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Breakout Session I | Breakout Session II | Breakout Session III | Breakout Session IV | Breakout Session V | Breakout Session VI
Room: Cartier/Tiffany
Only a fraction of non-government workers have access to Family and Medical Leave, and millions have no paid sick days. And with parents and caregivers are in the workforce in overwhelming numbers, laws and policies in this country have not kept up with the economic reality of working families’ lives. Learn how we can get state and federal governments ,as well as the private sector, to start helping working families – from paid sick days and family leave, to fair pay and recognition of caregiving.
Moderator: Maretta Short
Panelists: Rachna Choudry, Melanie Ross Levin
Room: Old Georgetown
LGBT and gender non-conforming students from junior high to college campuses are bullied and discriminated against for not fitting expectations of masculinity or femininity. This workshop will analyze the ground-breaking Gender Equality National Index for Universities and Schools (GENIUS) study from the Gender PAC on the efforts of colleges and universities to combat discrimination and promote awareness; it will also provide the tools activists need to fight for safe campuses, junior and high schools and communities.
Moderator/ Panelist: Gail Garcia McWilliams
Panelist: Dr. Stephanie Barns, Sasha Madway, Nichalos S. Sakurai
Room: Cabinet
Planning for retirement can be a daunting process, whether you are in your 20s or your 60s.. How much money will I need? Do I need long term care insurance? What help will I get from Social Security and Medicare? Where can I afford to live? Presenters will look at the state and federal retirement programs and politics how these may help or hinder women’s retirement security, and address many of the legal and financial concerns that all women must eventually face.
Moderator: Latifa Lyles
Panelists: Janet E. Witt, Ashley B. Carson, J.D., Liz Gilchrist, Jan Erickson
Room: Diplomat/Ambassador
Come join us to explore the biases against girls and women with mental and intellectual disabilities and the challenges they face within the health care system. Parity in mental health care (with physical health care) is still far from reality. Identify the tools needed to fight this kind of discrimination in the health care system, and discuss what can be done immediately and how to work toward longer-term solutions to remedy this "hidden" bias.
Co-Moderator: Stephanie Ortoleva
Co-Moderator/ Panelist: Vanessa Volz
Panelists: Ashley Blake, Lauren Spiro
Room:Judiciary
Develop your feminist action toolbelt and move the movement! Using hot issues, panelists will describe innovative tactics that you can use to affect social change in your community. No matter how little time your friends, members, and local activists have – 5 minutes, 30 minutes, 1 hour or 1 day – there are ways they can take action. Seasoned activists share their expertise, answer questions, and provide tips for developing creative action tools. Participants will leave with a tool belt that they can use to mobilize people in their community to create change.
Moderator/Panelist: Erin Matson
Panelists: Amy Sejfulla, Crystal Lander
Room: Waterford
Participants will become educated on the latest developments in the unresolved murders of women in Ciudad Juarez and Chihuahua, Mexico. Hear stories from the newly released book “If I die in Juarez” and assess what has been done in the U.S. Congress to bring attention to the issues. Come join us for a discussion that will include the possible use of International and Regional Human Rights treaties to bring justice to the women of Juarez.
Moderator/ Panelist: Olga Vives
Panelists: Stephanie Ortoleva, Laura Marsh, Jennifer Johnson
Room: Congressional
Working women of color unite! Women around the globe are fighting to improve their futures, and many of them make the hard decision to immigrate to the United States. Community based services and programs work with these women as they begin their new lives in the US and as they struggle as women workers and immigrants in a strange new land. Join us for a unique training opportunity focused on the exploitation that immigrant women face, and how we can work together with other women of color to build a strong alliance that will allow all women to face the challenges of sexism and racism.
Moderator: Michelle Colon
Panelists: Beth Myers, Alexis De Simone, Ruth Castel-Branco, Kristi Matthews
Top of the Page | Breakout Session II | Breakout Session III | Breakout Session IV | Breakout Session V | Breakout Session VI
Room: Diplomat/Ambassador
Rates of sexually-transmitted infections (STI) among adolescents are shockingly high: a national survey by the CDC found one in four female teens were infected with HPV, chlamydia, trichomoniasis or herpes simplex. Young women of color are at even higher risk of contracting STIs. The lack of comprehensive sex education, undoubtedly, plays a role in adolescent risky sexual behavior, but what are the other factors, and how can we empower young women to take control of their health?
