Women Speakers

Founder of the popular website Feministing.com, Valenti is author of the recently released "The Purity Myth," as well as "Full Frontal Feminism: A Young Woman's Guide to Why Feminism Matters," "She's a Slut, He's a Stud and 49 Other Double Standards Every Woman Should Know," and "Yes Means Yes." Valenti is a seasoned activist for women's rights and presents a fresh vision of feminism that debunks the myths and focuses on the future.

Kathleen Hanna was the lead singer of the influential 90s punk band Bikini Kill and the more recent, highly acclaimed multimedia group LeTigre.  She was the pivotal figure of "Riot Grrl," the feminist music movement that took place between 1990 and 1996. 

Media critic, American Studies professor, and author of "Where the Girls Are: Growing Up Female with the Mass Media," Susan Douglas reveals how television and advertising target images of women. Her newest book is "Enlightened Sexism," which chronicles the gap between images of women in the media and the everyday lives of women.

Best-known for her Obie Award-winning play For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide When the Rainbow Is Enuf, Ntozake Shange's work is informed by her passionate interest in issues relating to race and feminism. Named "A Living Legend" by the National Black Theatre Festival, Shange has declared herself "a poet first, and a playwright second". Her work empowers women to take responsibility for their lives by learning to love themselves and challenge their oppressors.

Once marginalized, pornography has now become a central part of our cultural landscape, with its idealized, mass produced images of women, men and sex seeping into our identities, body image, and relationships. In this powerful multi-media presentation, Dr. Gail Dines explores how gender is shaped by a consumer-driven culture, and the ways the public images we consume on a daily basis spill over into our most private worlds. Her new book "PORNLAND: How Porn Has Hijacked Our Sexuality" has been called "sharp and savvy."

Could the food you eat or the floors you walk on be toxic? Praised as "the new Rachel Carson" for her groundbreaking book "Living Downstream," Steingraber raises awareness of how toxins all around us adversely affect our health. She takes a personal and scientific look at the ecological links to cancer and other medical problems, and offers insight into how we can protect our environment and ourselves. Her new documentary Living Downstream, based on her highly-acclaimed book, was released in early 2010.[Photo Credit: Dede Hatch]

Dr. Reagon is a Freedom Singer who highlights her forty year journey as a cultural activist, scholar and artist. Founder of 'Sweet Honey In the Rock,' she renders her passionate convictions in a moving and memorable mixture of song and spoken word, drawing on the life stories of 19th and 20th century African American women whose struggles for freedom guide her in this moving presentation.

Writer and Director of The Story of Stuff, Annie Leonard is an expert in international sustainability and environmental health issues. Her new book, based on the film, was released in March 2010 to rave reviews. Annie's film, book, and program explore how our  obsession with stuff is trashing the planet, our communities, and our health - and offers us a vision for change.

Lilly Ledbetter was employed by Goodyear Tire and Rubber for nineteen years before she discovered that she was paid far less for the same work as her male peers were being paid. The lawsuit she filed against them eventually reached the Supreme Court. While she will not ever receive the money that was denied her in the many years she worked for Goodyear, the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which is named after her, was passed so that other women will not have to suffer from such inequity. She notes "I'm just thrilled that this (law) has finally passed and sends a message to the Supreme Court: You got it wrong."

MacArthur Fellow Lateefah Simon is part of a new wave of African American civil rights and community leaders. She is the Project Director of California's Future Initiative at the Rosenberg Foundation. Ms. Simon has advocated tirelessly on behalf of communities of color, youth and women since her teenage years. She made O Magazine's first ever Power List in 2009 and was recognized with a Lifetime TV Remarkable Women Award.  

Stacy Malkan asks: what's in your makeup? The co-founder of the Campaign for Safe Cosmetics and award-winning author of "Not Just a Pretty Face: The Ugly Side of the Beauty Industry," Malkan explains the truth behind the beauty industry.

Rinku Sen is the President and Executive Director of the Applied Research Center (ARC) and Publisher of Colorlines magazine.  She weaves together journalism with her extensive experience in community organizing to further social change.  Sen has written extensively about immigration, community organizing and women's lives for a wide variety of publications.  Her latest book, "The Accidental American:  Immigration and Citizenship in the Age of Globalization" won the Nautilus Book Award Silver Medal.  

Samhita Mukhopadhyay is an activist, writer, technologist, and the new executive editor of Feministing.com. Her work has appeared in Colorlines, The Nation and The American Prospect, and she is currently completing a book on the dating and romance industry. Mukhopadhyay is a popular panelist and guest speaker on the intersection of race and gender.

