Annual UKWF Conference
UKWF Annual Conference
Gatton Student Center 10am-4pm with optional Mixer 4pm-6pm
Registration opens at 9:30am
The sixteenth annual UK Women's Forum Conference will take place Wednesday, December 7, 2022, in the University of Kentucky Gatton Student Center. Themed "Grow, Change, Evolve," we invite all university employees to step into their next with us in a day filled with professional development, networking, and community building.
Conference Agenda
9:30am-10:00am - Registration opens
10:00am-10:30am - Welcome
10:40am-11:30am - Session 1
11:30am-11:40am - Grab & Go Snack Break
11:40am-12:30pm - Session 2
12:30pm-1:25pm - Lunch & Roundtable Discussions
1:25pm-2:15pm - Session 3
2:45pm-2:55pm - Grab & Go Energizer Break
2:55pm-3:45pm - Session 4
3:55pm - 4:30pm - Closing
4:30pm-6:00pm - Mixer (optional)
Parking Information
Paid visitor parking is available at the following locations:
- Cornerstone Parking Garage (PS #5, 409 South Limestone) - UK Employees Parking Permits valid here
- Bill Gatton Student Center Lot (160 Avenue of Champions)
- South Limestone Surface Lots
With the exception of street parking on South Limestone, the cost for parking is $2/hour with a $16 per exit maximum.
Registration for this event has closed.
Please email UKWF@uky.edu for more information about registration for individuals or groups.
*Tickets subject to Applicable Fees. Per University regulations Procards are not an accepted method of payment.
Conference session descriptions: You will be asked to select your four session choices to complete your registration. You may select any sessions or follow the suggested curriculum tracks:
Work-Life Integration Track
Tradara McLaurine: Change Your Shoes: Finding Comfort in Your Leadership Roles
We are often told that leaders wear many hats well this session is for the women, and it is all in the shoes! During this session, you will learn how to lead in a variety of leadership roles simultaneously. We will talk about perception, adapting, how to ask for help, dealing with failure and how to find comfort with it all. From heels to flat being a boss never goes out of style.
Karsta Hurd: Fine Isn’t Good Enough: Creating Your Own Definition of an Extraordinary Life
After hearing this talk, you will feel inspired to break free from the expectations, along with your own limiting beliefs, and narratives so you can create the life you’re intended to live, not the one you feel you’re “supposed” to live. Karsta will share how, beginning in college, she spent a lifetime choosing things that “made sense,” leaving her stuck enduring a life that was… “fine.” And, how she’s learned to break free from expectations, trust her own intuition and live her life unapologetically.
Marian Guinn: Overcoming Self-Doubt
Ever feel like an imposter? Many leaders struggle with confidence from time to time. In this interactive workshop we will identify common barriers to self-confidence and consider how we can leverage strengths to bust through barriers, embody confidence and attain greater satisfaction and peace.
Janelle McNeal: From Struggle to Success: Transforming Obstacles into Dreams
Are you meeting roadblocks along the journey to achieving your goals? Learn to utilize a specific framework when obstacles arise and leave with:
1. A better understanding of how your brain works and how to use psychology to improve your journey as a business owner or professional.
2. A repeatable method of approaching obstacles and failure that results in increased confidence in yourself and your ability to achieve your goals.
3. A feeling of camaraderie and connection with the other women in the room, and
4. Inspiration to go after the dreams you may have previously considered out of your reach.
Allyship and Leadership Track
Glennetrius Neal: Power Your Steps with Clarity, Confidence & Courage
As a leader, you can wear many shoes. The question is "Are you wearing shoes too little, too big, or filled right?” What does this mean? Ladies, you know the saying if the shoe fits, wear it. There is no room in trying to fit in someone else's shoes but your own. In this case, we are identifying your IP Style: It's Personal! Now, let's Power Your Steps with Clarity, Confidence, and Courage to lead into a better version of you, personally and professionally.
Uriah Carter: "...And Scene": Authentic Allyship in the Modern World
Allyship is more than a hashtag and a picture of you with your BILPOC/LGBTQIA+ friend, family member, etc. We cannot be more vocal about being an ally than actually putting in the action to be an ally. This presentation will cover allyship, what it is, what it is not, and equip the audience with a better understanding of how to be a better ally!
