9th Annual Women & Influence Conference - Taking Charge: Women & Work

WOMEN'S WAY will host the Women & Influence Conference - Taking Charge: Women and Work - on Saturday, December 3, 2011. This year's conference will examine women and work, with sessions for all women: from the woman working two jobs and trying to make ends meet, to the woman looking to rejoin the workforce after an extended leave, to the executive seeking to network or start her own business. A range of experts will engage participants in dialogue about various legal, policy, and social issues. We will explore how far women have come and where we still need to go. Participants will also receive valuable tools to address challenges women face in today's workforce.

We are thrilled to announce that this year's keynote will be Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz.

Breakfast and lunch will be provided. Participants will also benefit from a resource fair.

About Women & Influence

The Women & Influence Conference is a FREE, full-day conference that attracts hundreds of women of various ages, races, and socioeconomic backgrounds. The conference serves as a public forum for discussion of entrenched and emerging issues facing women and girls in the region - a forum where attendees can focus and voice their opinions on a different issue each year in an open and supportive atmosphere. Conference participants have the opportunity to listen, learn, discuss, and network throughout the day. Attendees also have unique access to key decision makers and community leaders in the region and beyond. Citizens Bank Foundation has sponsored this event since its inception in 2003.

Conference Agenda

9:00 - 9:30am   Registration & Breakfast

9:30 - 9:45am   Welcome

• Amanda S. Aronoff, WOMEN’S WAY
• Henri Moore, Citizens Bank Foundation
• Happy Craven Fernandez, Moore College of Art & Design

9:45 - 10:15am   Keynote

• U.S. Congresswoman Allyson Schwartz

10:30 - 11:30am Morning Workshops
Session 1: Sexual Harassment in the Workplace: Key Legal Cases and Lessons Learned

• Mehreen Zaman, Ballard Spahr (panel moderator)
• Carol Tracy, Women’s Law Project
• Reynelle Brown-Staley, Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations
• Nancy Ezold, Ezold Law Firm

Session 2: How to Start Your Own Business and Ensure that It Thrives

• Evelyn Petersen, Citizens Bank
• Rachel Cooper, Citizens Bank
• M. Therese Flaherty, Wharton Small Business Development Center

Session 3: Career Transitions: Tips and Tools for Moving Up in the Workplace, Rejoining the Workforce and Switching Careers

• Jane Finkle, Career Visions

Session 4: Making Work “Work” for Women through Legislative Action

• Emily Randle, Coalition of Labor Union Women (panel moderator)
• City Councilman Bill Greenlee
• Marianne Bellesorte, PathWays PA
• Andrea Lemoins, Restaurant Opportunity Center
• Christie Balka, Public Citizens for Children and Youth

11:30 -12:00pm  Networking Lunch 

12:00 – 1:00pm Moderated Panel Discussion: Learning from the Past and Looking Toward the Future

• Linda McAleer, The Melior Group (panel moderator)
• Vicki Kramer, V. Kramer & Associates
• Andrea Agnew, Comcast
• Autumn Bayles, The Forum of Executive Women

1:15 – 2:15pm  Afternoon Workshops
Session 1: Success Stories of Women in Non-Traditional Careers

• Elizabeth Murphy, PECO and WOMEN’S WAY Board (panel moderator)
• Anne Papageorge, Facilities and Real Estate Services, University of Pennsylvania
• Valerie Bradford, Betsy Ross Bridge and Ben Franklin Bridge, Delaware River Port Authority
• Christine McCarthy, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Columbia University
• Susan Davidson, Computer and Information Science, Penn Engineering

Session 2: Employment Rights 101: What Every Employee Needs to Know

• Julie Uebler, Uebler Law and WOMEN’S WAY Board

Session 3: How We Can All Build a LGBTQ Inclusive Workplace

• Natalie Hrubos, Greenberg Traurig

2:30 - 3:30pm   Moderated Panel Discussion: How to Find Work/Life Balance

• Marjorie Dugan, M.P. Dugan Associates (panel moderator)
• City Councilwoman Blondell Reynolds Brown
• Jessica DeGroot, ThirdPath Institute
• Laura Iacona, Grant Thornton

3:30pm   Concluding Remarks

•    Rebecca Foley, WOMEN’S WAY

Resource Fair Participants (as of November 23, 2011)

• Career Wardrobe
• Citizens Bank
• Equal Opportunity Employment Commission (EEOC)
• Pennsylvania Human Relations Commission
• Philadelphia Commission on Human Relations
• U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau
• Women's Yellow Pages