Welcoming women

UI to host conference for women to work on professional development

According to Elissa Keim, director of development and learning staff, the goal of the all-day Women’s Leadership Conference on March 25 is to provide women in the community an opportunity for networking and professional development. 

“It’s a great opportunity to hear on a lot of different topics that are of interest to both women and men,” said Keim, co-chair of the conference. “There’s stuff that ranges on transgendered issues all the way through a working mom trying to juggle work and life and everything in between.”

The University of Idaho will host the conference from 8:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. March 25 in the International Ballroom of the Bruce Pitman Center, formerly the Student Union Building.

The opening event features a speech by Jessica Bearman, organization development consultant for Bearman Consulting, titled “Yes, And … Now What? Thoughts on Living ‘Yes, and’ in Real Time.” Nancy Chaney, former City of Moscow mayor will also speak during a luncheon held at the conference.

“I know the two main speakers personally, and they are incredibly engaging, dynamic speakers — professional women from our own community,” said Lysa Salsbury, director of the Women’s Center.

The luncheon will also reveal the winners of this year’s Athena Woman of the Year Award. The Woman of the Year Award is an award honoring those who have shown dedication to women’s professional enhancement at UI.

The conference is free for UI employees and students. A fee of $20 is charged for those who aren’t UI employees or students to help cover the cost of the meals provided, Salsbury said.

This year’s theme for the conference is “Yes, and …” The theme originated from improvisational comedy, Salsbury said.

“The idea is in order to build a scene with someone, you have to be willing to step into the situation that they are placing in front of you,” Salsbury said. “Because if you refuse to engage or you just say, ‘Well, I’m not interested in that,’ then you lose that opportunity for connection and collaboration.”

The Women’s Leadership Conference started in 2007 when Athena, a UI professional association, saw the need for a professional leadership conference to provide opportunities for women in the workplace, Salsbury said. The first conference was successful and well-attended, she said.

“I think people really liked the opportunity to take advantage of professional development that was in the local area,” Salsbury said. “Going to conferences and trainings out of this region is expensive and not something that many offices and departments on this campus can afford.”

After the 2008 leadership conference, the decision was made to hold the conference biannually. This year’s conference was originally scheduled for October, Salsbury said, but the event was moved to avoid conflicting with another major campus event. She said future Women’s Leadership Conferences will probably be held in the spring to allow for more planning time.

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More info

The deadline to register for the conference is March 18. Registration is available online and can be accessed on the

UI web page.

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Aleya Ericson can be reached at [email protected]

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