America's teenagers and young adults want the straight talk about sex. Amber Madison, author of "Hooking Up: A Girl's All-out Guide to Sex & Sexuality" gives them what they want in simple non-clinical language. Madison also addresses parents in her new book "Talking Sex with Your Kids," which explains how parents can have productive conversations about sex with their kids.

Award winning author whose stories and essays have been published in The New Yorker, Best American Short Stories, O Henry Prize Stories. Her latest book of short stories, Gold Boy, Emerald Girl has been widely acclaimed by critics. Her debut collection, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers, won the Frank O'Connor International Short Story Award, PEN/Hemingway Award, Guardian First Book Award, and California Book Award for first fiction.. Her novel, The Vagrants, won the gold medal of California Book Award for fiction. She was selected by Granta as one of the 21 Best Young American Novelists under 35, and was named by The New Yorker as one of the top 20 writers under 40.

Stephanie Coontz addresses contemporary debates about the nature of marriage, the diversity of family life and structure, and issues of work and family in the 21st century. One of the most widely quoted researchers on family issues in America today, and the author of six books on family history and sociology, Coontz draws on history, facts, figures, and anecdotes to challenge our most cherished myths about the past and future of marriage, parenting and family relations.

Kate Clinton is a faith-based, tax-paying, America-loving political humorist and family entertainer. Clinton uses humor as a force for social change and has been performing nationwide for 28 years. Her "standup" lecture reviews theories of contemporary comedy, debunks the premature report of the death of irony, and reveals the secret human longing for the wild ride of smart, challenging humor. Oh, and it entertains you. Really entertains you.

An award winning journalist and former Washington Post reporter, Patrice Gaines works to empower girls and young women at risk, drawing from the heart of her experiences on the streets and in prison. She is the co-founder of Brown Angel Center, seeking to provide formerly incarcerated women and their families with the tools to renew their lives. Gaines is author of Laughing in the Dark and Moments of Grace: Meeting the Challenge to Change.

Four decades ago, a small group of women in Boston decided that it was time for women to take back control of their health care, their treatment options, their bodies . and they produced the classic book "Our Bodies, Ourselves." Norsigian, a member of that group and now it's Executive Director, continues to lead the revolution in women's healthcare.

Elizabeth Arndorfer, former director of NARAL Pro-Choice America's Proactive Policy Institute, debates Mary Hallan-FioRito, a Chicago-area attorney involved with the pro-life movement for more than 20 years. Two eloquent and informed presenters, who believe strongly in their positions, ensuring a powerful presentation.

Camille Cooper’s powerful multi-media presentation, “Discover the Truth,” addresses issues of women in Hollywood and how the media portrays the “perfect American girl”. She delivers a unique, humorous, and insightful look at a media industry obsessed with thinness and beauty. Ms. Cooper has worked professionally in film and television.

Angela Shelton is an activist, artist, actress, writer, model, dancer, and director. She is best known for her stirring documentary Finding Angela Shelton, which takes an honest look at abuse of all genders and ages and types. Shelton is committed to inspiring and empowering survivors of abuse to heal and lead joyful lives.

Norma Ramos is a longstanding public interest attorney and social justice activist. She currently serves as the Executive Director of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, which is the first organization to fight against human trafficking internationally, now in its twenty-first year.

Chan stars in the one woman play "Unbinding Our Lives" which shatters the exotic, subservient, “China doll” image.  In this powerful show Ms. Chan portrays three real Chinese American women from China in the 1800's and their personal stories of being sold into child slavery, prostitution, and abandonment.  An unforgettable look at forgotten history.

Costa wears many hats: she is a security engineer, a practicing Buddhist, a theater producer, a playwright and a trans-woman. Cheryl crossed the boundary of gender when she transitioned from male to female in the mid nineteen-eighties. In her presentation she discusses the differences between “Sex” and “Gender” and her personal journey through life with courage, conviction, and healthy dose of humor.

Vaid is an attorney and community organizer, and the author of the award-winning analysis of the gay rights movement entitled Virtual Equality: The Mainstreaming of Gay & Lesbian Liberation. Formerly Director of the National Gay & Lesbian Task Force's Policy Institute, she remains committed to community-based change through strategic thinking and coalition building.

Abolitionist and suffragist Sojourner Truth's life is told in her own words using her speeches and songs in this dramatic presentation by Kathryn Woods.  Born a slave, Isabella Baumfree walked away from slavery to become an evangelist, when she wasn't being a maid or laundress.  In her travels she met preachers and advocates of all sorts, and evolved into Sojourner Truth.

