The 11th Annual West Hollywood Women’s Leadership Conference will be a full day of networking, leadership workshops, advocacy training, and more. It will take place on Saturday, May 13, 2017 from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the West Hollywood Park Auditorium and West Hollywood Library, located at 647 N. San Vicente Boulevard and at 625 N. San Vicente Boulevard.
The Women’s Leadership Conference is organized around the theme “Advocate. Connect. Unite.” and 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. It will bring hundreds of people together for advocacy, connection, and unity.
“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, and 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 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., and from 3:45 p.m. 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 p.m. 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 Women’s Leadership Conference are available for $45 at www.wehowlc.org/attend-2. Tickets will be available $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 N. San Vicente Boulevard. 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.
For additional information and a full conference schedule, including information about speakers and workshop leaders, please visit www.wehowlc.org. For up-to-the-minute updates and to participate on social media — @WeHoWLC and #WeHoWLC.
For more information about the 11th Annual West Hollywood Women’s Leadership Conference, please call (323) 848-6840. For people who are deaf or hearing impaired, please call TTY (323) 848-6496.
