4:45–6 p.m.

Developing Your Negotiation Skills

Nanticoke Room

Does salary negotiation seem scary or overwhelming to you? Are you unsure how to begin? Learning the art of negotiation is integral to personal and professional advancement. Effective negotiation will take you to new heights in your career and will ensure your future success. This workshop will help demystify the negotiation process and will give you the tools and resources you need to become a savvy negotiator for life.

Jennifer Blanck, assistant dean of career and alumni services at the Georgetown Public Policy Institute, earned her master’s in education from the University of Virginia and her bachelor’s in policy and management studies from Dickinson College.

Hail to the V—Really? Media Messages and the Importance of Self-Awareness

Benjamin Banneker Room B

Have you ever paid attention to the hidden (and not-so-hidden) messages the media sends to women every day? From Disney princesses to kitchen appliances to cosmetics, we are provided with a specific construct of what it means to be a woman. It is only when we’re able to develop our own unique and strong senses of self and stories that we are at our most powerful. This Twitter-friendly session will allow women to investigate various media messages, including excerpts from the powerful documentary Miss Representation, and to get hands-on with their own identities and stories as women in leadership.

Courtney Reynolds leads the residential life team within one of the largest all-male housing communities in the country, Cary Quadrangle at Purdue University. While her professional emphasis is on women’s leadership and advocacy, working within an all-male community has allowed her to explore campus leadership as it relates to men and masculinities and gender equity. She’s a lover of TED talks, runner, blogger, and passionate teller of women’s stories on her campus and beyond.

How to Ace a Job Interview

Prince George’s Room

We all get the jitters when interviewing for an internship or job we really want. Join this interactive session on presenting your best self in the interview process. We’ll discuss ways you can market your strengths and accomplishments, how to respond to tough questions you may be asked, and the importance of bringing a few questions of your own to the interview. You’ll get a chance to practice your skills in a mock interview with a partner.

Alyssa Best is a career coach and trainer who helps people identify their dream careers and provides them with the tools to achieve their goals and advance their leadership. Best earned a master’s in women’s and gender studies from Rutgers University.

Invoke the Power in You through Meditation, Belly Dance, and More: Learn Tools to Support You in Manifesting Your Goals

Atrium Room

Start using your inherent power to manifest your perfect job. Set your intention. Speak your affirmations. Visualize the steps to launch your career. Learn empowering, sensual belly dance moves to shimmy out self-doubt and uncertainty in your desired job. Breathe life into your vision as you belly dance into your authentic self.

Karin Wilkinson is a poet, meditation, and empowerment workshop facilitator; belly dance instructor; and spiritual life and movement coach. She has partnered with the DC Rape Crisis Center, the National Medical Association, the National Association for Poetry Therapy, Circle of Sisters Expo, radio station WBLS, George Washington University, Sidwell Friends School, Jack and Jill of America Foundation Inc., and Jones-Haywood Dance School.

Make Your College Experiences Work for You

Juan Ramon Jimenez Room

You are an undergraduate woman. You have a full class schedule, an internship, and a sorority. You’re involved in student government and in multiple organizations. You are a leader. What’s next after college? Come to this engaging session to learn how to translate your undergraduate successes into your professional future. You will learn how to incorporate these skills from your collegiate years into your résumé, job search, and job-attaining practices. The values and ethics you have learned from being a leader will not only help you be a strong professional but also provide you the framework for what to look for in a potential employer. You will integrate your leadership skills, interpersonal expertise, and community management experiences into your future endeavors.

Nicole Marjorie Schoeb is assistant to the director of disability support services at American University. For nearly four years, she has served as the staff adviser to the Panhellenic Association at AU, advising the seven panhellenic organziations as well as the Panhellenic Association E-Board. Schoeb earned her bachelor’s in German language and European studies, with a minor in cinema studies, from American University. In May, Schoeb graduated with her master’s in public administration.

Jessica Beasley coordinates all aspects of the American University Career Center’s educational career programs. In this role, Beasley works closely with Career Center staff and campus organizations to ensure successful planning, marketing, implementation, and assessment of educational programs. Beasley holds her bachelor’s in political science from Elon University, a certificate in leadership for organizational change from American University, and is currently a master’s candidate in organization development at American University.

Making Community Colleges Work Better in the Lives of Women

Pyon Su Room

While much has been said about women’s rise and participation in higher education, most of the focus has been on women in four-year institutions. This workshop brings women at community colleges into the conversation. The more than 4 million women who attend community colleges include women of all ages, races, and increasingly all income backgrounds, and many are mothers caring for families. The low tuition, convenience, and variety of program offerings make community colleges a good option for women, but there are barriers to success. This workshop highlights obstacles facing mothers and women interested in nontraditional fields, including science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and makes suggestions for how community colleges could work better in the lives of women.

