• Friday 10:15 am - 11:30 am
• Friday 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm
• Friday 3:30 PM - 4:45 PM
• Saturday 9:00 AM - 10:15 AM
• Saturday 2:00 PM - 3:15 PM
• Saturday 5:15 PM - 6:30 PM

Friday 10:15 am - 11:30 am

Code Red for Poor Women - Amber Alert for Forgotten Kids

Room: Van Buren

The welfare law is up for reauthorization, and feminists must continue to promote a debate on poverty that treats poor women and children with dignity. How can we reverse the public disdain aimed at poor women who need public assistance, expand our allies and mobilize voters to support increased education, schooling for real jobs, more child care and crucial support services in order to help women avoid or escape poverty?

Lisa Jacobs, Pat Reuss, Claudia Withers

Family Court Bias - The Victimization of Women and Their Children

Room: Jackson

Throughout the country, women are losing custody of their children to men with histories of sexual abuse and domestic violence. What role does the dangerous theory called Parental Alienation Syndrome play in this phenomenom? This workshop explores how abusers have learned to manipulate the judicial system and what women and their advocates need to know to challenge that system

Garland Waller, Dr. Leora Rosen, Diane Hofheimer, Eileen King

Title IX - An Action Plan for Defending Educational Equity

Room: Madison

It's been more than 30 years since landmark legislation was passed assuring girls and young women equal access to educational opportunities. Yet it has been a struggle to get that law fully implemented and, in recent years, lawsuits from opponents have attempted to limit Title IX impact — especially in athletic programs. Come join in a discussion on how to protect our right to equal education.

Linda Joplin, Lisa Maatz, Jocelyn Samuels

Final Choices: The Right to Control Life's End

Room: Monroe

Discuss women's end-of-life choices and the state legislation that is being considered around the country to expand our options. Find out how Attorney General John Ashcroft is working to shut down women's choices in this area, as in so many others.

Nancy Buermeyer, State Rep. Linda Lopez (AZ), Ann Jackson

BASTA - Enough!

Room: Harrison

The panel will discuss what Latina Lesbians face when dealing with issues of feminism, sexuality and violence. The BASTA program educates the Latina/o and LGBT communities in preventing domestic violence, sexual assault and stalking. The prevalence of domestic violence in same-gender and gender variant couples is a key issue.

Tara Foley, Ana Hernandez

Stop Home-Grown Terrorism: Strengthen Hate Crimes Laws

Room: Wilson

Vicious attacks on women, lesbians, gay men and disabled persons occur every day and serve as a chilling message to entire groups of people to "stay in your place." For many years right-wing leaders in Congress have blocked passage of legislation that would strengthen federal statutes by adding three new categories of prohibited hate crimes. Hear why these new protections are necessary and how you can help get them adopted.

Mara Kiesling, Courtney Snowden, Jan Erickson, Jamie Fasteau, Stephanie Ortoleva

There is no Political Institute workshop in this session.

There is no Structure Hearing in this session.

Friday 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Back to the Streets - Save Women's Lives: March for Freedom of Choice

Room: Commonwealth

Roe hangs by a thread, a Supreme Court Justice may be retiring and our political enemies control all three branches of government. It's time once again to fill Washington, D.C., with hundreds of thousands of activists for this abortion rights march sponsored by NOW, Feminist Majority, Planned Parenthood and NARAL/Pro Choice America. Come and find out the game plan and discuss how we can maximize our grassroots efforts to make this a stunning success.

Kim Gandy, Eleanor Smeal, Alice Cohan, Olga Vives

Be Wise, Be Safe: Dealing with Rape and Sexual Assault

Room: Madison

As the media tells us every day, young women are at the highest risk of encountering sexual assault and rape. At the same time, conservatives have launched a campus campaign to downplay the problem of sexual assault and date rape. We must all do our part to organize, educate and communicate effectively to reduce the risks and tell women the truth about rape and sexual assault. Come talk about what we can do.