At the age of 18, she spoke to the United Nations regarding Native American issues and since has become known as a voice for American Indian economic and environmental justice throughout the United States and internationally. She is the author of "Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming," as well as numerous articles.

Involved in long-term studies of rainforest regeneration, Lowman has developed canopy techniques, including ropes, walkways, hot air balloons, construction cranes, and combinations of these methods. She frequently speaks about her jungle adventures and about rainforest conservation to educational groups. She continues to travel worldwide to “map the canopy for biodiversity”, and to work on conservation.

Rapper, scholar, bestselling author, educator, and community activist. A powerful and self-assured woman of color, she provides eloquent insights into today's social issues, which are rooted in her deep love and pride for the African American community. Her novel "The Coldest Winter Ever" has received critical praise as a gritty and powerful coming-of-age story.

When singer Toshi Reagon and her mother Bernice Johnson Reagon collaborate, their performances are dynamic and compelling. Their musical style not only transcends classification, but also expresses a political consciousness.

Journalist and author of “In Conflict: Iraq War Veterans Speak Out on Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive,” which was turned into an award-winning play. Latty is also the author of the critically acclaimed “We Were There: Voices of African American Veterans, from World War II to the War in Iraq.”

Margot Mifflin is an author, journalist, and professor who writes about women, art, and contemporary culture. The author of Bodies of Subversion: A Secret History of Women and Tattoo, she has written for The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, The Believer, ARTnews, and Salon.com. Her new book, The Blue Tattoo:The Life of Olive Oatman, was published in April, 2009.

June Cross follows news coverage and cultural thinking about race, sex, Hollywood, and politics. She is an Associate Professor at Columbia Journalism School, a writer, and an award-winning producer. Her first book, a memoir titled "Secret Daughter," (based on an Emmy-winning documentary) was published by Viking in May 2006. She has worked for PBS's Frontline and The Newshour, as well as for CBS News. Her most recent documentary, The Old Man and the Storm, followed three generations of a New Orleans family as they struggled to return to normal lives. It aired on PBS' FRONTLINE in January 2009.

Comedian and Actress Diana Yanez, tells a powerful and fantastically funny, personal account of growing up Cuban, Catholic and closeted in Miami! She is Winner of the Overall Excellence Award at the 2010 New York International Fringe Festival and has appeared Off-Broadway in Margaret Cho's “Sensuous Woman” as well as with Cyndi Lauper, Debbie Henry and Rosie O'Donnell.

Lorene Cary has written “Black Ice: A Memoir”, “The Price of a Child: A Novel”, and “Pride: A Novel”, along with “Free!: Great Escapes from Slavery on the Underground Railroad” – a collection of real-life stories for children. She is the recipient of many awards, including the Women’s Way Agent of Change Award.

Ms. magazine columnist Hernandez -- self-described as a "Catholic Cuban-Colombian girl from New Jersey" – offers perspectives of life lived as young feminists of color, exploring commonalities and cultural differences and examining macho cultures and American capitalism. She expresses a more radical, racialized feminism that broadens the movement beyond its early incarnation. 

Young,  Fierce,  Eco-Huntress -- Emily Hunter  is the eco-correspondent for MTV, Emily -- like her father, the late, great Robert Hunter, a Greenpeace co-founder -- uses her journalistic talents to spread a green message. Emily strives to make people aware of the consequences of consumption and everyday actions through television and videos, print media and web-based publications. Her latest project is a book entitled The Next Eco-Warriors

Since appearing on the MTV documentary No Easy Decision, Katie Stack has used her story to connect with people, encouraging respectful and honest dialogue on the emotionally heated topic of reproductive justice. Her experience with both the pro-life and pro-choice movement gives unique insight into the grassroots battle of hearts and minds.

Caryl Rivers and Rosalind C. Barnett tackle a new, troubling trend in the theorizing about gender: that the learning styles, brain development, motivation, cognitive and spatial abilities, and "natural" inclinations of boys and girls are so different, they require completely different styles of parenting and education. Their book The Truth About Girls and Boys educates us in the true nature of the gender game, helping future generations transform if not transcend the parameters of sexual difference.

Blurring the lines between myth and reality, fiction and nonfiction in her award-winning seven books and anthologies, Kingston traces the paths of loss and healing. Her work reflects upon her Chinese heritage while growing up in the United States .

Acclaimed Puerto Rican author Esmeralda Santiago is critically praised for her work both as a memoirist (When I Was Puerto Rican, The Turkish Lover) and as a novelist ( America’s Dream, Conquistadora). In both genres, Santiago writes about cultural awakenings and the wider understanding that follows.Her writing has been called “…full of passion and authority”, “…thrilling, and page-turning”.