The fourth annual Women’s Leadership Conference will be held Friday at the University of New Haven. This year’s theme is women in competitive spaces.

As with previous years, students and faculty will recognize the progress society has made to normalizing and celebrating successful female professionals, and they’ll pledge to continue to push for gender equality.

This year’s conference was organized by Lourdes M. Alvarez, former dean of the University of New Haven’s College of Arts and Sciences, Nancy Ortins Savage, associate dean of the university’s Tagliatela College of Engineering, and a committee of several Connecticut and east coast business leaders.

The registration page for the event reads, “Competitive or Aggressive? Assertive or Pushy? Women continue to struggle with gendered expectations and their effects on opportunities for advancement.

The conference will explore the theme of competition and the role that athletics, sports and outdoor adventure play in helping women and girls challenge stereotypes.

Nascar Racer Julia Landauer is the keynote speaker along with Kenny Habul. Landauer debuted in the Nascar circuit in 2016 and became the highest finishing female in NASCAR K&N Pro Series West history. In addition, the conference will include as speakers former CEO of the Women’s Tennis Association Anne Worcester and Donna Lopiano, president of the consulting firm, Sports Management Resources.

Several workshops will promote interaction and teach women skills they’ll need in the workplace. The University of New Haven’s Women’s Leadership Conference’s website lists the following as potential options:

• Practicing Radical Candor- Successful Communication for Women in a Male Dominated world
• Professional Branding: Finding your Competitive Edge
• Equal Pay for Equal Play, Negotiating Salary
• Straight to the Summit: How to Get Your Team to the Top.

The workshops will be led by specialists such as Mohegan Sun’s vice president of sports Amber Cox ,and Lauren Tiejen, Vice President of Octagon’s Global Communications.

Additionally, a panel on finding success featuring Kim Ng, Major League Baseball’s senior vice president of operations and development; Amber Cox, vice president of the Women’s National Association’s Connecticut Sun; assistant clinical professor, Yetsa A. Tuakli-Wosornu , and Patricia Melton, president of the New Haven Promise scholarship and support program.

The event begins at 7:45 a.m. with breakfast in Dodd’s Hall. The conference   at 8:30 a.m. . The full schedule can be found on the Women’s Leadership Conference’s website.

Nicole Rivera 4/8

Corina Rodriguez 04/9