Debby Andrews, Angela Rose, Wendy Murphy, Vickie Gwiasda, Ann Ream

Political Institute: Finding Fabulous Feminist Candidates

Room: Federal Hall

To dramatically increase the number of feminists in elected office, we must actively seek more feminists to run. Join a spirited discussion of the challenges of recruiting potentially winning women to seek office with women who have "walked the walk" both here and abroad

Barbara Ferris, Erica Henri, Harriet Trudell

Media Monopoly: Drowning the Feminist Voice

Room: Van Buren

On June 2, the FCC voted to shut out women and people of color from top-level participation in the media industry and virtually eliminate local programming. Their vote to consolidate media ownership was a destructive rollback of consumer protection rules. But the fight for freedom of expression and information is not over. This work-shop will discuss what we can do to stop the radical right takeover of this nation's media.

Terry O'Neill, David Honig

Is God a Feminist? Roundtable on Women's Roles in Christianity, Judaism and Islam

Room: Harrison

Religion has been used to subjugate women for centuries, but who's to blame? The priests, rabbis and imams, or the holy texts? Join this stimulating exchange on women in religion and learn what Islam, Judaism and Christianity really say about the role of women and where the words end and modern interpretations begin.

Frances Kissling, Rabbi Avis Miller, Maysan Haydar

Standing Up for Our Global Sisters

Room: Wilson

Women in Iraq and Afghanistan are struggling to survive. In war-devastated Iraq, 95% of pregnant women suffer from anemia and Iraqi women are unable to find enough food and clean water to keep their children alive. In post-Taliban Afghanistan, women are still being abused, harassed, threatened and forced to wear the burqa. We can make a difference and help our global sisters survive. Bring your ideas and energy to this workshop.

Karen Johnson, Jennifer Jackman, Karen Sherman

Structure Hearing: Conferences/National/Action Center

Examples: national conference procedures, operations of the National Action Center, communication

Room: Jefferson Room

Starting from Scratch: Building a Chapter Base

Room: Jackson

Chapter leaders face a variety of challenges reactivating an existing chapter or starting a new one. The trusty membership lists may not yield the womanpower needed. Join experienced organizers to exchange tips for identifying supporters and building your chapter activist core with new names for NOW!

Barbara Hays, Suzannah Porter, Carolyn Landry, Lisa Harrison, Dionne Spriggens

How Chapters Can Use the Web to Organize

Room: Monroe

Learn strategies for presenting content that will stay fresh, obtaining free or low-cost web services, and using preformatted templates. Reduce (organizing costs), Reuse (chapter web templates) and Recycle (your own web strategies)! If you already have a chapter web site, please come and share your ideas.

Sarah Stapleton-Gray, Sandra West

Friday 3:30 pm- 4:45 pm

ERA and CEDAW: Constitutional Equality Abroad and at Home

Room: Van Buren

With women's rights under attack at home and abroad, we must move forward to secure equality for all women, once and for all. Discuss how to create the political climate necessary to win a constitutional amendment to guarantee our equality and finally join the rest of the world in ratifying CEDAW.

Martha Burk, U.S. Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), Bear Atwood, Leila Milani

Make Love, Not War

Room: Commonwealth

Right before our eyes, the United States has embarked on dangerous wars of aggression and conducted an unprecedented military build-up. Is peace a feminist issue? How does militarism affect women's lives? Are the voices of peace activists being heard? Hear from peace movement organizers about the challenges and hurdles to changing the reckless path of the Bush administration.

Tracy Moavero, Darcy Scott-Martin, Victoria Cunningham, Olga Vives

"Friendly Fire": Sexual Violence in the Military

Room: Madison

Come discuss ways to make a difference when violence against women permeates the military. This panel features the unique experiences of those who served in the military and have personal background in dealing with, and trying to change, this "way of life."