Moderator/Panelist: Erin Matson
Panelists: Urooj Arshad, Catherine Morrison
Room: Cartier/Tiffany
Girls are gaining ground in education, but not at the expense of boys. Equal opportunity in education is not a zero sum game – as the 36 year history of Title IX shows. But we still face obstacles: discriminatory sex-segregated public schools, a hard glass ceiling for women in STEM careers (science/technology/engineering/ mathematics), continuing discrimination in athletic programs, and harassment on campus. Discuss our achievements and our challenges.
Moderator: April Osajima
Panelists: Dr. Sue Klein, Lisa Maatz, Fatima Goss Graves, Elizabeth Homer
Room: Judiciary
Often women who are not directly involved end up with longer sentences that the men in their lives who were committing actual crimes. This workshop will provide perspectives on how the criminal justice system affects women and how Families Against Mandatory Minimum (FAMM) campaigns have assisted some of the women facing discriminatory treatment in prison. Discuss recent changes within the federal sentencing guidelines and consider possible legislative and regulatory reforms.
Moderator: Marion Wagner
Panelists: Angelyn Frazer, Jasmine Tyler, Karen Garrison
Room: Cabinet
The stealth campaign to undermine our rights is coming out into the open, with right wing campaigns like “The Pill Kills.” Women everywhere must demand that: birth control and family planning be accessible and affordable; Emergency Contraception be available for rape survivors at every hospital; Plan B be available to every girl and woman of childbearing age; sex education be based on science and not scare tactics; foreign aid include birth control and condom distribution; and birth control be accessible to low-income women. We have our work cut out for us – make plans now!
Moderator/ Panelist: Loretta Ross
Panelists: Nina Schwartz, Diana Romero
Room: Old Georgetown
Rock your streets, knock down the doors, bring it! Develop your canvassing skills, use role-plays to get you ready to move the movement and share the feminist activist love. Then put it into action – we will be using part of this workshop and lunch break to hit the streets and canvass for signatures in downtown Bethesda, demanding that Congress pass paid family leave legislation and asking people to join NOW. Later, gather to share stories and celebrate street canvassing - an effective way to raise awareness about important issues and about NOW.
Moderator/ Panelist: Jessica McCaffrey
Panelists: Alexis Torres, Rachna Choudry
Room: Waterford
Immigrant women face some of the worst adversity and discrimination you can imagine – and you haven’t heard the half of it! As feminists, we must push for laws that are humane and workable for immigrant women and their families. Learn about the Immigrant Women’s Liberation Project, which works for reform concerning raids, detention centers, and deportation. We will also introduce the work of the National Coalition for Immigrant Women’s Rights, of which NOW is a steering committee member.
Moderator: Panelist: Olga Vives
Panelists: Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas, Pat Reuss
Room: Haverford
Discuss current issues such as Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), forced marriage, and other forms of violence against women, and explore how the U.S. Asylum Law can be used to provide refuge for women from other countries to escape such practices. FGM is one of the many forms of social injustice that women suffer worldwide, and combating this practice is key to creating societies in which women are valued as full and equal participants. Recognizing that civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights are indivisible and interdependent is a crucial starting point for addressing the range of factors that perpetuate FGM and other abuses.
Moderator: Stephanie Ortoleva
Panelists: Gannon Gillespie, Daria Fisher Page, Esq., Kim Thuy Seelinger, Taina Bien-Aimé, Mindy Townsend
Room:Congressional
Breakout Session I | Top of the Page | Breakout Session III | Breakout Session IV | Breakout Session V | Breakout Session VI
Room:Diplomat/ Ambassador
Departments of Child Protection are removing children from families that are poor, of color, or women headed, sometimes equating poverty with parents' – especially mothers' – neglect. Instead of helping with housing, childcare, legal needs, or domestic violence and abuse, child protective services (CPS) are removing children at an alarming rate. Research shows that in most cases children are better off and safer with their families than in foster care. A grassroots movement of groups and individuals are challenging these abuses with facts, pickets, lawsuits, lobbying, and other protests.
Moderators: Marcia Pappas, Phoebe Jones
Panelists: Pat Albright, Nancy Carroll, Lawanda Connelly, Barbara Clayton
Room:Judiciary
What is happening currently to women and their families in the Hurricane Katrina-affected regions? Workshop panelists include a survivor of the hurricane and New Orleans flooding as well as researchers who have documented continuing patterns of discrimination and neglect of women, children, the elderly and poor. A staff member from the office of U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu (D-La.) will examine federal efforts to address the devastation.