Camile Turner and Serenity Wright: The Dynamic Duo: Confidence and Vulnerability
A truthful conversation about leadership and advocacy for today’s working world will set the foundation for the possibilities of tomorrow. When leaders, with core beliefs of allyship and advocacy, reveal their stumbling blocks and failures, an environment of approachability is established creating an identity of less arrogance. Being an ally and an advocate is a mindset with consistent behavioral patterns grounded in trust and vulnerability. But, developing trust and being vulnerable isn’t easy. Transform self-doubt into the fuel for your daily life, recognizing vulnerability as courage, innovation, and authenticity. Showing authentic vulnerability is confident leadership.
Greer McVay: Imperfection is Perfectly Perfect
Explore the value of authenticity in your presentations, branding and overall communications strategy. In this presentation, Greer shares insights into brand development and marketing, and shows how using ‘less than glossy’ material can be more relatable and effective in selling your product or selling yourself as you work to advance your career. Using a variety of communications concepts, anecdotal stories and personal observations, Greer will walk you through the process of letting go of the need to be perfect and empowers you to be real with yourself and your audience by focusing on the story behind the shiny image.
Health and Wellness Track
Taniqua Miller: Not Your Mother's Menopause Talk: The 5 Tips You Need to Embrace Your Midlife Transition
1.3 million women will enter menopause each year. However, most feel unprepared for the physical and emotional challenges that may occur during their transition. Furthermore, most clinicians lack the training and expertise to guide women through these changes in a patient-centered, goals-oriented manner. In “Not Your Mother’s Menopause Talk,” Dr. Miller empowers women to embrace their midlife transition with open and honest discussion on common physical and emotional challenges in perimenopause. She will then teach participants her framework, P.R.E.C.I.S.ely™, to help them feel confident in their bodies and empowered through their menopausal transition.
John Patterson: An Experiential Introduction to Mindfulness Practice
Mindfulness is good medicine. Even 5 minutes a day of intentional formal practice can improve your quality of life. We will practice a portable toolkit for relaxing the body, quieting the mind and opening the heart. By mobilizing your inner resources for promoting health and self-care you will learn non-drug approaches for managing the stress of your personal life, work life, chronic conditions and burnout. We will explore the meaning and deepest values that inform your life and your work. With gentle movement, skilled relaxation and awareness of breathing, you will cultivate your birthright of innate happiness, peacefulness and compassion.
Sandra Broadwill: Weekend Warrior Queen: Pursuing Adventures and Changing Your Mindset
There are opportunities for micro-adventures in your life every day: on your commute, during your lunch break, after the kids are in bed. But every weekend is a chance for a big adventure - especially if you plan and prepare ahead of time. If you're ready to change the way you approach your free time, try new things, and push your limits, this is the session for you.
Lisa M. Miller: Intuition is Your Compass: A Taste of SoulCollage® to Support Your Changing, Evolving, and Next Steps
Though it’s a bonus to know exactly what it is that we want to change, evolve, and step toward, most of us don’t know, but do feel there “must be something more,” and yearn to be happier, more balanced, and to find more meaning in life. How? The recipe would be incomplete without huge doses of curiosity and intuition. Bring your journal and your heart for personal exploration in this session. Using simple images, participants will access and give voice to their own internal enduring wisdom, and to the archetypal counsel of admired role models who live through us.
Self-Preservation Track
Twila Brown: Run Your Life Like a Business: Leveraging Strategic Scheduling for Work-Life Integration
Often, we find that we are able to succeed in achieving what we want in one ""bucket," but what happens when there are multiple buckets, and we start mixing them? In a post-pandemic era, many find themselves still working remotely in some capacity, often wearing more hats in the workplace than they had previously. Trying to be successful not only as an employee, but also as a spouse, parent, friend, volunteer, etc. can feel impossible because there aren’t enough hours in the day! But what if we leveraged our schedules strategically? That's exactly what we’ll explore during this session.
