. Many of you have started foundations and nonprofits to answer a need in your communities and the world; others have used your time and skills to raise money or awareness on behalf of others. Some of you have stood up to abusive partners, and still others of you have taught your children the value of giving back.
Explore The Women’s Conference community’s many Minervas and Minerva Moments here, My Minerva Moment.
Below is The Great May Giveaway winning response, as well as the three honorable mentions. These women found the strength – sometimes in the face of adversity – to help the women in the Congo who had been brutally raped, to remember that giving back is something we can do every day, to reach out to AIDS patients, and to help other women who have been in abusive relationships.
Winner:
Kate
My Minerva Moment occurred when I was a senior in high school. My mother was watching the Oprah Winfrey show as she normally did after work. One night she called me into the room and told me to watch something very important.
As reporter Lisa Ling told the horrific stories of women who had been brutally raped in the Congo I sat there, tears falling from my eyes. I was so moved to do something—anything!
My heart ached to help so I went before my school administration with the idea of a fundraiser. I was denied at first—told the topic was too racy. I fought for these women because their story needed to be told.
Eventually I received enough support. I ordered the transcripts from the Oprah Winfrey show, created a slideshow of images and retold the stories of these women in front of my entire community.
I put faces to stories, which made the topic real for people, who knew nothing of third-world suffering. There wasn’t an empty seat in the house.
I organized a weeklong bake sale to raise awareness. Donations came pouring in with notes of encouragement. We raised $1,100 and sent it to Women for Women International.
This was my Minerva Moment and it has become my life’s calling. I now work for a women’s magazine in NYC. There is no greater bond than that of one woman to another. It is a bond that knows no boundaries.
Honorable Mentions:
Sally Ann
How great would it be if we were all capable of not only having "Minerva Moments" to share, but we can share what it means to have a "Minerva Lifestyle". So I challenge you all who are writing about your "moments" to really think about not just having "sprinkles" of kindness, greatness, compassion....but consider living a life full of these "Minerva Moments". So many of us take on causes which we excel at but we fail in our day to day life to be loving to our children, kind to housekepeers, compassionate with our .....you know where I am going with this. It is our interaction and relationships with others that allows us to live a "Minerva Lifestyle". Do you inspire every person you meet to be better in some way? Do you bring sunshine as you enter a room? As trivial as this may sound, it is these little acts that send out energy to others that they also deserve a "minerva lifestyle" and hey...before you know it, we are all "minervaing".....if such a "verb" even exist. And if it does not, well maybe it should since Minerva is a word of action so it should be a verb;-) Best of luck to all of you!
Trudie
In 1995, my husband and I were active in a local church. Our pastor was very dynamic but vehemently homophobic, a trait I found troubling. After working for years in the fashion industry, I had many gay friends and a great compassion for the gay community. Rather than change churches, we decided to confront the issue by spearheading an outreach to AIDS patients. The church wanted no part of our proposal, so we pursued the ministry on our own, launching a weekly Bible study at a nearby hospice. Many of the men we ministered to were wary – they had never received love and acceptance from Christians before. One evening, a very ill young man learned I was going through fertility treatments and offered to pray for me. His sweet, simple prayer touched me – he’d wanted nothing to do with God just a few months earlier. He passed away right before his prayer was answered – I gave birth to my son eight months later. At his memorial, the young man’s family thanked me for making a difference in his life. In truth, he was the one who made a difference in mine. Today, my husband and I are still called to reach out to those the traditional church rejects and have a passion to touch all people with God’s unconditional love.
Joanne
Being in an abusive marriage, hiding behind lies and not telling anyone because I felt ashamed; I took this energy to help others. One day at work a supervisor came to me and pleaded with me to help one of the female worker's who had been out "sick" for several days by asking the owner not to terminate her. She was getting out of the hospital after her husband abused her. She did not want to press charges because she had two small children and was afraid. I went to my car and brought a handful of domestic violence brochures in Spanish that I helped create with the Los Angeles DA's office explained that she needed to be safe for her children and her was a list of programs and shelters. The next week the supervisor asked for more brochures. She wanted to hand them out in her neighborhood and she found out there was another lady at work who was also being abused. I gave her a box of the brochures and later learned that the female worker was in one of the shelters and getting help for herself and her children. I decided to start a program "Refuse to Abuse" for high schools along with celebrities, the Los Angeles DA office and people who had been effected by abuse to educate kids and make them accountable to stop the abuse and don't become part of the cycle.
