Oakland, CA - Mills College and the National Women’s History Project will co-host Women of the West: A Multicultural, Multigenerational Women’s History Networking Conference October 6 – 8, 2005.  Members of the public interested in women’s historic achievements are welcome to attend the conference including authors, educators, historians, community activists, and students, among others.

            Featured speakers will include:

• Delaine Eastin, former California State Superintendent of Public Instruction and Mills distinguished visiting professor of educational leadership
• Aileen Hernandez, chair of the California Women’s Agenda and second national president of NOW
• Ada Deer, first Native American woman to head the Bureau of Indian Affairs
• Kim Salter, president of California NOW
• Molly Murphy MacGregor, executive director and co-founder, National Women’s History Project

Events will feature a tribute to retiring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, recognition of the 85th anniversary of U.S. women winning the right to vote, and an appearance by Holly Near, singer and songwriter. Performers will also bring to life numerous important women in American history.

For more information about attending the Women of the West conference, call (707) 636-2888 or visit the National Women’s History Project website at www.nwhp.org.

Conference Schedule

Thursday, October 6, 2005

7:00 pm - Performance by singer/songwriter Holly Near, Mills Concert Hall

Friday, October 7, 2005

7:30 am – Registration and refreshments

8:00 am – Welcome

8:10 am – Why Women’s History?

8:30 am – Makers of History: Women of the West and their Achievements

Ada Deer, Aileen Hernandez, Delaine Eastin

10:30 am - Break

10:45 am - Concurrent Workshops:

Celebrating Women – Paolo Gianturco

Red Letter Day: Preserving the Stories of Our Lives for Future Generations – Margaret Wolff

The Crossing: The Story of the Pioneers – Dorene Ludwig

12:00 pm – Lunch and Book Signings

12:45 pm – Women and Democracy: Celebration of the 85th Anniversary of U.S. Women Winning the Vote – Linda Wharton, Robert Cooney, Martha Wheelock

2:15 pm -  Break

2:30 pm – Concurrent Workshops:

Winning the Vote – Robert Cooney; Our Call to Freedom – Sgt. First Class Arlisa Rivers

Women: Back to the Future – Kate Campbell Stevenson

My Checkered Life: Luzena Stanley Wilson in Early California – Fern Henry; Dress Reform Movement in California – Barbara Lynch

3:45 pm – Mills College Women Making History - honoring Mills alumnae

Bertram Gordon, Mills professor of history

4:15 pm – Reception

5:00 pm – Walking tour of Julia Morgan architecture on Mills campus with Oakland Heritage Alliance

Saturday, October 8, 2005

7:30 am - Registration and refreshments

8:00 am - Honoring Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor – Linda Wharton

8:20 am – Women in Statuary Hall

8:30 am – Whose History is Told? The Influence of Sex, Class, Culture, and Geography on the Making of History – Sylvia Mendoza and Kim Salter

10:30 am – Break

10:45 am – Concurrent Workshops:

Angle Debo and the New Native History – MiMi Coughlin;

Listen to the Women for a Change – Mary Rose

Sheroes of the West – Mellissa Stevenson

Juana Briones: Business Landowner and Humanitarian in 19th Century California – Halimah Van Tuyl; 150 Vidas of Passion, Strength, Success – Sylvia Mendoza

12:00 pm – Lunch and Book Signings

12:45 pm – Honoring and Preserving Our History: Women’s Historic Sites, Organizations, Museums, Statues, and Celebrations – Mary Anne Convis and Carrie Porter; Nevada Women’s History Project

2:15 pm - Break

2:30 pm - Concurrent Workshops:

For Weal or Woe: Women’s Influences on the American Civil War – Ellen M. DiMaggio

Sarah Winnemucca, The Statue and the Story – Carrie Porter and Mary Anne Convis; Rosie the Riveter National Park

Generations in Transition: From Republican Motherhood to Equality Rights for Women in the American West – Teresa Neal

Women’s History Women’s Lives – Kim Salter

3:45 pm - Break

4:00 pm - Closing Planning and Evaluation Plenary Session

5:00 pm - Adjourn

PRESS CONTACT:
Deborah Dallinger
Communications Consultant
925.788.9131