Opening Reception

In opening the Forum, we celebrate the beginning of a journey—the exploration of what's next for women. We celebrate with old friends and new, with invocation, music, laughter, prizes, and with food and drink. This is an opportunity to meet and mingle with presenters, planners, and other participants. It is also the beginning of a new experience for each of us, the first glimpse of what lies ahead as we explore the edges of our own lives, in the company of kindred travelers.    [BACK]

The Marketplace is open!

Welcome to The Marketplace, a relaxed and friendly space in which to discover unusual crafts and services, ideas, and implements. The Marketplace appeals to our senses of taste, touch, sight, smell, sound—and, of course, adventure! Here we encourage each other to take a break and chat or take a breath and relax. There is no structure in the Marketplace, just free time to mingle, shop, enjoy a massage, think, listen to music, and absorb the scene. The Forum is open—and so is the Marketplace!    [BACK]

7:30–8:30 a.m.

Continental Breakfast
Late registration
The Marketplace opens.

Panel Discussion: Navigating Difference—A Picture, a Story, and a Question

Carol Archer, Ed.D., Jill Carroll, Ph.D., Nancy Ruff, Ph.D.

What does it really mean to encounter difference in another person? What happens in the nanosecond when we perceive "otherness" in someone else? Three women—all dedicated educators—will take a creative and personal look at the hope implicit in the very things that separate us. Navigating difference can be difficult, to be sure, but the effort opens a pathway to discovering our humanity. With a picture, a story, and a question, each panelist will encourage us to seek a new level of awareness, optimism, and community as we begin exploring the edge together.     [BACK]

Break  •  Visit The Marketplace

Concurrent Sessions, Part I: Possibilities
A glimpse at what's possible when women explore the edge—personally, creatively, and professionally

Session 1:  Unexpected Artist, Born Artist—Two Perspectives on
the Edge

Presented by Micala Sidore and Beth Beede

Micala Sidore and Beth Beede are friends, neighbors, and successful fiber artists from widely different backgrounds. They will discuss making the most of everything and the best of nothing as they developed their identities and media. Ms. Sidore's work is inspired by the centuries-old Gobelins tapestry technique, while Ms. Beede has developed felt making, an ancient fiber technique, into a modern art form. Both women are adventurous world travelers whose experiences abroad have inspired and informed their work as artists and teachers.    [BACK]

Session 2:  The Cutting Edge Experience of Two Women Scientists

Presented by Jill Dahle and Dee Shepperd

Jill Dahle is a molecular geneticist. Dee Shepperd is a mass spectrometrist. Does your head hurt yet? Find out what makes these multi-talented, high-energy women tick as they team up to talk about their careers in science over the past 20-plus years. What was it like to be the only woman in a biology lab in the '70s? What advice would they give their younger selves now? What are the current challenges for them as individuals and women in the field of science? (And what about global warming, anyway?)    [BACK]

Session 3:  Caring for Our Elderly Parents—Preparing for the Challenge

Presented by Jane Graumlich

Jane Graumlich, a U.S. Army Nurse Corps veteran who served in Vietnam, will tell you that battlefield experience is necessary for the work she does. As a geriatric nurse practitioner, Ms. Graumlich is in the trenches daily, sorting out complicated cases, high-tech medicine, far-flung families, and overworked staff.  "Dr. Jane" felt compelled to pursue a specialty in geriatric nursing after caring for her own elderly mother, who suffered from dementia. Her current edge is balancing the best interests of patients with the needs and demands of their families and a failing health-care system.    [BACK]

Session 4:  Shifting the Nonprofit Work Paradigm

Presented by Kristen Loden

This presentation will explore the joys and demands of the nonprofit arena, and what life can look like beyond the field. Kristen Loden, a self-described "recovering fundraiser," will talk about the line between being committed and being consumed; what nonprofits have to gain from new perspectives and alternative working arrangements; and why polished, ethical non-profit professionals will always be in demand. She'll also pose the question: Can a woman be a nonprofit wiz, a wife and mother, and a pastry chef in her spare time?    [BACK]

Session 5:  Pay No Attention to the Great and Powerful Oz: The Woman Behind the Curtain Is Speaking

Presented by Nancy Ruff

As more and more women become university educators, fundamental ideas about the profession are quietly changing and magnificently improving. The distant, inaccessible pedagogue of the past has come to seem less effective than the human being behind that image. University professor Nancy Ruff explains how her own journey led her to drop the trappings of the all-powerful wizard and come out from behind the lectern. She believes that only by revealing her own humanity can she best serve her students, her university, and herself.    [BACK]

Session 6:  From Bra-Burning to Burlesque: The Future of Feminism

Presented by Teresa Van Deusen

Is burlesque the new bra-burning? What does bath soap have to do with liberation? How many feminists does it take to change a light bulb? Teresa Van Deusen leads a thought-provoking discussion of global trends as the feminist agenda evolves from demanding equality to pursuing happiness. Ms. Van Deusen leads the call to define how feminist women are shaping the future of the world.    [BACK]

Break  •  Visit The Marketplace  •  Door prizes

Lunch

Keynote Address: Using Your Feminine Wiles—A Retro Move Forward In Feminism?

