Every keynote speaker and workshop leader will bring her passion for change and healing in this world, as well as her unique skills and gifts. Each will touch your heart and equip you to reach beyond your own borders. Many speakers agree to speak free of charge or at reduced fees so more of our profit is poured back into communities where women are in great need. This great testimony to the power and passion that undergirds WOMENSPEAK.
PAULA D'ARCY, author, speaker, playwright and founder of Red Bird Foundation, which supports the growth and spiritual development of those in need, and furthers a ministry both to those in prison and those living in disadvantaged circumstances. A former psychotherapist, Paula has worked extensively with those facing issues of grief and loss. She has authored several books and audio books, including Song for Sarah, Gift of the Red Bird, Sacred Threshold, Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (CD) and Red Fire, which was named 2001 Best Spiritual Book by Spirituality and Health Awards.
ERIN GRUWELL, educator and catalyst for social change has earned an award-winning reputation for her steadfast commitment to the future of education. Her impact as a change agent runs deep. So deep, in fact, that her story attracted Hollywood's attention. In January 2007, Paramount Pictures released Freedom Writers, starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank as Gruwell. The film is based on The Freedom Writers Diary, The New York Times bestseller that chronicled Gruwell's extraordinary journey with 150 high school students who had been written off by the education system. By fostering an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, she transformed her students' lives. She encouraged them to re-think rigid beliefs about themselves and others, reconsider daily decisions, and ultimately re-chart their future. They dubbed themselves the "Freedom Writers" -in homage to civil rights activists The Freedom Riders - and published a book. Gruwell now serves as Distinguished Teacher in Residence at California State University, Long Beach in the College of Liberal Arts and Education. www.freedomwritersfoundation.org
DR. JEAN SHINODA BOLEN, author, psychiatrist, recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing's "Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing" Award. Dr. Bolen is the author of ten books, including Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World, which emphasizes how gathering women creates community, accountability, and integrity. Her poem, Untapped Source of Peace, has inspired millions.
BERNICE JOHNSON REAGON, "Freedom Singer", scholar, and activist is a major cultural voice for freedom and justice. She renders her passionate convictions in a moving and memorable mixture of song and spoken word, drawing on the life stories of 19th and 20th century African American women whose struggles for freedom guide her in her moving presentations. She is a Professor Emeritus of History at American University, Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and two of her major works include Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions and Africans in America: American’s Journey Through Slavery. Reagon has served as music consultant, composer, and performer for several films and video projects, including the award-winning Eyes on the Prize, the Emmy-winning We Shall Overcome, and the feature film Beloved.
SALLY GOMEZ-JUNG is the Director of Theological Field Education at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. Teaching is her passion. In her position she is responsible for the pastoral formation of students preparing for leadership in the Church. She holds MA's in both Theological Studies and Religious Studies and feels that through her work she has come to recognize the gifts women have for this world: Their potential to be peacemakers, and their capacity for a transformative and healing love. Sally is a native of Puerto Rico, where she grew up. She now lives in Texas.
IBTISAM BARAKAT, poet and writer, educator and peace activist. Her first book, Tasting the Sky, is a memoir of her Palestinian childhood and her experience of being a refugee. She speaks both Arabic and English, has taught at Stephens College and is the founder of Write Your Life seminars.
MARY ETTA KING, was raised on an Amish farm in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. At the age of five her parents became Mennonites, a tradition she continues to follow. She is executive director of Kairos: School of Spiritual Formation and a spiritual director. Mary Etta will offer a Prayer for Peace from the heart of the Mennonite community whose dedication is to world-wide peace.
E. GWYNN DANCERS Eleanor Gwynn is an award-winning professor of dance, chair of the Department of Visual and Performing Arts at North Carolina A&T University, and founder, choreographer and artistic director of the E. Gwynn Dancers. A student of the renowned Katherine Dunham School of Dance in New York, Gwynn studied indigenous dances in West Africa, South Africa, the Caribbean and South America. Her company of fifteen dancers and five drummers will perform for WOMENSPEAK.
CRAIG HELLA JOHNSON, is the Founder and Artistic Director of Conspirare, a renowned company of singers with four Grammy Award nominations. Craig is a conductor, teacher, songwriter, composer, arranger, pianist and singer. His reputation as one of this country's most respected musicians is founded on his depth of artistry and musical integrity. One of his signature pieces is We Are All Part of the Human Heart.
PAULA D'ARCY, author, speaker, playwright and founder of Red Bird Foundation, which supports the growth and spiritual development of those in need, and furthers a ministry both to those in prison and those living in disadvantaged circumstances. A former psychotherapist, Paula has worked extensively with those facing issues of grief and loss. She has authored several books and audio books, including Song for Sarah, Gift of the Red Bird, Sacred Threshold, Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life (CD) and Red Fire, which was named 2001 Best Spiritual Book by Spirituality and Health Awards.
ERIN GRUWELL, educator and catalyst for social change has earned an award-winning reputation for her steadfast commitment to the future of education. Her impact as a change agent runs deep. So deep, in fact, that her story attracted Hollywood's attention. In January 2007, Paramount Pictures released Freedom Writers, starring two-time Oscar winner Hilary Swank as Gruwell. The film is based on The Freedom Writers Diary, The New York Times bestseller that chronicled Gruwell's extraordinary journey with 150 high school students who had been written off by the education system. By fostering an educational philosophy that valued and promoted diversity, she transformed her students' lives. She encouraged them to re-think rigid beliefs about themselves and others, reconsider daily decisions, and ultimately re-chart their future. They dubbed themselves the "Freedom Writers" -in homage to civil rights activists The Freedom Riders - and published a book. Gruwell now serves as Distinguished Teacher in Residence at California State University, Long Beach in the College of Liberal Arts and Education. 
DR. JEAN SHINODA BOLEN, author, psychiatrist, recipient of the Institute for Health and Healing's "Pioneers in Art, Science, and the Soul of Healing" Award. Dr. Bolen is the author of ten books, including Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women, Save the World, which emphasizes how gathering women creates community, accountability, and integrity. Her poem, Untapped Source of Peace, has inspired millions.
BERNICE JOHNSON REAGON, "Freedom Singer", scholar, and activist is a major cultural voice for freedom and justice. She renders her passionate convictions in a moving and memorable mixture of song and spoken word, drawing on the life stories of 19th and 20th century African American women whose struggles for freedom guide her in her moving presentations. She is a Professor Emeritus of History at American University, Curator Emeritus at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History and two of her major works include Wade in the Water: African American Sacred Music Traditions and Africans in America: American’s Journey Through Slavery. Reagon has served as music consultant, composer, and performer for several films and video projects, including the award-winning Eyes on the Prize, the Emmy-winning We Shall Overcome, and the feature film Beloved.
SALLY GOMEZ-JUNG is the Director of Theological Field Education at Oblate School of Theology in San Antonio, Texas. Teaching is her passion. In her position she is responsible for the pastoral formation of students preparing for leadership in the Church. She holds MA's in both Theological Studies and Religious Studies and feels that through her work she has come to recognize the gifts women have for this world: Their potential to be peacemakers, and their capacity for a transformative and healing love. Sally is a native of Puerto Rico, where she grew up. She now lives in Texas.
