YOUNG WOMEN AND LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
Women and men alike have lauded our original Women and Leadership Conference as a life-changing experience and would frequently comment that they wished they had something like the adult conference for their daughter or son. We agree that leadership skills and the desire to grow into future leaders should begin in the teen years and so we created an event for 9th-12th-grade students. The inaugural Young Women and Leadership Conference was hosted by the Center at Boise State University in 2019. The goal of the teen-focused event is to nurture and develop future leaders by bringing before them trailblazers and thought leaders who can share their experiences and their wisdom and by offering the opportunity to strengthen individual skill sets through an array of skill building workshops and Professional Development & Networking opportunities with community partners.
2025 YWLC
The Young Women and Leadership Conference is scheduled for Thursday, March 6th 2025 and will be hosted at Boise State University.
Previous Conferences
2022
The 4th annual Young Women and Leadership conference held Tuesday, March 15, 2022 was an after-hours virtual event.
9th-12th grade students heard from the keynote speaker, Gabby Lemiuex and shared in a Teen Leader panel discussion.
Gabby Lemiuex is a member of the Shoshone Paiute tribe of Duck Valley Indian Reservation and the first ever female Native American pro-golfer.
Her address (video) included motivational words of wisdom on pursuing your own greatness, building your “team,” and taking the ladder of life one step at a time! The Teen Leader discussion panel (video) led a thought provoking discussion on activism, mentorship, and more!
2021
The 3rd annual Young Women and Leadership full-day conference was hosted virtually on February 23, 2021. Students from 9th-12th grades heard from area role models Tai Simpson (video) and Liyah Babayan (video) and participated in unique skill-building workshops designed to help instill the characteristics of leadership in the youth of today – our leaders of tomorrow.
Thanks to individual donors, partnering organizations, and sponsors, we were able to offer more scholarships for students than ever before, which greatly expanded participation to 26 different schools!
2020
The 2nd annual Young Women and Leadership conference was hosted March 10th, 2020 at Boise State University. Students heard from Dr. Marlene Tromp, Boise State University President, Lauren McLean, Mayor of the City of Boise, Cherie Hoeger, Co-Founder, & Meghan Holton Customer Experience Manager at Saalt. The final speaker was Jennifer Martinez, Social Change Associate/Organizer, Idaho Coalition Against Sexual & Domestic Violence.
2019
In its inaugural year this exciting new teen program was held February 15, 2019 at Boise State University. For one full school day, 9th-12th-grade students participated in keynote addresses, networking, and skill-building sessions. In its inaugural journey, we worked with an advisory committee of educators, students, civic organizations, and community leaders to build what we hope will be a lasting impact community event. Local Ada and Canyon County High School students heard from keynote speakers Jodi Peterson, Executive Director with the Interfaith Sanctuary Shelter and Maureen O’Toole, Sandbox Consulting Group.