Moderator: Terry O'Neill
Panelists: Charlotte Klasson, Avis Jones-DeWeaver, Jane Henrici, Ph.D., Sarada Peri
Room: Waterford
Women face healthcare disparities due to their race, economic circumstances, where they live, or simply because they are women. Immigrants and culturally and ethnically diverse communities often have little or no access to health care, and may not be able to communicate with medical professionals in a familiar language. Join us to discuss how we can mount a public education campaign around this issue, and how to help pass H.R. 3014, the Health Equity and Accountability Act sponsored by Rep. Hilda Solis (D-Calif.).
Moderator/ Panelist: Jessica Gonzalez-Rojas
Panelists: Jennifer Ng’andu, Dawn Philip, Eleanor Hinton Hoytt, Maggie Elehwany
Room: Haverford
Join these longtime NOW political strategists for a roundtable discussion of the opportunities and challenges we face in the 2008 US congressional races. The panel will present a uniquely feminist overview of the November congressional elections offering a sophisticated analysis of races where we have the opportunity to elect more feminists, as well as an examination of ways having feminists in office positively influences the outcome of critical legislation. Designed for "political junkies" who are committed to electoral politics and believe that electing more feminists is crucial to the success of our movement.
Moderator/Panelist: Melody Drnach
Panelists: Linda Berg, Dr. Janet Canterbury, Amb. Carol Moseley Braun
Room: Old Georgetown
Today NOW activists are looking online for organizing tools and action alerts more than ever before. The Internet, especially blogs and social networking sites like Facebook, can be an easy (yes, EASY!) way for you to quickly establish an online presence and stay connected with your activists. Our panel of bloggers and social networkers will discuss the capacity of online networking and will give simple, step-by-step instructions on how to set up and maintain your own online actions!
Moderator/ Panelist: Ali Rodway
Panelists: Liz Newbury, Latifa Lyles
Room: Cabinet
Join us to hear six Iraqi women trade union leaders share their stories of activism and their diverse experiences fighting for the rights of women and workers in Iraq. Despite constant discussion and attention focused on the war in Iraq, rarely do Americans hear the voices of Iraqi women. Struggling with a complex set of issues brought on by war, occupation, and civil strife, women across Iraq are raising their voices for rights and respect at home and in the workplace as they struggle to build fulfilling professional and personal lives amid daily risks.
Moderator: Shawna Bader-Blau
Panelists: Aseel Zuhair Hadi, Jehan Seleem Ahmed, Thanaa Mathlum Rajab, Midya Manszur Hassan, Hashmeya Muhsin Hussein, Ameera Ali Hussain
Room: Congressional
Room: Cartier/Tiffany
Breakout Session I | Breakout Session II | Top of the Page | Breakout Session IV | Breakout Session V | Breakout Session VI
Room: Haverford
You couldn't help noticing the sexism that gripped the media during Hillary Clinton's campaign – but that's not where it started, nor where it will end. They used gender-based insults on Nancy Pelosi, and they’ve already started on Michelle Obama, combining both sexism and racism. But media bias is bigger than politics – it is the way women are portrayed, from talk radio to fashion advertising, and the very real impact it has on the lives of girls and women. Join us for a conversation about how NOW has been taking on the media, and how you can join our campaign by taking action individually or as part of a Talkback Team. Help us create a feminist vision of media justice.
Moderator/ Panelist: Lisa Bennett
Panelists: Jan Strout, Latifa Lyles
Room: Diplomat/Ambassador
While the federal government and states have enacted "defense of marriage" legislation and some states have enshrined discrimination in their state constitutions, other states have moved toward marriage equality. Through the courts and legislation, domestic partnership, civil unions, and even equal marriage have become the law in several states. This workshop will explore the path towards recognizing the equal marriage rights of gays and lesbians, the efforts of our opponents to enshrine discrimination in state and federal law, and what you can do to end marriage discrimination in your state!
Moderator/Panelist: Olga Vives
Panelists: Ellen J. Zucker, Patricia Ireland, Deborah Tannenbaum
Room: Cartier/Tiffany
Every day four women die in this country as a result of “domestic violence,” the euphemism for murders and assaults by husbands, boyfriends, and acquaintances. Come join us as this panel explores the broad issue of sexual and domestic violence against women with a special emphasis on prevention. Our goal will be to craft public education and accountability strategies and policy initiatives to reduce and eventually end violence against women.