Andresse St. Rose is a senior researcher at AAUW, where she studies a range of gender equity issues in higher education and the workplace, including the recruitment and retention of women and girls in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) throughout the educational pathway. She is a co-author of several AAUW reports, including Why So Few? Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and is a contributor and speaker for a variety of publications and audiences on the need to increase women’s representation in STEM.

Radical and Bold: Student Organizations That Are Empowering Women

Charles Carroll Room B

AAUW student organization leaders are poised to empower women on their campuses and in their local communities. Inspired by leadership lessons learned at NCCWSL, college women in Michigan are sharing their new knowledge and skills with their peers. In Missouri, student leaders are raising awareness about the pay gap and bringing in local political leaders. Learn more about AAUW student organizations and gain the practical skills to start an organization on your campus. This interactive session will give you the tools for engaging women all across your campus.

Christine Hernandez is the AAUW manager of college and university relationships. She manages the AAUW Student Advisory Council and works with AAUW student organizations.

Claudia Richards is the AAUW senior branch relations manager. She works with AAUW’s branches and student organizations from across the country.

Taaj Reaves is a graduating senior and AAUW student organization president at the University of Missouri. She served as president of the AAUW student organization on her campus and is a member of AAUW’s Student Advisory Council.

Benita Robinson is a student at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. She is a founder of the AAUW student organization on her campus and is student coordinator for the university’s Women in Learning and Leadership program. Robinson also serves on AAUW’s Student Advisory Council.

So You Want to Work in Politics?

Margaret Brent Room B

So you want to work in politics? Fabulous! We’re here to help you get started. We’ll go over all the different volunteer and career opportunities available in the political world—from organizing to policy, from your local community to Capitol Hill. We’ll let you know the how and where of finding your unique political ladder and climbing it. From social advocacy as a volunteer on the weekend to activism as a full-time career, we’ll show you various ways to make an impact in the community and beyond. Hear from four women at different levels of their careers and how they made it happen.

Samantha Galing is the associate director of field operations for AAUW. She has more than 10 years of experience managing campaigns all across the country, from presidential to ballot initiative to issue advocacy. She has worked for a wide variety of candidates and organizations, including FieldWorks LLC, Center for American Progress, Service Employees International Union, and the Ohio Democratic Party. She is a graduate of Loyola University, Chicago, where she earned a bachelor’s in political science, and New York University, where she earned a master’s in public administration, specializing in public and nonprofit management and policy.

Erin Prangley is the associate director of government relations for AAUW. She has worked for senior members of Congress and the Congressional Caucus for Women’s Issues. Prangley also practiced law for several years, concentrating on immigration, employment law, business consulting, and veterans benefits. She is a graduate of the University of Southern California, where she earned a bachelor’s in sociology, and American University, where she earned her law degree.

Louise Rothschild has been a senior analyst in the housing and community development practice at Abt Associates for six years. She is currently working on studies that focus on Section 8, housing counseling outcomes, and documenting homelessness in the United States. She earned her master’s in public policy from Johns Hopkins University.

Aysha Ghadiali is a policy analyst for the U.S. Forest Service, International Programs Office. She covers international forest policy and represents the United States, along with colleagues from the State Department and other U.S. agencies, at multilateral organization meetings, including the United Nations. Ghadiali has a master’s in energy and environmental policy from the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and was a gender and development Peace Corps volunteer in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.

Stories from Female Leaders at Teach for America

Benjamin Banneker Room A

How can your leadership experiences prepare you for the career field of your choice? In this session, a panel of Teach for America corps members and alumnae will discuss their personal experiences in college and the classroom and the impact these experiences had on their lives. As undergraduates, these women held diverse leadership positions that prepared them for successful careers in teaching and beyond. These women will share how their leadership experiences prepared them for the range of challenges and triumphs they’ve faced in their careers.

Molly Ellenberg Fridland joined the staff of Teach for America following her experience with teaching ninth grade social studies in Atlanta through the program. Fridland first spent a few years leading Teach for America Atlanta’s corporate and foundation fundraising efforts before transitioning to her current role as director of national alliances, where she manages Teach for America’s national graduate school partnerships and a variety of nonprofit partnerships. Fridland graduated from Cornell University.

