May 3, 2024
Corwin Pavilion
AMPLIFY
Welcome
On behalf of the Professional Women’s Association Steering Committee, it is our distinct pleasure to welcome you to the 31st Annual PWA Professional Development Conference. With this year’s conference theme, Amplify!, we hope to inspire our community to reflect, learn, and grow stronger in our professional and personal lives. Our sessions, named after the tenets of our organization Engage, Empower, Encourage offer a variety of engaging workshops that focus on advocacy, gender equity, the importance of self-care, improving communication and leadership skills, the necessity of humor and fun, and much more!
Established in 1993, PWA is a campus-affiliated organization that offers professional development workshops, networking opportunities, and community service events throughout the year that culminate in our annual day-long conference. We aim to promote equity by providing opportunities for women to meet, connect, and learn together. This year marks the 31st year of serving our campus and the surrounding community at large. We believe a strong network of professionals advocating for women is an essential part of the UC Santa Barbara campus community and the Santa Barbara community as a whole.
We would like to thank our keynote speaker, workshop presenters, and panelists for helping us to build this exciting program. The PWA Steering Committee, with the help of many dedicated volunteers, has spent the past year developing today’s event to present you with a variety of opportunities to network, learn, and collaborate. We hope that you will use this opportunity to meet new people across campus and create valuable connections that will continue into the future. It is our goal to have you leave here today with the confidence and motivation to advocate for yourself while encouraging and uplifting other women. Together, we can move mountains!
Sincerely,
Samantha Oglesby & Whitney Ater 2023-24 Co-Presidents
Program Overview
Schedule
9:30AM - Registration & Tea Service Engage!
9:45AM Welcome and Land Acknowledgement
10:00AM Workshop – Own Your Day: Optimize Your Focus to Maximize the Value of Your Time
10:30AM Workshop - Moon Mamas, an Astrology Workshop: Planning Your Week With The Moon as Your Guide Empower!
11:00AM Panel Discussion
Lunch
1:00AM Message from UCSB Chancellor Henry T. Yang
1:30AM PWA President’s Message & Award Ceremony Encourage!
2:00PM Workshop – Truth Be Told: Spotting & Stopping Misinformation Break
3:00PM Keynote Speaker - Gracie Huerta
4:00 PM Closing Remarks
Join us for a casual post-conference gathering at The Imperial Goleta, 320 S Kellogg Ave, at 5:00pm.
UCSB Professional Women’s Association
Keynote Speaker
Gracie Huerta - Keynote Speaker
Gracie Huerta serves as the Performance Management and Bilingual Training Specialist for the Department of Housing Dining & Auxiliary Enterprises of UCSB. In that role she gets to work with the staff to provide personal and professional development opportunities, with the overall goal of making our employees and their families stronger and healthier.
Before coming to UCSB, Gracie was a Public Education Coordinator for the City of Santa Barbara Fire Department. Working with city and county residents, Gracie encouraged preparedness, taught CERT classes and served as Public Information Officer for local and national news sources. From there Gracie launched out as a disaster preparedness expert, traveling throughout California working with under-represented Spanish speaking communities. In this role, she shares lifesaving information about the importance of emergency preparedness, with a curriculum she co-created called Listos.
Gracie’s passion for public education and adult learning began with several local non-profits including Child Abuse Listening and Mediation (CALM), Rape Crisis Center and Domestic Violence Solutions. This work solidified Gracie’s commitment to lifelong learning: if adults and children can overcome and work through tremendous tragedies with connection, validation and education she wanted to be a part of that change.
Gracie feels blessed to have been born and raised in Santa Barbara, lucky to have been the recipient of many of the resources the community has to offer, grateful to be working at UCSB and thrilled to have spent most of her career giving back.
Engage • Empower • Encourage
Workshop
Workshop - 10:00AM
Own Your Day: Optimize Your Focus to Maximize the Value of Your Time
Feeling overwhelmed by the constant juggle of tasks and priorities? The human brain does not respond well to the stress of juggling multiple priorities. Fortunately, that’s where Personal Kanban shines. This technique will help you gain control of your workday by supporting you to select the right things to do right now, work in sync with your peers, and set your next project up for more success.
In this session you will learn: - How to visualize your workTechniques for limiting work-in-progress - Ways to personalize for yourself, your team, or even your family
About the presenters:
Katie Mankins brings over 25 years of management and technical experience to her role as Director for Process Management in the Office of the CIO at UCSB. She earned her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt in 2019 and her Black Belt in 2023. She loves engaging people across campus to find common solutions, reduce administrative hassle, and improve the work we do on campus.
