YWCA Rock County Finalizes Schedule for 7th Annual Racial Justice Conference

Janesville, Wisconsin – YWCA Rock County is excited to announce the full schedule for the 7th Annual Racial Justice Conference that will be held virtually on November 4th 2021. YWCA Rock County invites participants to join virtually from their home, school or office, as presenters offer insight into supporting diverse populations here in our community and beyond.Reasons to attend: Learn how to foster diversity, inclusion, creativity, and growth within your business, school, organization and community from experts in the field. Build a network of peers and resources and learn how to take action.Registration is $125.00 per person if registering between October 16th – November 4th. Students are $50 per person (please call to reserve Student tickets). Registration is now open and participants can register and pay for the conference online with a credit/debit card by visiting https://whova.com/portal/registration/racia_202111/. Participants can also contact Georgean Hunt at (608) 752-5445, ext. 200 and she is able can help with credit/debit card or check payments as well as invoice submissions.Login on November 4th begins at 8:30am followed by a welcome message from YWCA Rock County’s Executive Director, Angela Moore and the Dorothy Height Award Presentation presented by Kelly Eickstead, YWCA Rock County Board of Directors President.YWCA Rock County is grateful to have Simon Balto as the Morning Keynote Speaker at the Conference. Simon Balto is a scholar, writer, and teacher of History and African American Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Simon will be presenting "Who Will Survive in America?" White Supremacy and Anti-Racist Struggle in American History. After a brief break, Simon Balto will lead a morning breakout session: "Occupied Territory:" The History Behind America's Policing Crisis.Participants can also choose to attend one of two other morning breakout sessions. Deborah Biddle will be presenting “Understanding and Preventing Workplace Microaggression.” Deborah Biddle is a Certified Diversity Professional, Coach, and experienced Business Leader for The People Company. Rachel Houseman from SHINE Technologies will be presenting “Our Company's Path Toward a More Diverse Workforce.”After a break for lunch, YWCA Rock County is honored to have Pardeep Kaleka as the Afternoon Keynote Speaker. Pardeep Kaleka is the Co-Founder of Serve2Unite, a published Author, award-winning Community Relations Journalist and Trauma Therapist. Pardeep with be presenting “Healing in the Aftermath of Hate.” After a brief break, Pardeep Kaleka will lead an afternoon breakout session: “Our Perceptual Biases are Dividing Us.”Two additional afternoon breakout sessions are also available for participants to attend. Erica Nelson: Project Director for Race to Equity, Stephanie Muñoz: Project and Community Engagement Associate for Race to Equity and Amiee Leavy: Racial Justice Director for YWCA Rock County will lead a presentation on the Race to Equity Rock County Report. Additionally, Dr. Tonja Johnson will be presenting a breakout session titled: “Identifying the Impact of Racism on the Mental and Physical Health of Women and Children.”The conference concludes at 3:00pm with final closing remarks. The 7th Annual Racial Justice Conference wouldn’t be possible without the generous support from our Sponsors. Leadership Sponsors include: The County of Rock, the City of Beloit, Dollar General and the School District of Beloit. Beloit Turner School District, Beloit College, Blackhawk Bank, Dr. Atiera Coleman, First National Bank & Trust, SHINE Technologies and the Stateline Community Foundation are all generous Collaborator Sponsors. Other Sponsors that are graciously sponsoring the Conference include the City of Milton, the Diversity Action Team of Rock County, First Community Credit Union, Parkview School District, Visit Beloit, Compeer Financial, E&D Water Works, Inc., Patty Hernandez, Community Health Systems and the School District of Janesville. Alliant Energy, Associated Bank, Beloit Health Systems, Blackhawk Technical College, Johnson Financial Group, Mercyhealth, SSM Health and Wells Fargo are all Sponsors that not only support the Racial Justice Conference, but also other major YWCA Rock County fundraisers throughout the year.For additional questions about the YWCA Rock County Racial Justice Conference, please contact Amiee Leavy, YWCA Rock County’s Racial Justice Director at aleavy@ywcarockco.com