Taniqua Miller: Find Your Way Back: Rediscover Your Purpose for a Boundless Midlife
A 2021 Deloitte survey of 5000 working women in 10 different countries found nearly half experienced burnout and cited burnout as the leading cause of quitting. For first generation women, the prescriptive success story of “American dream” may keep them from acknowledging burnout and dissatisfaction in career. As the pressure to perform mounts, many of these high-achieving women reach a breaking point, quitting careers, adopting maladaptive behaviors, or worse committing self-harm. However, there is a way forward that allows women to work through their burnout journey and create a boundless midlife. In this session, you will take a deep dive into the different forms of burnout and how they manifest. You will be encouraged to name the sources of their burnout and the impact burnout has in your life. Finally, you will examine the role of self-compassion, setting boundaries, and realigning your true purpose in healing from your burnout.
Christy Demetrakis: The A.R.T. of Conquering Fear
Hopes and dreams are as common as air. Everybody has them. We desire to excel in our positions, launch businesses, and make a lasting impact on this earth. However, lack of confidence, self-doubt and fear has a way of holding us back, leading to frustration and regret. This inspiring talk pulls from years of experience and research that led to a proven 3-step process for not only acknowledging and understanding your fears, but ultimately conquering fear to enable you to impact and influence the world.
Connie Inukai: Reasons to Pursue Entrepreneurship in Retirement
If sitting around just isn’t your thing, then retirement is the perfect time to begin creating the next and best chapter in your life. I am not against spending retirement relaxing and filling your time with recreational activities, but how many dreams have you put on hold for “Some Day?” Simply filling hours with recreation may feel like the opposite of freedom, according to many of the 72 million U.S. Baby Boomers who have worked their entire lives.
We are pleased to provide this justification letter for attendees to request approval to attend the 2022 Conference.
For questions regarding the conference or how to participate, please contact Conference Committee Chair Kendriana Price (kendriana.price@uky.edu) or co-chair Megan Martin (megan.perrin@uky.edu).
Cancelation Policy: If you are unable to attend, we must have one week’s notice. If we do not receive advanced notice, you will be charged the full registration fee. Substitution requests can be accepted at any time. In circumstances beyond the control of the UK Women's Forum Board that calls for a conference cancelation, all event attendees will receive a refund.
Please note the University of Kentucky’s COVID 19 policy. Masks are optional on campus and encouraged. Visit https://coronavirus.uky.edu/covid-19-guidance to review the latest University of Kentucky mask policy and COVID 19 guidance.
Past Conference Information
2021 Conference
Our fifteenth annual conference "Balance" was a virtual conference held on December 10, 2021. The keynote speaker was Amy McGrath, Lt.Col, USMC (Retired) and Adjunct Lecturer at the UK Patterson School of Diplomacy and International Commerce.
2020 Conference
Our fourteenth annual conference "Breaking Barriers Building Bridges" was a virtual conference held on December 8-9, 2020. The keynote speakers were Judge Pamela R. Goodwine, Kentucky Court of Appeals for the 5th Appellate District, and Dr. Trisha Clement-Montgomery, UK Acting Dean of Students.
2019 Conference
Our thirteenth annual conference "Elevate" took place on October 16, 2019, in the Gatton Student Center. The keynote speaker was Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie, five-time Olympian and assistant track coach at UK.
2018 Conference
Our twelfth annual conference "Intention" took place on October 18, 2018, in the Gatton Student Center. The keynote speaker was Dr. Colleen Swartz, chief administrative officer for UK HealthCare.
2017 Conference
Our eleventh annual conference "The Future is Female" featured Dr. Sonja Feist-Price, Vice President for Institutional Diversity, and took place on October 18, 2017.
2016 Conference
Our tenth annual conference"She is Every Woman" featured Dr. Kathi Kern, Associate Professor in the Department of History and the Director of CELT, and took place on October 19, 2016.
2015 Conference
Our ninth annual conference Memoirs of a UK Woman took place on October 21 at the Hilary J. Boone Center (500 Rose Street). Our keynote speaker was Kirsten Turner, the Chief of Staff and Assistant Dean in UK’s College of Arts and Sciences.
2014 Conference
The eighth annual conference, "Back to the Future: Female Leaders Past, Present, and Future," took place on October 15, 2014. We welcomed Dr. Christine Riordan as our keynote speaker.
2013 Conference
The seventh annual conference, "Hear Me Roar," took place on October 16, 2013. Our keynote speaker was Grace Gorrell, owner of Lead With Grace.
2012 Conference
The sixth annual conference was held October 26, 2012. The keynote speaker was Matthew Mitchell, UK Women's Basketball Coach.