By Esther Pasternak
Daily Bruin Contributor
Highlighting women’s roles in the everyday arts and
professional worlds will make an impact this weekend, as UCLA
students gather to hear the tales of three of today’s
successful women, and their career experiences.
The Bruin Belles Service Association will hold their fourth
annual Women’s Leadership Conference from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Sunday, exploring various women’s issues and encouraging
women’s leadership.
The event, which will be held in Ackerman Grand Ballroom, will
feature three keynote speakers, a panel and an opportunity for
participants to choose two out of 18 workshops. The free conference
also includes a poetry and art display, a resource fair and
lunch.
“The goal of the conference is to show women that you can
be leaders and that there are challenges along the way, but it is
accomplishable to become a leader,” said Nicole Josefson, a
second-year psychology student and executive director of the
conference.
“The conference shows this by showing people women who
have done it ““ famous women and also women in your community
and professors right in your college who had a dream and got to
it,” she continued.
Topics are designed to appeal to women with various interests,
goals and ambitions. Workshop topics will emphasize non-traditional
careers, balancing work and family, economic financing and
investing, volunteering, the role of men in women’s
leadership, the Internet and leadership in religion.
“It is going to have its serious moments, but it is also
going to have its light-hearted moments,” said
Speakers’ Director Andrea Gonzalez, a third-year history and
anthropology student.
A main goal of the conference is to inspire women to become
involved in the community and take leadership roles they are
comfortable with.
“We are trying to integrate women of all ages and gather
them in a group of women who are going to change the community. We
are trying to inspire unity,” Gonzalez said. “A lot of
people’s perceptions of leadership may differ. To us, just
getting involved is leadership.”
The three keynote speakers come from various backgrounds.
The keynote speakers are Dr. Mary Ann Hopkins, a surgeon who
recently volunteered in a developing country; UCLA alumna Erin
Aubry, a journalist for LA Weekly; and Mitra Rahbar, a poet and
singer.
“Dr. Hopkins volunteered in an area where she was the only
surgeon out of 100,000 people,” Gonzalez said. “She has
got to be on fire for her cause. If we could have that fire be
contagious to just one or two people at the conference, think what
these one or two people can do in the community.”
Toward the end of the conference, Rahbar will give a performance
utilizing music and poetry and will use her personal experiences to
encourage listening to one’s inner voice.
“It took me a long time to discover myself and that is
what I am going to talk about at the conference. What I’m
doing right now is what my inner voice told me to do years ago. You
can make your dreams come true and I’m living that,”
Rahbar said.
Organizers said developing the conference has been a rewarding
experience, demonstrating the power of women working together.
“This is an amazing opportunity both for the people that
come to the conference, but also for us ““ the women who have
been working with me to do this. It is amazing to watch their
growth and leadership,” Josefson said.
The Bruin Belles Service Association will present the
Women’s Leadership Conference from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on May
12. The conference is free.
For more information, e-mail [email protected].