Roberta Waddle, Lt. Col. Karen Johnson, USAF Ret'd., Nicole' LaFra'nce Felton, Dorothy Mackey, Elle Pritchard

Young Women SPEAK OUT on Reproductive Rights

Room: Wilson

Young women today may be blessed with an abundance of new technologies like emergency contraception (EC), but the radical right hasn't stopped swinging their axe to hack away at our reproductive health choices. It's time to organize, mobilize and fight back! Learn what you can do at home, on campus and in your community.

Kirsten Moore, Crystal Plati, Azi Shariatmadar, Mia Herndon

Roundtable Discussion: Defending and Strengthening the Social Safety Net

Room: Harrison

They're under attack: federal and state programs that help women and families gain health care, housing, nutrition, education and training, child care, retirement security and cash assistance. Conservative policy-makers are out to reduce or eliminate these programs. How can feminists effectively defend and improve these programs that provide vital services to millions of women and their children?

Rachel Klein, Catherine Hill, Debbie Weinstein

Political Institute : Mobilizing the Next Generation

Room: Federal Hall

The younger the people, the more likely they are to support feminist issues and the less likely to vote. Share strategies with organizers who've turned on and turned out student voters. What can you do now to gear campuses up for 2004 and make the difference on election day?

Latifa Lyles, Kathryn Minarik, EB Nesbitt, Suzannah Porter

Structure Hearing: Regions/National Board

Examples: regional conference procedures, board operations, communication

Room: Jefferson Room

It's Fast! It's Cheap! It's Effective! Using 21st Century Technology to Organize for Action

Room: Monroe

Online organizing can create a virtual march with millions of people, greatly reducing your organizing time and expenses for local actions. In this workshop you'll learn how you can use the Internet to organize your communities, chapters and even the nation using online technologies. Luddites and geeks both welcome.

Jeanne K. C. Clark, Irene Weiser, Sarah Stapleton-Gray

Saturday 9:00 am - 10:15 am

Workshops:

LGBT Rights - Let's Celebrate and Then Continue the Fight

Room: Van Buren

Let's pause a moment to savor the Supreme Court victory, knowing that our real work is still ahead of us. None of us are satisfied with the current state of LGBT rights, and voters and elected officials alike need to hear "We want our rights and we want them NOW!" We'll discuss new initiatives such as the Permanent Partners Immigration Act and craft a plan to mobilize voter turnout for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) rights issues

Colleen Dermody, Marta Donayre, Leslie Bulbuk, D'Arcy Kemnitz

Gender Theory: Out of the Tower, Into the Streets

Room: Commonwealth

Are some genders "real" and others "artificial?" Is sexual orientation a real property of our bodies, or just a way of politicizing our desires? Is gender something we are, or something we do? If we strive to protect women's rights, who counts as women? How do we mobilize in ways that emphasize connections between gender stereotypes and racism, homophobia, sexism, and trans-phobia? Join an open discussion on how our theoretical insights can help us organize to be more practical, effective and inclusive activists.

Patricia Ireland, Riki Wilchins, Laura Figueroa

Hot Topics and Hot Flashes: Alternative Therapies in Women's Health

Room: Jackson

An interactive panel discussion on alternative and complementary therapies used by women; their benefits and risks; what women need to know about Hormone Replacement Therapy and alternative treatments; and how to locate reliable information on these therapies and providers.

Duchy Trachtenberg, Adriane Fugh-Berman, MD, Amy Allina, Jackie Wootton, M.Ed.

"Women's Work" - A Losing Proposition: The Economic Impact of Caregiving

Room: Wilson

Many women who become primary caregivers pay a devastating price economically. The work of caring for children and other dependent family members is still unpaid, disrespected, and unacknowledged by all of the major institutions in our society. The result is motherhood has become the single greatest risk factor for poverty in America. This panel will discuss these issues and create a plan for action.

Ann Crittenden, Joan Williams, Valerie Young, Rhonda Kave

Bicycles Among Fish: How Men Can Stop Violence Against Women

Room: Monroe

A multimedia, interactive workshop designed to invite males to figure out how they can be most useful to NOW, to ending violence against women and sexism in the world. The workshop will discuss strategies for recruiting men to your NOW chapter, dealing with issues of accountability, and the best practices for male involvement in ending violence against women.