Presented by Whitney Casey

Whitney Casey, Houston Chronicle columnist and former senior producer and host of KHOU's "Great Day Houston," leads a lively, interactive exploration of femininity and feminism. Casey, author of Manopoly: Own the Market on Men, offers the premise that the feminine ideal of the '50s is (surprise!) relevant and rich for women today. She'll talk about the essence of contact—the power of non-verbal communication, first impressions, and sensual appeal—and how women can turn "feminine wiles" into feminist success. After hearing her notes from the field, Casey thinks we might look to "Retro Woman" as a role model for the future.    [BACK]

Break  •  Visit The Marketplace  •  Door prizes

Concurrent Sessions, Part II: Pathways
What would assist you in finding your way toward new possibilities?

Session 1:  Connecting Minds and Hearts with "Culture Bumps"

Presented by Carol Archer

Do a 48-year-old North American woman and a 28-year-old Venezuelan man have anything in common?  What does it take to find out?  What are the tools we need to bridge cultural gaps? Carol Archer invites us to find out, to step beyond diversity by recognizing our "interior conversations" and getting past the culture bumps they create.  Participants will have the opportunity to "walk the Valley of Values" and develop other new skills from the "Toolkit for Culture and Communication."    [BACK]

Session 2:  Defining Your Personal Purpose

Presented by Jennifer Brugh

Entrepreneur and author Jennifer Brugh encourages participants to search their hearts for what they really love. Beginning with an examination of eight key elements of a well-rounded life, she will discuss how creating a personal vision and setting goals can empower us to achieve our magnificence.    [BACK]

Session 3:  Exploring the Edge of Self-Healing

Presented by Bianca Guerra

Bianca Guerra is committed to helping us consciously awaken by connecting with our inner wisdom. A physical therapist-turned-wellness educator, Ms. Guerra believes that each of us holds the key to our own happiness and health. Her focus in this workshop is on intentionally changing our physiology by "flipping a switch" in our thought processes.    [BACK]

Session 4:  Navigating the World of Judgment, Image, and Fashion

Presented by Sarah Shah

"Fake it till you make it." It's a popular theory, but it doesn't really work in practice. Human beings instinctively know when the image a person projects isn't what's truly inside of them. This creates a subtle dissonance that can affect our ability to connect personally as well as professionally.

Sarah Shah is an image artist and media coach who understands the world of judgment, the language of fashion, and the power of image. Her edge is helping us develop individual personal styles that represent who we are now and who we're becoming. Ms. Shah will lead a light-hearted, non-threatening look at the difference between fashion and style—at what works, what doesn't, and why.    [BACK]

Session 5:  Exploring the Inner Edge

Presented by MaryBeth Smith

MaryBeth Smith is a practitioner of the Feldenkrais Method® of Somatic Education and director of the Feldenkrais Center of Houston. In this participatory workshop, we will learn to sense, feel, and experiment with interesting yet comfortable ways of moving. We will explore awareness of movement as a means of unblocking creativity and releasing untapped stores of energy. (Please dress comfortably for movement. Layered clothing is suggested for best adaptation to temperature variations.)    [BACK]

Session 6:  Stop Taking Things Personally!

Presented by Patty Walters

We all do it. Somebody says something we don't like. We take it personally, and then we start down that slippery slope. "What did they really mean?" "What was that tone they used?" "What gives them the right to say that about me?" Sound familiar? What if we could separate the fact from the story we have about it? How would it be if we had a way of handling miscommunication and misunderstanding? Patty Walters takes a humorous look at the cost of taking things personally and gives us the tools to stop it!    [BACK]

Session 7:  Paying Attention to the Clues for Change

Presented by Nancy Wozny

Who said we can only do one thing with our lives? Most of us have a multitude of talents and interests but keep looking for the one and only path. How do we honor our varied interests and make room for them in one lifetime? What are the clues for change and how do we recognize them? Arts writer and activist Nancy Wozny will lead activities and conversation that celebrate our diverse interests and the fluid process of "becoming."        [BACK]

Session 8:  Purpose, Power, Presence: Leadership Essentials for Women

Presented by Rebecca Rucker

Leadership studies have shown that women receive high marks for their communication skills and professional competence at work. However, the same studies indicate that women do not perform as well in areas conducive to executive advancement. Executive coach Rebecca Rucker will highlight the purpose of leadership and the strategic thinking inherent in it. She will discuss the idea of strategic relationships as a means of fostering leadership, and leadership as a means of creating value. We will analyze our own skills and discover ways to leverage our strengths and bring greater value to ourselves and our organizations.    [BACK]

Session 9:  Creating the Future: Anticipating Change, Challenging Assumptions, and Transforming Ourselves in a World of Increasing Complexity

Presented by Lisa Sullivan

What if success in business isn't so much about good management as about anticipating change? Lisa Sullivan of INFUSE Corporation is an expert in future studies and strategic planning. She believes the key to success is recognizing which trends are shaping the future knowing how to respond effectively. Is foresight a gift or can it be learned?     [BACK]

Break  •  Visit The Marketplace

General Session/Closing: The Compelling Power of Adventure

Presented by Lin Pardey

There are no edges to Lin Pardey's world. She knows this because she's sailed around it—twice. This veteran mariner now living in New Zealand has circumnavigated the globe in traditional sailboats without engines or electronic gizmos. She has seen the wonders and confronted the dangers of the natural and human worlds alike. She is a storyteller par excellence, full of wit, wisdom, and extraordinary warmth. Ms. Pardey will share how each of her adventures has inspired her to expand her own boundaries.     [BACK]

Visit The Marketplace  •  Door prizes

The Marketplace closes.