Young women in the Binghamton area will have the opportunity to meet and learn from local female leaders at the third annual “Girls Take Charge” conference held at Binghamton University.
The conference, which takes place Feb. 21 at the University Downtown Center, features keynote speaker Lea Webb. Webb, a Binghamton City Council member, was featured in Oprah Winfrey’s O Magazine as a future female leader and was selected to attend the first O-White House Leadership Project.
According to Jennifer Lawson, assistant director for non-credit programs of the Continuing Education and Outreach program at BU, Webb plans to discuss the trials and tribulations she faced while getting the leadership positions she now holds. Webb is currently a co-chair of the Anti-Racism, Racial Justice Committee of Citizen Action of New York.
“The program gives young women an opportunity to be introduced to and meet local women in leadership positions, and look at what qualities women have that make them good leaders,” Lawson said. “It helps to prepare them to be leaders in their school, community and life.”
In addition to Webb speaking at the conference, two New York City designers, Ana Henao and Erin Darby, will also be working with the young women. The designers create T-shirts with inspirational messages for women.
“There is a part of the day where it’s a ‘Project Runway’ opportunity,” Lawson said. “The girls are broken up into groups where they come up with an inspirational slogan, design their own T-shirt and display it to the conference. They have to explain what their message is.”
The Continuing Education and Outreach program at BU, in collaboration with Learning to Lead, a non-profit organization based out of Philadelphia, is hosting this one-day leadership conference.
A majority of the activities at this conference are centered on team building and risk taking.
The participants listen to the speakers and learn about issues young women face regarding relationships as well as self-esteem, Lawson said.
“In past years the feedback has been positive,” she said. “Most of the girls who come have loved it and loved the projects they participated in; the day is very active. We start with the keynote speaker, then they are moving the rest of the day until ‘Project Runway,’ which is at the end.”
Enrollment is currently at 50 young women in grades seven through 12. According to Lawson, last year there were more than 100 participants.
The cost of the program is $59, which includes materials and lunch. The program’s cost increased by $9 from previous years.
“I think the economy is affecting our registration right now, but we are accepting registration up until the day, and we take walk-ins,” Lawson said.