The 2018 United State of Women Summit

Athlete activism is an ever-evolving phenomenon that today looks very different from when we started the conversation a year ago. We believe that activist efforts seek to change the social climate and structures that make volunteerism necessary, yet few people understand their service as an important contribution to larger structural social change.

We seek to help female athletes and laypersons understand the power and necessity of activism in achieving social change, and to reframe volunteerism and service as an effective act of dissent.

This panel discussion will share the stories of athletes, coaches and executives in the sports industry who have found their voice and used it to support causes they believe in while highlighting Play Like a Girl programs and sharing how athletes and those passionate about sport can propel our efforts to level the playing field for girls and women in sports.

Women's March LA will be hosting the "Empowered Civic Engagement" panel to give attendees the tools to actively engage in their local communities, including how to lobby for community initiatives, re-engaging in local democratic environments, and re-inventing the political process from its current form.  And most importantly, learn how to build power for a sustainable movement!

Meet the young women from South LA who represented their community and shifted the narrative of the “March For Our Lives” movement to include the experiences of youth of color. Learn how you can get involved in the fight to advance equity in public education, transform communities and build the next generation of powerful and impactful Girls and Womyn of Color.

Join Bossed Up, She Should Run, and Platform Women for an engaging series of trainings focused on helping you level up in your leadership practice. Whether you’re a nonprofit leader, corporate boss, or community activist, all leaders must be able to clearly communicate their vision and tell their story in a way that inspires action.

Recent research shows women tend to struggle when it comes to communicating a clear vision - an essential skill for leaders of all ages and stages in one’s career.

Join award-winning trainers from three national organizations for an interactive, engaging, and actionable half-day of training that will leave you equipped to create lasting progress back home.

How can you impact governance decisions in your city and county? Join the Liberty Hill Foundation to learn how to influence equitable decision-making in your community, to ensure that decisions benefit all residents through City and County boards and commissions. This session will be a conversation for activists who want to interact with commissions; aspiring commissioners who want to represent low-income, communities of color; and existing commissioners who want to deepen their impact.
In any given city or county, there can be dozens and dozens of local commissions yielding great power over local communities. With roots in the Progressive Era (1890-1920), commissions are a bridge between residents and professional politicians. Their appointed members (more than 300 in L.A. City alone) oversee key city agencies and advise elected officials and government employees on core policies, but not even the wonkiest policy wonks can name all the City's 52 boards and commissions, never mind the many dozens of County and State boards and commissions. And yet these policy-making and advisory bodies made up of non-political experts and residents are one of the most important—and powerful—cornerstones of regional government.

How can you impact governance decisions in your city and county? Join the Liberty Hill Foundation to learn how to influence decision-making in your community, and ensure that equitable and fair decisions are being made for the benefit of all residents. This session will be a conversation for activists who want to interact with commissions to defend their communities; aspiring commissioners who want to represent low-income, communities of color; and existing commissioners who want to deepen their impact. This session will include presentations and discussion designed to help you ensure that your city has strong civic leaders to serve on all boards and commissions making decisions every day that will be good for all of our communities.

Through Liberty Hill Foundation’s Wally Marks Leadership Institute, Liberty Hill has been running a commissions training program since 2013, providing trainings tailored to the specific interests of social justice advocates and grassroots activists. Through our trainings we have incubated and accelerated the leadership of dozens of organizations and hundreds of Angelenos, and supported the appointments of nearly 40 individuals to city, county, and state boards and commissions.

We cannot achieve equity for all women, unless we actively dismantle racism. As we fight for gender equity it is our responsibility to ensure that the voices and experiences of women of color are centered in advocacy efforts and policy solutions. For 160 years, YWCA has been on a mission to to eliminate racism and empower women. Join us, to learn more about our journey and gain tools to strengthen your own journey to fight for justice at the intersection of race and gender.

Often, the biggest barrier for creating change is knowing how to take the first step toward achieving your goal. Our communities need new leaders—and new voices—to get involved. All over the country, women are stepping up to fill this void and make a positive impact on their local communities. In this session, we work to understand the critical nature of establishing a strong, actionable vision; we develop one; and conclude by laying the groundwork for turning it into action.

This session will take a deeper look at the essence and foundation of community organizing—what is it we are truly seeking to achieve by organizing others to action? In this, we’ll highlight some of our country’s most notable women organizers, as well as those who currently display powerful leadership as volunteer organizers through Organizing for Action.