Kiersten Stewart, Ben Atherton Zeman, River Smith, Pat McGann

Political Institute: Increasing Our Voices Through Voter Registration

Room: Federal Hall

We know that we are the majority - but where are our voters and why don't they vote? Learn how to mobilize voter turnout through registration. If we can wage an effective voter registration campaign and then get those voters to the polls, there will be nothing that can stop our candidates.

Linda Berg, Eric Bryant, Claudia Ellquist, Hans Riemer

Structure Hearing: States and Chapters

Examples: relationships between state organizations and chapters, state and chapter procedures, communication

Room: Jefferson Room

Latinas in the U.S.: How Are We Doing?

Room: Harrison

The panel offers information and perspectives on the lives of Latinas in the United States. Come hear from Latinas from our diverse communities on issues affecting Latinas in areas such as economic justice, reproductive health and lesbian rights. Panelists bring their expertise in their areas to a lively discussion of ways in which NOW activists can join forces with our Latina sisters in promoting issues important to the Latina community.

Olga Vives, Maria E. Mills-Torres, Laura M. Esquivel, Silvia Henriquez

Saturday 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm

Women Un-Friendly Workplaces: Wal-Mart as Merchant of Shame

Room: Madison

Wal-Mart, the largest corporation in the United States and the country's largest employer, systematically engages in discrimination against its employees based on gender, race, sexual orientation and disability. The panel will discuss the facts, the pending litigation against this corporation, the efforts to organize its workers and what activists can do to stop Wal-Mart from continuing its unfriendly practices.

Katherine Black, Barbara Gilbert-Chen, Olga Vives

Save the Courts - Stop the Court Packing

Room: Commonwealth

As George Bush continues on his path to stack the federal courts with right wing activist judges who are committed to turning back all of our long-fought and hard-won rights, we must join with our coalition partners to block this takeover of the judiciary. With impending Supreme Court retirements and Roe hanging in the balance, there never has been a more important time to organize.

Lisa Jacobs, Alice Cohan, Leslie Proll, Rita Haley

"Women of the World Unite" - Don't Let Them Trade Your Rights Away

Room: Wilson

International trade and globalization are changing the way women in the United States and around the world access healthcare, start their own businesses and earn a living wage. Women's voices are being left out of the debate on international trade, yet women are most affected. Come hear how you can help create a feminist trade policy!

Beth Myers

Toxic Environment Hidden Dangers to Our Health

Room: Harrison

Toxic chemicals in the environment and in our personal products are threatening women and children's health now more than ever. Pesticides mimic hormones, causing birth defects and cancer; poisons like lead and mercury cause brain damage in children and the developing fetus. Asthma has reached epidemic proportions. And over 200,000 young women each year get cosmetic breast implants. What's wrong with this picture? Learn the science and ways to take action!

Jan Erickson, Paula Maccabee, Dr. Diana Zuckerman

Putting the Move Back in the Women's Movement

Room: Van Buren

This interactive workshop will engage participants in theatre warm-ups as well as Image Theatre to address and teach ideas about feminism, the women's movement and activism today for women's rights. The techniques used and games played seek to encourage participants to move beyond their comfort zones and explore alternative means to learning about and sharing stories of life framed and influenced by patriarchy.

Michel Coconis, Barbara Wood

Political Institute: Winning by Getting Out the Feminist Vote

Room: Federal Hall

There's only one day that really counts, and none of your fabulous electoral work matters if you can't get your voters to the polls on election day. Don't depend on a weather forecast to predict who'll cast their ballots. Join experienced political organizers for this skills building session.

Jama Adams, Mandy Carter, Robin Davis, Loretta Kane

Structure Hearing: States and Chapters

Examples: relationships between state organizations and chapters, state and chapter procedures, communication

Room: Jefferson Room

I Will Survive - Sexual Violence in African American Communities

Room: Jackson

This workshop will address the unique challenges to healing and community solutions to sexual violence from the perspective of women of color. This unique workshop will feature an artist, a filmmaker and an author who will bring their personal experiences, as well as their expertise, to this subject.

