Sunday, September 16, 2012

I attended the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA) conference as a volunteer and attendee


I was invited to attend this very interesting conference held at Alverno
for the Veteran Feminists of America (VFA). VFA is the foremost source of information about the Second Wave women's movement for journalists, historians and other writers.

I helped with a silent auction of stunning historical photo's .


Empowering Women A tale of two generations 

The Program will feature four panel discussions:


· “Are We There Yet?” - The first panel will feature two women who worked at Newsweek 40 years apart. Lynn Povich was one of the 46 Newsweek female employees who sued the publication for sex discrimination in 1970. Jesse Ellison is one of the current young writers at Newsweek who wrote a ground-breaking feature story on women’s equality at the publication in 2010. They will discuss what has changed and what hasn’t for women in the last 40 years from the perspective of two different generations.

· “Learning from the Past” – Participants will take a historical view of the women’s movement: what we faced in the ‘60s and ‘70s and what we were able to accomplish. They will look broadly at the movement overall and will highlight the Midwest focus on economic issues. Panelists include Muriel Fox, a NOW founder; Mary Jean Collins, a founder of Milwaukee NOW; Kathleen Falk, two-time candidate for Wisconsin Governor; Katherine Turk, award-winning historian; and Heather Booth, a founder of the Chicago Women's Liberation Union.

· “Examining the Present” – This panel will focus on where women are today, 40 years later. Has the promise of the movement been fulfilled? Women now earn 77 cents for every dollar earned by men. Is there a new attack on women’s rights? Participants include Anne Ladky, director of Women Employed; Sheila Tobias, author of Math Anxiety; Mary Anne Sedey, employment attorney; Bernell Hooker, CEO of Images of Us Sports; and Lois Herr, author of Women, Power and AT&T.

· “Shaping the Future” – Panelists examine where we go from here. How do veteran feminists and today’s young women work together to ensure women’s equality? What does a new movement look like? How can young women tell their stories? Participants are Lindsey Horvath, president of Hollywood NOW; Betsy Hoody of FRIDA-The Young Feminist Fund; Elizabeth Coppola, Alverno Student Government; Kat Barr, Ultra Violet; and Wendy Strout, director of Emerge Wisconsin.

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