PWA Annual Conference 2009

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To continue the message from The Women's Conference in 2008 under the Leadership of California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and First Lady Maria Shriver, the UCSB Professional Women’s Association has interwoven this theme throughout our 2009 conference.

In addition to this year’s theme of We Empower: Women to be Architects of Change, the Professional Women’s Conference has four areas of interest: Healthy Living, Women & Money, In Her Shoes, and Building Community through Personal Enrichment.  You are welcome to attend a workshop from any of these areas during each of the sessions.

Agenda

Areas of Interest

In addition to this year’s theme of Empowering Women to be Architects of Change, the Professional Women’s Conference has four areas of interest: Healthy Living, Women & Money, In Her Shoes, and Building Community through Personal Enrichment. You are welcome to attend a workshop from any of these areas during each of the sessions.

Healthy Living

Being healthy is the first step in celebrating and improving yourself which is ultimately how we can begin to facilitate change for others.

• Paint Jam
• Jana Brody and Agnes Effron, Paint Jam Parties

  Paint Jam is a unique party theme that engages all ages and express one’s life, mood or fancy in full color with professional arts materials. Paint Jamming involves mixing unlimited paint with unlimited imagination, and letting someone else clean up the mess ... donning an apron to face a blank canvas to brush-smear or splash some paint, melting frozen inhibitions ... playing, spraying and creating art in a stress-free and fun party atmosphere.

• Self Defense for Women
• Kari Mansager and Tiffany Mayville, UCSB Women’s Center

  A self-defense workshop can be an important tool for personal development, as well as an educational and energizing group activity. This workshop is designed to be accessible to all ages and abilities, and includes information on the realities of violence in our community, particularly violence against women.

• Fresh Food
• Kim Schiffer, Fresh Food Catering

  Santa Barbara caterer Kim Schiffer will discuss the values of fresh, local food while taking us through a practical demonstration of her simple, delicious recipe ideas.

Women & Money

In this budgetary climate, women face special challenges when it comes to money.  It is more important than ever to empower ourselves to take charge of our financial freedom.

• Women Business Leaders: How We Jumped Into the Trenches of the Business World
• Sonja Montiel (facilitator), College Confidence
  Angel Cottrell, Women’s Economic Ventures (WEV)
  Rachael Steidl, SBParent.com and Parentclick.com
  Sepideh Yeoh, Life Coach and Children’s Book Author

  Join us for a discussion on how different women decided to jump into the trenches of owning a business. Presenters will explore the personal and professional characteristics, decision-making processes, risks and contributions that make them successful business owners. They will also share the challenges, barriers, and uncertainties that come with choosing this professional path, and process what their rewards and sacrifices have been. Finally, they will allow plenty of time for questions, and invite the class to share ideas, concerns, and comments. You will find this panel diverse in every way, from their backgrounds to their professional industries.

• Local Real Estate
• Alisa Martin, Realtor
  Debby Rexford, Home Services Lending

  In this workshop Alisa Martin, a local realtor, and Debbie Rexford, a local home service lender, will be covering home buying basics and current hot topics in local real estate, including short sales and foreclosure properties, how to avoid foreclosure, and how to modify your loan.

• Financial Independence and Security
• Rayna Brower, Fidelity Investments
  

  Rayna Brower, a senior retirement counselor, will take us through a workshop on financial intelligence. You’ll earn about some basic investment concepts and strategies, and then Rayna will be covering how to determine your Investment Strategy, understanding asset allocation and diversification based on your personal situation. She’ll also present on how to remain confident in a volatile market by having a better understanding of current market activity and sharing historical perspective on the markets.

In Her Shoes

While every woman walks her own path, guidance from those who have been there before helps show the way.  Moreover, a key factor in feeling empowered to create change is finding balance among all aspects of our lives.

• Respect Works! Making a Difference by Creating Respectful Workplaces and Communities
• Melanie Matson, UCSB Women's Center
  Ricardo Alcaíno, UCSB Equal Opportunity Office

  Wish you knew what to say or do when you witnessed something that made you uncomfortable? Wondering how to create a respectful and safe workplace and community? In this interactive workshop, we will discuss how each of us can positively influence our communities. By watching out for each other and taking some responsibility for the health and safety of those around us, we can play a role in sexual violence prevention. There is a range of behaviors that people take part in every day, from healthy and sexually appropriate, to violent and life-threatening. Participants will learn how to recognize disrespectful behaviors, and how individuals and organizations can play a role in preventing sexually violent acts. The goal of this interactive workshop is to learn how we can promote respectful and helpful behavior every day with a few simple skills. There are actions that individuals can take, ranging from gently challenging offensive comments to calling for help that can change our world for the better.

• Craving Balance: Inspired Choices for Women in Busyness
• Lisa Gates and Beth Gordon, Craving Balance Coaching
  

  If you were able to make consistent choices that are lined up with what you value, we assert that your complaints of busyness would disappear. In this interactive workshop you'll discover the link between values, goals, accountability and yes, joy. The result? Getting the things that matter most to show up on your everyday to-do lists.

• It Takes a Village to Raise a Child, and Other Realities of Motherhood
• Rachael Steidl (facilitator), SBParent.com and ParentClick.com
  Lisa Przekop, UCSB Office of Admissions
  Cecilia Becerra, UCSB Financial Aid Office
  

  This panel consists of a diverse group of women with children of different ages. Moderated by our keynote speaker, Rachael Steidl, they will share the challenges and joys of being a working parent, and the resources that have been helpful during their journey of motherhood.

Building Community through Personal Enrichment

Becoming architects of change requires taking advantage of opportunities to develop personally and then using those skills to make a difference in our community.

• Public Speaking Weakling: Not Any More
• Candace Stevenson, UCSB Office of Student Life
  Kristi Rank, UCSB Counseling Services
  

  Today’s competitive workplace demands excellence from women and men desiring to advance in their career, and those who have mastered the art of public speaking have a distinct advantage. This workshop will explore simple, yet powerful, approaches that can assist you in transforming your presentations from ordinary to extraordinary, and change you from being a weak public speaker into an empowered one. Discover ways to connect with your audience, exercises to tame your fears, and develop a plan for your future public speaking opportunities. Both presenters will share personal stories of some of the successes and mistakes they have experienced in taking on the challenge of mastering the art of public speaking.

• 10 Tools From Web 2.0 That You Can’t Live Without
• Dr. Don Lubach and Ignacio Gallardo, UCSB Career Services
  

  Join career counselors Ignacio Gallardo and Don Lubach as they evangelize about tools to make your own career better or at least more enjoyable. During their talk, they will eschew PowerPoint and instead, present from a custom website built just for this talk. They will attempt to outdo each other with the presentation of useful and helpful site and practice. There might be some shouting. .

• Making a Difference: Opportunities to Get Involved in Our Community
• Sonja Montiel (facilitator), College Confidence
  Bonnie Pack, Family Service Agency
  Lisa Falcone, Council on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse
  Yesenia Curiel, Santa Barbara Rape Crisis Center
  Representative, American Red Cross - Santa Barbara County Chapter
  

  Find out how women in your community reach out and make a difference! Our panel members will share the variety of reasons they decided to pursue community outreach and describe the organizations they volunteer for. In addition, they will describe how their experiences have been both beneficial and challenging to our personal and professional lives. If you are looking for information and resources on how to get more involved, as well as making connections with others who share similar volunteer goals, this workshop is for you!

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