2024 EMPOWERUS PROGRAM

EMPOWERUS SUMMIT

EmpowerUS Summit is a campus wide event for students, faculty, and staff. Entering its sixth year, this annual event provides staff, faculty, and students an opportunity to build community connections, learn holistic wellness skills, and explore various professional development topics.

We hope that attendees leave the summit with a feeling of strength, encouragement, and empowerment. By focusing on developing confidence through our collective knowledge, we can own our power and find strength in ourselves and our community. In the spirit of moving forward to create the inclusive world we envision, we present our overall theme: Embracing Our Power.

EmpowerUS Summit 2024 Donors

MAP OF COVE ROOMS

LUNCH SPOTLIGHT

Buen Appetit Truck creates a global comfort cuisine. With over 15 years of combined experience, Buen Appetit truck brings an eclectic menu for all. Their passion for food, and really good food, comes from their parents and families experience in the culinary world. Owners, Lauryn and Alex, bring two continents to the palette with Lauryn’s French upbringing in high-end culinary cuisine and Alex’s Mexican inspired dishes to bring together a world of global cuisine.

The Womxn's Center for Success is intentional about supporting local womxn owned businesses at every opportunity we can!

Lunch Choices Include:

Protein bowl: Choice of grilled chicken or fish. Served with chipotle spiced, rice, and spring mix. Topped with house sauce. Served with chips and salsa

Vegan bowl: Grilled vegetable medley, chipotle spiced rice and spring mix. Served with chips and salsa

Tacos (chicken and fish tacos): Grilled chicken or fish tacos. Topped with pico de gallo and house sauce. Served with chips and salsa

"EMBRACING OUR POWER"

Keynote

by

Dra. Yvette Martinez-Vu

Dra. Yvette Martínez-Vu is a first-generation chronically ill and neurodivergent Chicana grad school and productivity coach, author, and speaker. She is the producer and host of the top-rated Grad School Femtoring Podcast and founder of Grad School Femtoring, LLC where she empowers firstgeneration BIPOCs as they navigate higher education. Dra. Yvette is the co-author of the book, Is Grad School For Me?: Navigating the Application Process for First-Gen BIPOC Students with the University of California Press and co-editor of the bestselling Chicana M(other)work Anthology with the University of Arizona Press.

WORKSHOP BLOCK #1

11:10 am - 12:00 pm

Workshop & Presenter

Spiritual Cyphers: Feeling the VIBE

Self Co

r Power: Using Sound and Softness to Come Back Home to Oneself

Disco pport: Unveiling Effective Responses to Trauma Disclosure

Location & Description

Location: Venture Cove A

Track: Student, Staff, Faculty

Vibrations are all around us but how we use our bodies to synthesize those vibrations dictates our wellbeing. Wellness stems from our ability to move through spaces in a way that protects our holistic healing. Participants create wellness pathways through movement as we collectively move within vibes we feel from rhythms that manifest our spiritual cyphers.

Location: Venture Cove B

Track: Student, Staff, Faculty

This is a 50 min live interactive workshop highlighting self-compassion as the activator within us to show up authentically and open us up for connection. Cynthia Perez, LCSW of Rooted in Reflection will explain the science behind self compassion as a tool to rewire our nervous system for calm. This workshop includes EFT Tapping, bilateral stimulation using music, and sound healing using glass bowls and drums. This is a moment to slip into your softest self, collectively.

Location: Venture Cove C

Track: Student, Staff, Faculty

Social support is pivotal in the healing process after trauma. Yet well-intentioned responses to trauma disclosure can sometimes do more harm than good. In this interactive workshop, you’ll gain invaluable insights into the dos and don'ts of how to respond when someone opens up about their trauma. In doing so, you’ll equip yourself with the knowledge and tools to provide genuine, effective support that can help to empower others when they need it most.

WORKSHOP BLOCK #2

1:00 pm - 1:50 pm

Workshop & Presenter

Thriving Together: Mental Health and Wellness in the Workplace

Monique Castro, LMFT

Planning for the Future: Your Financial Journey

Paula Garcia-Arsenault

Building Communitea 101

Location & Description

Location: Venture Cove B

Track: Staff/Faculty

Join us for "Thriving Together," a workshop dedicated to enhancing mental health and wellness in the workplace. In this session, participants will discover effective strategies for managing stress, improving resilience, and promoting work-life balance.

