Rising Bravely
1 Day. 13 Speakers. 8 Live Workshops. 1 Keynote. 1 Panel. 1 Mentoring Circle.
March 4, 2022 | In-Person Experience at UCI
Welcome to EmpowerHER Summit 2022
EmpowerHER Summit is a campus wide event for students, faculty, and staff. Entering its fifth year, this annual event provides staff, faculty, and students an opportunity to build community connections, learn holistic wellness skills, and explore various professional development topics.
We hope that attendees leave the summit with a feeling of strength, encouragement, and empowerment. At a time when we could all use a spark to reignite commitment to ourselves and community, we present our overall theme: Rising Bravely. We believe our community is in an environment and space where we are continuously rising bravely. From transitioning from virtual to in-person, to learning new processes and policies that are Covid friendly, to reminding ourselves that we still need to take care of our own mental and emotional health; we continuously are coming together as a community to rise bravely.
Join us as we come together to rise bravely.
If you are interested in our mentoring program during the summit, follow the link through the button below to learn more.
Registration
Registration opens on January 31st and closes on February 25th. Follow the link below for registration. This will lead you to Campus Groups where you will be able to register to the EmpowerHER Summit and to our ConnectHER Mentoring Program.
Keynote Speaker
Denea (pronounced Denae) Joseph is an undocumented Black DACA recipient and national immigrant rights activist. She immigrated to the United States at the age of seven years old from Belize, Central America. It wasn’t until her junior year of high school that she realized the challenges she would face as a result of her immigrant identity. However, she was accepted into the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she commuted back and forth from South Los Angeles to Westwood because of the financial limitations for undocumented youth in higher education. Nevertheless, Denea persisted.
As an undergraduate at UCLA, Denea advocated for the creation of an immigration attorney position on campus and increased sustainable financial aid for undocumented youth across the University of California system. Additionally, as a Young People For(YP4) fellow, Denea developed a social justice blueprint to address undocumented access and retention in institutions of higher learning.
Denea is a regularly sought-after media commentator on immigration issues and has been vocal about her undocumented and Black experience. She has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, Essence, Vogue, The Guardian, and The Los Angeles Magazine’s historic immigration issue, among others.
Denea attended the 2018 State of the Union address as the guest of California Senator Kamala Harris. Denea has been serving as the Vice President for the Black Los Angeles Young Democrats (BLAYD), California Ambassador for the United State of Women (USOW), and most recently worked as the communications coordinator for the UndocuBlack Network (UBN) where she advocated for the representation of UndocuBlack immigrants within the mainstream immigrant narrative. She aspires to be a human rights attorney, advocating for the rights of the most marginalized around the globe.
Workshop Facilitators
Within two workshop blocks within the whole summit, choose from four different workshops per block! These facilitators are both on-campus and off-campus folx who are committed to share their knowledge and skills with you. Topics will revolve around holistic wellness and personal development throughout the two workshop blocks. Take a look at our featured guests.
Manifesting Your Wellness
Reclaiming our Power to Choose Through Mindfulness
Rising Bravely through Self-Compassion
Two Spirit: History, Traditions, and Culture
Zine-Making Feminist Worlds
Kathy Dong
Tackling Work Life Balance – Panel Hosted by the Network of Executive Women (NEW)
Alumni & Friends Panel – Q&A w/Millennials
Breaking Barriers Panel Speakers
Sit in on the Breaking Barriers Panel where our attendees will be able to hear from womxn leaders on campus about overcoming barriers to leadership and tackling inequities in the workplace.
2021-2022 Committee Members
- Tanaz Jesung, Supplemental Instruction Coordinator – Learning & Academic Resource Center
- Christina Suarez, Academic Integrity & Student Conduct Officer – Office of Academic Integrity & Student Conduct
- Isha Bhatt, Counselor and Coordinator – Student Success Initiatives
- Rasta Bagheri, CARE Advocate – UCI CARE
- Briana Leslie, Executive Board – Women in Leadership Campus Organization
- Victoria Rocha, Program Coordinator – Latinx Resource Center
- Tonie Zhu, Associate Director, Employer Relations- Paul Merage School of Business
- Niobe Duke, Program Coordinator – Center for Black Culture, Resources, and Research
- Sydney Torres, Director – Womxn’s Center for Success
- Erika Cortez, Assistant Director- Womxn’s Center for Success