Jen Johansen joined UC Santa Barbara as a staff member in 2010 after earning her degree at UCSB. Her 13 years on campus include experience in academic personnel, event management, and communications management. She earned her Lean Six Sigma Green Belt in 2022 and she enjoys applying her problem solving skills to help others on campus with operational excellence, process improvement, and systems thinking.
UCSB Professional Women’s Association
Workshops
Workshop - 10:30AM
Moon Mamas, an Astrology Workshop: Planning Your Week With The Moon as Your Guide
The moon, our closest celestial time-keeper, shows us how to tap into the moment to experience greater harmony in our daily lives. In this workshop experience, you’ll learn to plan and prepare for your week by using the astrology of the moon as a guide. You’ll walk away with practical tips for managing your time, energy, and expectations of your work day. Some days are better than others for team meetings, completing unfinished tasks, brainstorming, planning, etc. by looking to the moon, we can know the cosmic weather forecast and be more in flow with the moment!
About the presenter:
Candice Somay Perez is a queer, non-binary astrologer, energy healer, coach, and mama. She is devoted to helping nurturers and care-givers (of all kinds) know and love themselves more deeply, so that the world becomes more conscious and loving. She’s passionate about the ways our personal healing, self-care, and care for our families enable us to build stronger communities and better ways of living on and with this beautiful earth. Learn about her services and offerings at candicesomay.com.
Engage • Empower • Encourage
Workshops
Panel Discussion - 11:00AM
Panelists:
• Angela Andrade, Ph.D. - Dean, Student Wellness
• Lupe Navarro-Garcia, Ed.D. Assistant Vice Chancellor, Student Academic Support Services
• Shira Minerd - Work-Life Resource Coordinator, My Family Resources
• Dorothy Satomi - Director, Finance & Administration, Office of the Executive Vice Chancellor
Workshop - 2:00PM
Truth Be Told: Spotting & Stopping Misinformation
It's getting harder and harder to discern truth from trickery online but it's never been more critical. We all have a hand in ensuring that harmful lies and even innocent gaffes are called out rather than accepted as reality. From politics to global health to breaking news, we've seen how misinformation impacts–and even threatens–lives. Learn proven techniques to question what you see and read, spot falsehoods and stop them in their tracks. Because facts matter.
About the presenter:
Starshine Roshell is an award-winning journalist, video producer and media educator. She was a reporter for the Santa Barbara News-Press before helping lead the newsroom walkout over the publisher's failed journalistic ethics in 2006. The Independent's favorite columnist for over a decade, Starshine has taught journalism at SBCC and UCSB, and now produces video courses for LinkedIn Learning and volunteers as a media educator with the News Literacy Project
UCSB Professional Women’s Association
Awards
2024 Unsung Hero/ines
A principal goal of the Professional Women’s Association is to develop awareness throughout the campus community of individual contributions to the mission of UCSB. With this goal in mind we celebrate and recognize those who consistently make our campus a better place. Unsung Hero/ines share a dedicated commitment to the mission of UCSB, volunteer outside their departments and pour energy into their position.
Gracie Huerta
Bilingual Training Specialist, Campus Housing
Maria (Adela) Hernandez
Senior Cook, University Center/Food Service
Yasim Quigley
Interim Associate Director, Residential & Community Living
Tami Schmittgen
Leave Administration Supervisor, Human Resources
Lisa Romero
Director of Employee Services, Human Resources
Miya Scheble
MEDS Career Development Program Manager, BREN School of Environmental Science & Management
Engage • Empower • Encourage
Awards
The PWA Legacy & Barbara S. Uehling Book Grant
PWA awards a limited number of $300 book grants to current UCSB re-entry/non-traditional students who may face unique challenges in completing their degrees. Non-traditional students include undergraduates over 24 and graduate students over 29 years old; re-entry students; student veterans; students who are married or in a domestic partnership; and students who are parents or have dependents.
Jing Su
The Gevirtz Graduate School of Education
Suzette Aguayo Global Studies
Renata Nascimento de Albertim Feminist Studies
BARBARA S. UEHLING CHARLTON, PHD
Raffle Prize Donors
(JUNE 12, 1932 – JANUARY 2, 2020)
As the first and only female Chancellor of UCSB, Barbara encouraged our founding members to establish PWA as a resource for professional women on campus.