Sustainability Leadership: From Personal to Political

Thurgood Marshall Room

How do you make changes to get your campus to be more environmentally and socially responsible? What are the most effective strategies and leverage points for initiating projects that will lead to longer-lasting institutional progress on sustainability issues? This interactive session will explore success cases and strategies from American University and the University of British Columbia, where student leaders initiated changes on campus and beyond with community gardens, campus farms, beekeeping projects, divestment from fossil fuel, food compost and gleaning systems, and more.

Eve Bratman is an assistant professor at American University’s School of International Service. Bratman’s research involves sustainable development politics in the Brazilian Amazon. Her major research projects focus on the links between development, environmental policy, agriculture, and human rights. Bratman also has a keen interest in urban politics and environmental issues closer to home, including in Washington, D.C., where she lives on an eco-friendly houseboat and is American University’s campus beekeeper.

Yona Sipos is a doctoral candidate at the University of British Columbia. Her research and writing are about engagement in food systems, as campuses and communities collaborate to create sustainable models of agriculture and food policy. She is passionate about sustainability both in pedagogy and practice.

Claire Williamson enjoys urban planning, works to organize her peers, and promises her roommates she will empty her compost container more often. When she is not enrolling her campus to cultivate the American University community garden, she interns for the sustainability project manager in the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority’s Office of Long Range Planning. Williamson graduated from AU this spring with a degree in environmental studies and a minor in economics.

These Are Our Streets, Too! Addressing Street Harassment

Margaret Brent Room A

“Hey baby, smile for me.” Leering, sexually explicit comments, stalking, and groping are all-too-common experiences for women in public spaces, and they shouldn’t be. Women deserve to feel safe in public places and to go places without being hassled. Learn about campaigns underway to stop street harassment and hear about ideas for how to get involved and take action. The session will include time for small-group discussions and brainstorming.

Holly Kearl is a leading expert on the topic of gender-based street harassment. She is the author of the book Stop Street Harassment: Making Public Places Safe and Welcoming for Women and founder of Stop Street Harassment and International Anti-Street-Harassment Week. Her work has been cited by the United Nations, USA Today, BBC News, the New York Times, CNN, the Associated Press, NPR, the Washington Post, Marie Claire, and Cosmopolitan, among many other media outlets. Kearl also worked as a program manager at AAUW.

Use Facebook for Good: Three Ways to Make a Difference Online

Charles Carroll Room A

You’re already on Facebook, Instagram, and maybe even Twitter. And we know you’re a leader. So there must be something about your campus or community that you’d like to change. Why not take action through online activism? We’ll teach you how to strategize, mobilize, and make a difference using social media.

Elizabeth Owens manages the Twitter and Facebook accounts for AAUW’s policy department. Her goal is to make you and members of Congress take action on legislation that helps women. A former Des Moines Register reporter and editor, she got her start on Twitter in 2008 by tweeting out the funny things cops said on the police scanner.

Rachel Wallace manages most of the social media posts at AAUW. One of the best parts of her job is leading a team of young people who brainstorm online campaigns and Internet memes.

Women and Communication: Stop Being Sorry

Grand Ballroom Lounge Room

Communication is defined by the ability to impart or exchange thoughts, opinions, or information through speech, writing, or signs (both voluntary and involuntary). During this workshop, student leaders will have the opportunity to evaluate verbal and nonverbal communication styles, gender roles, and how being sorry affects women at all stages of leadership. We will be setting the foundation for women leaders to mean what they say and say exactly what they mean.

Lorie Bellot is the residence life coordinator of the Carolina Women’s Community at the University of South Carolina. At the university, Bellot has taught, helped develop women and minority leadership, guided first-generation college students, and fostered mentorship. Her educational background includes an undergraduate degree in health services administration and a master’s degree in higher education administration from Florida International University.

Your True Colors: Leadership Styles Explored

St. Mary’s Room

What is your leadership style? How do you work with others? True Colors is a leadership education tool that will help to improve communication, team-building, leadership, morale, and conflict-resolution skills in your student organizations and in your relationships. Participants will complete the leadership skill inventory and then explore what their True Color says about their leadership style and how they work with other “colors.”

Beth Steiner earned her bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Maryland and her master’s degree in higher education from Indiana University. She has worked with Greek life, leadership development, Jewish student life, and graduate student enrollment since 2002. At Towson University, Steiner’s area includes student activities strategic development and student leadership programming. She currently lives in Baltimore County, Maryland, with her husband, Alex, son, Eli, and spoiled dog, Tizzy.

Conference Workshops • Session One • Session Two • Session Three • Session Four