2005 NOW National Conference Features National Officer Elections

June 23, 2005

The National Organization for Women (NOW) will hold its annual conference July 1-3 in Nashville, Tennessee. This year's theme, "Unbought and Unbossed," honors the life and contributions of the late Shirley Chisholm, and represents NOW's steadfast commitment to women's equality and reproductive justice despite the current political climate. Adding to the excitement at this year's conference are the national officer elections. As we do every four years, NOW delegates will elect four leaders — including the national NOW President — to serve and lead the organization headquartered in Washington, D.C. Voting will take place Saturday night from 7-9pm.

Conference speakers include:

Sara Paretsky, novelist and creator of the fictional private detective V.I. Warshawski. By creating a female investigator who uses her wits as well as her fists, Paretsky challenged a genre in which women traditionally were either vamps or victims;

Dolores Huerta, co-founder of the United Farm Workers (UFW) union and one of the century's most powerful and respected labor movement leaders;

Katie Hnida, who made history as the first woman ever to score in NCAA Division I football, is also making a difference by speaking out on the harassment and violence she encountered as a place kicker for the University of Colorado;

Sybil Niden Goldrich, co-founder of the Command Trust Network, whose activism led to the landmark 1992 congressional hearings and restriction of the sale of the then-unregulated silicone breast implants;

Kakenya Ntaiya, from the Maasai Tribe in Western Kenya and the first girl ever in her village to go to college. The Washington Post recently published a four-part series about Ntaiya's journey to further her education in the U.S. and future plans to open a girls' school in Africa;

Dr. Martha Burk, Chair of the National Council of Women's Organizations. She led the NCWO effort to open the Augusta National Golf Club to women, and remains at the forefront of the debate on women's progress in corporate America;

Hon. Martha Craig Daughtry, attorney, law professor and federal judge, and the first Tennessee woman appointed to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.

Entertainment on both Friday and Saturday nights will include an eclectic mix of jazz, rock, blues and country from Music City.

NOTE: To arrange interviews and press credentials, please contact Jenny Thalheimer, NOW Press Secretary at (202) 628-8669 ext. 116 or press@now.org. More information on the conference is available at www.now.org/conference.

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