YWCA Rock County Finalizes Schedule for 8th Annual Racial Justice Conference

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 $100.00 per person if registering between now and October 28th and $125.00 if registering between October 29th – November 10th. Students are $50 per person. Please call Danielle at 608-752-5445 ext. 200) to reserve student tickets. Registration is now open and participants may register and pay for the conference online with a credit/debit card by visiting https://whova.com/portal/registration/yrcar_202211/. Participants may also contact Danielle for help with credit/debit card or check payments as well as invoice submissions.Login on November 10th begins at 8:30am followed by a welcome message from YWCA Rock County’s Executive Director, Heidi Deininger and Amiee Leavy, YWCA Rock County’s Racial Justice Director.YWCA Rock County is grateful to have Paris Echoles as the Morning Keynote Speaker at the Conference. To Mr. Echoles, everyone, regardless of your race, socioeconomic status, and/or ability, is “Born Gift3d” and deserves to wear their Crown with pride and joy. Paris will be presenting "Beyond Red or Blue: How Voter Suppression Has Maintained the Power and Privilege of a Few.” After a brief break, Paris Echoles will lead a morning breakout session: "You Made Me This Way: How Microaggressions Gave Birth to a Star.”Participants may also choose to attend one of two other morning breakout sessions. Attorney Erin Barbato will be presenting “Racism in Seeking Refuge in the United States.” Erin M. Barbato is the Director of the Immigrant Justice Clinic at the University of Wisconsin Law School. She teaches second- and third-year law students to represent individuals in removal proceedings and with humanitarian-based immigration relief. The other breakout session participants can choose to attend is the Dorothy Height Diversity in the Workplace Panel which will focus on “How do we Maintain Diversity?”After a break for lunch, YWCA Rock County is honored to have Dr. Decoteau J. Irby as the Afternoon Keynote Speaker. Decoteau J. Irby is an Associate Professor of Educational Policy Studies at the University of Illinois at Chicago and founding member of Derute Consulting Cooperative. Dr. Irby with be presenting “Getting Past Stuck: Understanding the Tools Required to Eliminate Racism in Schools.” After a brief break, Dr. Decoteau J. Irby will lead an afternoon breakout session: “Understanding Your School’s Capacity for Racial Equity Improvement.”Two additional afternoon breakout sessions are also available for participants to attend. Rock County School Districts will present a panel discussion about “Local Disparity in Student Discipline Disaggregated by Race.” Additionally, Pastor Kenda Roman will be presenting a breakout session titled: “Racial Trauma in the Workplace.” Kendra Roman is a school counselor at Eisenhower Elementary School, in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, a licensed Professional Counselor, and the senior Pastor of New Covenant Life Center, Beloit, WI.The 8th Annual Racial Justice Conference wouldn’t be possible without the generous support from our sponsors.