First, we’ll discuss the unique challenges presented to women as they seek to organize and empower their communities to effect change. We’ll look at how operating from our strengths is a more effective strategy—because successful organizing leverages a diverse array of skills, tactics, and ideas. There’s no one right way to organize.

In the second half of our session, we’ll examine some concrete organizing skills and how to apply them. Namely, we’ll start at one of the most fundamental necessities of strong organizing: creating and understanding our vision. What is our purpose? What drives us to action? Why do we organize, and why do we care? These are the questions we must be able to answer to construct our path forward and begin creating the world we want to see. From here, we’ll pivot towards developing an understanding of how to effectively plan and implement a strategy for success based on our visions—Once we know what we’re aiming for, we need to develop a way to get there!

We’ll close our session by outlining what work is left to do in order to organize and impact our communities, including the ways you can get involved with OFA and other progressive organizations working to achieve a world of equity, diversity, and inclusion.

This training is geared towards those who seek to make an impact in their communities and want to figure out how a good way to establish a strong foundation. Often, the biggest barrier for creating change is taking that first step towards your goal. We hope to give you the skills, confidence, and drive to get started.

Continuing the momentum of the #MeToo movement, this Girl Up workshop co-led by staff and a trained youth advocate will inspire and guide you to create safe spaces in your community for women and girls. You will gain the tools to be an effective activist for girl-led solutions, turning your passion into action to be a change-maker in your community.

When women and girls are not safe walking in their own town, shopping in markets or selling their goods, using community toilets, or simply taking public transit, it has a huge impact on their lives. The experience or threat of violence affects women and girls’ access to social activities, employment, education, and leadership opportunities.

In this interactive session, you will learn about the importance of safe spaces and how to create them in your community. The training will cover:
• Public speaking
• How to pitch your advocacy plan
• Networking
• What effective leadership strategies are
• How to build your communications/media plan
• And more
Girl Up will help you become the leader and change maker you want to be.

The following Girl Up Staff Members and Youth Advocate that will lead you through this training are:

Lisa Napper: Lisa is a former member of the It’s On Us Student Advisory Committee and White House Champion of Change. Upon graduating from Howard University, she began working with Girl Up at the United Nations Foundation as their Program Associate.

Kelsey Carroll: Kelsey is the Communications and Digital Media Associate for Girl Up, housed by the United Nations Foundation. She has a degree from William Smith College in Women’s studies, and is passionate about gender-centered global development and ethical storytelling.

Youth Advocate: Our Youth Advocate is a current Girl Up leader, who is a champion for gender equality and women’s empowerment. Through Girl Up’s leadership programs, Girl Up inspires, convenes, trains and connects girls globally, helping to position them as leaders and changemakers.

Join Awesomeness, a leading media company for Gen Z, to learn about this highly influential generation and what inspires and moves them to social action. During the panel, we’ll chat all things Gen Z and explore how they’re going to change or rather, save, the world. We’ll be joined by Gen Z girls to discuss their own advocacy, and explore the role that entertainment, social media, & brands can play in social activism. You’ll leave knowing exactly who Gen Z is and what mobilizes them to action.Awesomeness is a media company serving the global Gen Z audience through its suite of digital networks- AwesomenessTV, DreamWorksTV, Awestruck- and its film and television studio arms.

Founded in 2012, Awesomeness has spent five years creating original programming and cultivating an audience made up of one of the most coveted and difficult to reach demographics. As a leading media brand for this generation, Awesomeness’ extensive distribution footprint spans across owned, social and premium SVOD platforms. The company also includes a creative agency, creator network, and brand partnerships division. Awesomeness is headquartered in Los Angeles, with additional offices in New York, London and Singapore. Investors include Comcast NBCUniversal, Verizon and Hearst.  

This event will bring together state and local elected officials to discuss policy ideas and strategies for advancing women’s rights in 2018 and beyond. With attacks at both the federal and state level on access to health care, reproductive rights, child care, and workplace policies such as equal pay and paid leave affecting women and families, state and local leaders are at the forefront of protecting gains – and creating further progress - for women’s equality and economic security.  This policy event will include discussions by elected officials on legislation, best practices, and organizing opportunities across a number of women’s rights policy topics.

Speakers:
Valerie Jarrett
Alejandra Castillo, YWCA
CA State Senator Hannah Beth Jackson
AZ State Representative Athena Salman
Shilpa Phadke, Center for American Progress
Jocelyn Frye, Center for American Progress

Brunch will be provided.