“Throughout her career, Barbara was a passionate advocate for the advancement of higher education and in particular promoting educational opportunities for women and minorities,” according to her obituary. We are proud to honor her legacy by awarding the PWA Legacy & Babara S. Uehling Book Grant.
UCSB
Professional Women’s Association
History & Committee
2023 - 2024 PWA Steering Committee
CO PRESIDENT
Whitney Ater
Spanish & Portuguese CO PRESIDENT
Samantha Oglesby
BOOK CLUB
CHAIR
Yasmin Gutierrez Educational Opportunity Program
History
SECRETARY
Kelly Almeida Linguistics & Philosophy
Interdisciplinary Humanities Center CO
Charisa Najera
Interpersonal Violence Service
Elizabeth Carrillo
Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology CO
COMMITTEE
CHAIR
Abbey Fragosa
The Club and Guest House
LIAISON TO INSTITUIONAL ADVANCEMENT
Liz Holohan Development
The Professional Women’s Association was formed by a group of remarkable women at UCSB in January of 1993. The first elections were held in 1993 with our first Co-Presidents Micael Kemp and Martie Levy. Our Founders are Christina LaVino, Martie Levy, Carol Parsons, Margie Weeks, Jody Kaufman, Louise Moore, Christine Bendele, and Melba Ortiz.
Since 1993 we have developed many notable programs, events, and services. The focus of these offerings is to bring awareness of the contributions of women to the mission of UCSB, to support the advancement of women at UCSB, to serve as a networking channel, and to provide forums to influence issues that effect women at UCSB.
VICE PRESIDENT
VICE PRESIDENT
Past Presidents & Mission
Past Presidents
1993 - 1994: Micael Kemp & Martie Levy
1994 - 1995: Sandy DeRousse & Margaret Weeks
1995 - 1996: De Acker & Pat Sheppard
1996 - 1997: Jan Smith & Christine Van Gieson
1997 - 1998: Sonia Johnson & Gwen Kuhns
1998 - 1999: Yonie Harris & Ginny Johns
1999-2000: Gina Funderburgh & Gail Johnson
2000-2001: Pam Allen & John Berberet
2001-2002: Amy Jacobs & Candace Stevenson
2002-2003: Lisa Oshins & Carol Wimoth (Wyzinski)
2003-2004: Celcilia Becerra & Carolyn Buford
2004-2005: Lupe Navarro-Garcia & Kim Equino
2005-2006:
2006-2007: Kori Soltz & Elizabeth Yossem-Guy
2007-2008: Shubra Agarwal & Sandra Camp
2008-2009: Milinda Cuellar & Anna E. Morales-Castañeda
2009-2010: Katya Armistead & Gina Gonzales
2010- 2011:
2011 - 2012: Kelly Erland & Margaret McMurtrey
2012 - 2013: Kristin Van Ramshorst
2013 - 2014: Keri Bradford & Britney Craighead
2014 - 2015: Nancy Chudy & Angelica Diaz
2015 - 2016: Lia Cabello
2016 - 2017: Gabrielle Dunne & Roxanna Van Norman
2017 - 2018: Kelly Walsh & Briana Muñoz-Flores
2018 - 2019: Sarah Koepke & Alexis Wright
2019 - 2020: Liz Holohan
2020 - 2021: Breanna Barak
2021 - 2022: Adriana Pérez
2022 - 2023: Whitney Ater
Mission
The purpose of the Professional Women’s Association (PWA) is to develop awareness among faculty, staff and their campus constituencies of the contributions of women to the mission of UCSB; to provide activities and support other campus constituencies that contribute to the advancement of women at UCSB; to serve as a networking and communications channel among women employees at UCSB; and to provide a forum to influence decisions on campus and community issues that affect women at UCSB.
PWA promotes equity by providing opportunities for women to meet, connect, and learn together.
CONFERENCE
Each Spring, we host our annual conference to bring access to professional development opportunities to our campus.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
WORKSHOPS
We are lifelong learners and know there’s always something more to explore. We partner with campus and community leaders to help us grow personally and professionally.
NETWORKING EVENTS
It is our mission to bring people together. We host casual and professional networking events to strengthen connections across campus.
COMMUNITY SERVICE
We are committed to enriching all aspects of the person and community. We seek out opportunities to share our time and talents to continue to strengthen our community at large.
UNSUNG HEROINE AWARD
We annually seek nominations of staff members who consistently make our campus community a better place.
BARBARA S. UEHLING & LEGACY BOOK GRANT
Annually, we award multiple grants to non-traditional students who might face unique challenges while pursuing their degree.