Lori Robinson, Marta Sanchez, Aishah Simmons

Create and Operate a Chapter Web Radio or TV Station

Room: Monroe

Start your own web radio or TV station. Learn how you can present news and issues not covered by mainstream media via live Internet webcasting radio or TV. This workshop, by a woman who has done it, will teach you how to create and implement your own station.

Ann Corcoran

Saturday 5:15 pm - 6:30 pm

Saving Affirmative Action - What NOW?

Room: Van Buren

The Supreme Court has spoken in two recent cases from the University of Michigan. Should we cheer or jeer? Will Congress join the fray? Join affirmative action advocates for an insider's interpretation of the rulings and discussion about where to go from here.

Gail Garcia McWilliams, Marisa Demeo, Terry Ao, Shanta Driver

The Drive for Equality - Beating Bush in 2004

Room: Commonwealth

Join NOW leaders to discuss the launch of NOW's Drive for Equality, a five-year campaign to build a powerful grassroots, issue-based network of women voters. Be a part of NOW's plan to organize, train and support chapters and local activists who will register, educate, mobilize and turn out the women's vote for the critical 2004 elections and beyond.

Kim Gandy, Terry O'Neill, Karen Johnson, Olga Vives

Protecting Women's Health and Reproductive Rights

Room: Wilson

An up-to-the-minute account of where we stand in defending women's abortion rights, access to contraception and a full range of reproductive health services against numerous attacks. Highlights of important legislation, litigation and judicial nominees will be presented. Strategies will be suggested to counter destructive legislation and litigation at both state and federal levels.

Julia Ernst, Jatrice Martel Gaiter, Chris Korsmo, Elizabeth Volz

For Women on the Move, Is Government Transportation Policy a Flat Tire?

Room: Harrison

Demand gender equity in safe, effective, efficient and affordable transportation. Transportation is an issue for women leaving welfare for work, for women seeking domestic violence shelters and abortion services, for older women who no longer drive and for women who can't afford a car. Discuss goals, actions and learn why transportation is a feminist issue.

Stephanie Ortoleva, Nancy Jakowitsch, Effie Stallsmith, Carolyn Jeskey, Patrick Butler

How Chapters Can Use the Web to Organize

Room: Monroe

Wondering how to best use the Internet for your chapter? Learn strategies for presenting content that will stay fresh, obtaining free or low-cost web services, and using preformatted templates. Reduce (organizing costs), Reuse (chapter web templates) and Recycle (your own web strategies)! If you already have a chapter web site, please come and share your ideas.

Sarah Stapleton-Gray, Sandra West

The Dixie Chicks and Politics: The New Feminist Music

Room: Madison

Think there's no current music to spice up your rallies and actions? Women of country music are singing lyrics that feminists can take to heart. This session will explore what feminist country music is and how you can use it to get energized. Bonus: learn a line dance.

Kathy Austin

Action for Justice: Making a Difference for Women and Girls

Room: Jackson

All successful social justice movements have relied on activism to achieve their goals. This workshop will teach you how to be a grassroots, feminist activist. You will learn 20 actions you can take and the 12 steps to creating a successful action. This workshop is a MUST for new and young feminists, as well as veteran activists that need a recharge!

Megan Seely, Mandy Benson

Political Institute: Earned Media as a Political Strategy

Room: Federal Hall

Learn how to use the media to give voice to our movement. It's more important than ever for NOW activists to learn how to effectively use the media. In this skills building session you will discover how to use women's issues to get media attention and then what to do once you have it.

Jeanne Clark, Irma Esparza, Rebecca Farmer

Structure Hearing Emergency Issues/Other Structure

This is the hearing where emergency issues that do not relate to NOW's structure may be addressed; structure issues that cross categories or do not fit into the other structure hearings may also be considered at this hearing.

Room: Jefferson Room