Moderator: Judie Fortier
Panelists: Lucy Melvin, Tonya Lovelace, Amy L. Katz
Room: Cabinet
Come join us in this workshop as presenters discuss the strides that feminists continue to make within the often unfriendly confines of faith. Multiple faiths will be represented, and a wide range of religious institutions and organizations will be discussed. Along with the feminist work being done to confront the patriarchy of religion, there is also room to promote and support the success stories when feminism makes transformations within faith.
Moderator/ Panelist: Della Fahnestock
Panelists: Cynthia Hess, Crystal Lander
Room: Judiciary
As many as one-fourth of the one million plus people in the U.S. living with HIV do not know they are infected. HIV infection must be de-stigmatized; early detection can lead to a longer and healthier life. In the U.S., there is an HIV epidemic among women of color, while for all women, heterosexual anal intercourse (and the attitudes of young women about anal sex) poses a special risk. Also discussed will be the politics of federal funding of HIV/AIDS programs.
Moderator/Panelist: Susan Wyche
Panelists: Carol Roye, Jacqueline Brown, Beatrice Krauss, Jamila K. Taylor
Room: Waterford
Using community-based success stories, activists will hear how to build a successful campaign with a strong coalition including labor and faith groups, environmental and financial organizations, neighborhood leaders, and activists to achieve social change. Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE) has created an exciting new model to achieve their vision for improving the lives of working men and women and building healthy communities. Integrating policy, research, community organizing and communications, they have helped improve living wages, created better jobs for tens of thousands of workers and developed more sustainable communities.
Moderator: Liz Gilchrist
Panelist: Rev. Alexia Salvatierra, Aiha Nguyen
Room: Old Georgetown
A panel of experts will examine issues facing women globally, such as earning enough to feed their families, having access to health care and education, protecting themselves from violence and dealing with climate change that is affecting their environments. Sustainable development, reformed trade policies, micro-lending, improved access to education and health care, and women in leadership are all part of the solution. Panelists will also provide a brief update on what Congress is doing – or not doing -- to address these problems, and a special update on Afghan women since the fall of the Taliban.
Moderator/Panelist: Eleanor Smeal
Panelists: Nora O’Connell, Rachel T. Harris, Dr. Patricia Morris
Room: Congressional
Breakout Session I | Breakout Session II | Breakout Session III | Top of the Page | Breakout Session V | Breakout Session VI
Room: Patuxtent/Embassy
Participate in this eye-opening workshop about the sexual violence faced by women in the military. Perpetrators of rapes in the military are generally given reduction in rank and confinement to base, but seldom jailed or placed on the national sex offenders list. When rapes occur in a war zone, women face post-combat trauma AND rape trauma, and there is little counseling or treatment for either. Military women, experts, and the mother of Suzanne Swift speak out on what must be done.
Moderator: Roberta Waddle
Panelists: Col. Ann Wright, Sara Rich, Dr. John Johnson, Linda Johnson, Maricela Guzman, Helen Benedict
Room: Diplomat/Ambassador
Subprime loans have gone disproportionately to women and as a result women are feeling the brunt of the drain of the current subprime foreclosure crisis. As highlighted in the winter edition of Ms. Magazine, the devastation of the subprime crisis is hurting women, their families, and communities. The panel will highlight the implications for all women and discuss the impact on communities that were targeted by abusive lending practices, plus review federal policy solutions and provide points for advocacy.
Moderator: Duchy Trachtenberg
Panelists: Debby Bocian, Julia Gordon
Room: Old Georgetown
As a first effort of its kind, the National Family Court Watch Project took a snapshot of family courts in five states using comprehensive instruments that recorded how litigants were treated. The results of this important survey are truly eye-opening. This initial phase is beginning to demonstrate that a pattern of discrimination against women is common in family courts. We will also consider the growing problem of mothers losing custody of minor children to documented batterers and child abusers.
Moderators: Erin Sullivan
Panelist: Renee Beeker, Laurie Christine Olaniyi, Marcia Pappas
Room: Cabinet
Do you have something to say? Learn the nuts and bolts of working with the media to get out your message and why an effective media strategy is an essential part of your activist tool belt. Whether you want to talk back, write in, or speak up, join experienced panelists for a hands-on discussion. This session includes real-life faux-pas and success sstories, the top ten Dos and Don’ts when working with the media, and tips on how to reach out to local outlets.
