- Video Clips from the Newcomb College Institute 2009 Summit
- Power Lines: Women Transform the Grid
- Highlights of the 2009 leadership summit
- Posted October 2, 2008
Department: Newcomb College Institute
Photos by Cheryl Gerber
Political strategist Donna Brazile was a keynote speaker at the 2009 Newcomb College Institute Summit.The time has never been better for women to transform traditional power structures and become leaders in any field, according to speakers participating in the Newcomb College Institute’s three-day leadership summit, “Power Lines: Women transform the grid.”
More than 400 registered for the free summit, which was Feb. 5-7 in the Lavin-Bernick Center. The summit featured such speakers as political strategist and Kenner native Donna Brazile, former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, former University of New Orleans professor and author Joyce Zonana, new media theorist Megan Boler, microfinance experts Matt Flannery and Premal Shah from Kiva.org, jewelry designer Mignon Faget, restaurateur Leah Chase, and independent filmmakers Therese Shechter and Shannon Sonenstein.
Urban Bush Women, a New York-based dance troupe founded by artistic director Jawole Willa Jo Zollar, kicked off the summit Thursday night in Dixon Auditorium with a keynote performance presented in partnership with Junebug Productions.
Friday morning, Brazile challenged students to hurry history by entering politics, so she could witness the first woman being elected president. “This generation is not going to be content in just opening up one door,” Brazile said, referring to the election of Barack Obama as the first African-American president of the United States. “They are going to tear that glass ceiling apart.”
Former Lousisana Gov. Kathleen Blanco
encouraged women not to build
fences around their lives.
Former Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco, who spoke Saturday morning, said she is looking for women to run for office to replace politicians who have embarrassed the state. “We still have a steep hill to climb if we want more women in politics,” she said. “I’m confident, though, that we can see more women meet the challenges.”
The key is for women to set the bar higher and to be part of something bigger than them. “Don’t let this time pass you by,” she added. “Don’t fence yourself in. You just have to build those gates and walk through. Boldly push your power buttons and follow your dreams.”
The focus turned to business and finance Friday and Saturday afternoons. On Friday, Tulane Chief Operating Officer Yvette Jones moderated a panel featuring 15 members of the International Women’s Forum of Louisiana. The panel presented strategies to deal with the biases and challenges women face in business.
Premal Shah, left, and Matt Flannery talk about their microfinance Web site, Kiva.org.
Another summit session featured Kiva.org, a microfinance Web site that allows individuals to make small loans to low income entrepreneurs, most of whom are women in third world countries. “We used the Internet to create a market place,” Shah said Saturday afternoon. “All of the money is going directly to the entrepreneur through a third party. We have almost half a million on our site right now making loans.”
Flannery and Shah, who launched the Web site in 2005, hope to offer loans to low- income entrepreneurs in the United States, include New Orleans, in the near future. “We’re only three years old and word is spreading very fast,” Shah said. “Thank you all for being a part of it.”