Moderator/Panelist: Lisa Bennett
Panelists: Latifa Lyles, Mai Shiozaki, Sonia Ossorio
Room: Susquehanna/Severn/Potomac
Get involved. Get out the vote. Get going. Learn and share information about why the women’s vote is the pathway to positive change this November and how you can be part of it. Be volunteer-savvy as campaign veterans share information about where turning out the feminist vote is essential to victory, and learn about the newest technology used by campaign volunteers across the country. Campaigns will be active in all 50 states this fall and feminist candidates are counting on you. BTW - George, moving day is coming!
Moderator/Panelist: Melody Drnach
Panelist: René Redwood, Sharon Grosfeld
Room: Judiciary
Learn about global feminist strategies and models where women’s activism and leadership are creating peaceful and just societies that advance the status of all women by prioritizing economic and social rights, including resources for health care; reproductive health and justice; education and employment; gender responsive budgets; paid family leave; and the elimination of discrimination based on race, gender and sexual orientation. We will highlight specific strategies using international women’s human rights resources and opportunities, and show film clips of International Women’s Day organizing around the world.
Moderator: Jan Strout
Panelists: Olivia Burlingame Goumbri, Cynthia Domingo, Stephanie Ortoleva, Yanet Stable Cardenas
Room: Congressional
Breakout Session I | Breakout Session II | Breakout Session III | Breakout Session IV | Top of the Page | Breakout Session VI
Room: Susquehanna/Severn/Potomac
It's more than the Supreme Court. The 2008 elections hold both promise and peril for supporters of women’s rights, but accurate information is hard to come by. There was a clear media bias against Hillary Clinton, and now that same media seems biased toward John McCain and against Barack Obama. How will we get the real story? Join us for analysis and discussion of the key issues facing women voters in the presidential race.
Moderator/Panelist: Kim Gandy
Panelists: Jatrice Martel Gaiter, Dolores Huerta, Eleanor Smeal
Room: Diplomat/ Ambassador
Feminists should know that everyone can lobby. As a voter, you have the right to talk with your City Council Members, State
Legislators, Representatives, and Senators, and they need to hear from you. This workshop will focus on how to familiarize yourself with these key people and their staffs, and how to organize your advocacy efforts so that your voice and messages are heard and your bills are passed! Learn the tricks of the trade, so you can start making a difference right NOW, and have fun in the process!
Moderator: Janice Rocco
Panelists: Marcia Pappas, Jessica A. Lowe, Maretta Short, April Carson
Room: Judiciary
Many victims of domestic sex trafficking are minors who are arrested and incarcerated in detention centers, given a criminal record, and shunned by institutions that are supposed to help them. Panelists will address how domestic sex trafficking works, the magnitude of the problem, the negative outcomes for girls and women who have been trafficked, and why the issue should be at the top of the feminist agenda. There will also be a review of current efforts to reauthorize the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act.
Moderator/Panelist: Sonia Ossorio
Panelists: Celia Williamson, Lisa Fedina, Jessica Trease, Karen Stauss
Room: Patuxtent/Embassy
As we move forward developing directions and strategies for the women’s movement, this panel will address critical issues about how Dominican and Latina women are building the women’s movement and what’s needed to sustain a multicultural movement. What goals do we share? What are our barriers and points of conflict? What does solidarity mean within this movement and with other movements? This workshop hopes to be both a critical reflection and a visionary discussion about what it takes to build solidarity and sustain our multicultural women movement as NOW works to forge a progressive women's agenda.
Moderator/Panelist: Zenaida Mendez
Panelists: Candida Bido, Judith Amaro, Raquel Batista, Marisol Alcantara
Room: Cartier/Tiffany
Access to affordable health care is a major election year topic. Explore several different approaches to universal health care, including a single payer system like Canada's. Some proposals for "universal" coverage don’t cover all of women’s health care needs, such as affordable contraception and access to abortion. The panel will assess presidential candidates’ health care reform proposals as well as provide some predictions about Congressional action next term.
Moderator: Jan Erickson
Panelists: Lisa Codispoti, Cindy Pearson, Dr. Diana Zuckerman, Zenei Cortez
Room: Cabinet
This workshop will address building and sustaining youth-led direct action. Join us as we discover ways to stay connected across social change movements both on and off campus and in our communities. Let's organize street actions, online actions, and community and workplace actions. We can create social change in every workplace setting – come and share your ideas to build a progressive young feminist movement.
Moderator: Kristy Pagan
Panelists: Rebecca Thompson, Elisabeth Crum, Wendy Matheny
Room: Congressional
Room: Old Georgetown
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