Location: Venture Cove A

Track: Student, Staff, Faculty

Develop your personal and financial goals and take away actionable tips and strategies to develop a roadmap to reach your goals.

Location: Venture Cove C

Track: Students

B is

Womxn in the Industry & Entrepreneurship Roundtable

Discussion by NEXTUP

This workshop will be an exploration of ways we can take care of ourselves as womxnfrom the best products we should be using, to how we can support each other in our journey of self care.

Location: The Beach

Track: Student, Staff, Faculty

In this session, attendees will learn new skills and practices that empower personal growth by joining in on a roundtable discussion from 4 womxn individuals from big companies and entrepreneurial starts! We hope everyone will be able to closely talk to these womxn about their challenges, successes, and give you key tips in their industries.

Andrea Pereira Mandy Loh

Heather DeLucan

Jenna Arkin

BREAKING BARRIERS PANEL

2:00 pm - 2:50 pm

Sit in on the Breaking Barriers Panel where our attendees will be able to hear from womxn leaders on campus about overcoming barriers to leadership and tackling inequities in the workplace.

Dr.

Catherine Z. Sameh, Ph.D.

Dr.

Associate Professor & Chair, Gender & Sexuality Studies, School of Humanities Director, DREAM Center

Dr.

Assistant Professor, Global and International Studies, School of Social Sciences Director, Student Success Initiatives

Angela Chuan-Ru Chen, Ph.D.

Yatta Kiazolu, Ph.D.

Joanna M. Hernandez

9am - 10am

CONNECTUS MENTORING PROGRAM SESSION

About the Program

ConnectUS is a mentorship program of the EmpowerUS Summit, that provides students with the opportunity to network with womxn graduate students, faculty, and staff. All participants broaden and develop strong networks that EmpowerUS! We envision the ConnectUS Session during our Summit to connect undergraduates and graduate students with professionals in their desired fields and leave them feeling empowered and inspired to create positive societal change. This year we have 12 mentees and 8 mentors.

Mentor Expectations

Attend the entire EmpowerUS summit on March 1, 2024

Attend a required Information

Social on February 28, 2024 (inperson)

Foster an open space for sharing stories about personal journeys (professional, personal, academic, etc.)

Mentee Expectations

Attend the entire EmpowerUS Summit on March 1, 2024

Attend a required Information

Social on February 28, 2024 (inperson)

Being open to sharing with and learning from a mentor by recounting stories about your own personal aspirations and journeys (professional, personal, academic, etc.)

Bring questions, comments, and concerns to your mentor during your times of communication

Additional Time Commitment: We recommend you meet with your mentee once a month during Spring Quarter and we encourage you to continue the relationship beyond this program. A social hosted by the Womxn’s Center for Success will be occurring in Week 5 of Spring Quarter.

Effectively engage with your mentor via the agreed upon mode of communication (text, call, email, etc.)

Additional Time Commitment: We recommend you meet with your mentee once a month during Spring Quarter and we encourage you to continue the relationship beyond this program. A social hosted by the Womxn’s Center for Success will be occurring in Week 5 of Spring Quarter.

2023-2024 EMPOWERUS SUMMIT COMMITTEE

Thank you to our amazing committee that worked hard since the start of Fall 2022 quarter to plan this in-person event.

Rasta Bagheri, CARE Advocate – UCI CARE

Tonie Zhu, Associate Director, Employer Relations- Career Center, Paul Merage School of Business

Niobe Duke, Program Coordinator – Center for Black Culture, Resources, and Research

Chasia Jeffries – Graduate Ph.D Student

Sandy Wang, Assistant Director – International Center

Christina K. Treble, Honors Advisor – Campuswide Honors Collegium

Ta’hlia Davis, Empowerment Intern – Womxn’s Center for Success

Mona Gutierrez – Academic Integrity & Student Conduct Specialist

Diana Greer – Program Coordinator, Underground Scholars

Erika Cortez, Assistant Director – Womxn’s Center for Success

ABOUT THE WOMXN'S CENTER FOR SUCCESS

Mission Statement

The Womxn’s Center for Success at UC Irvine advances gender equity by raising consciousness on social justice concepts, fostering personal growth, building community connections, encouraging identity development and increasing access to resources that support holistic wellness.

Why ‘Womxn’?

“Womxn” is one of a few lexical and social phenomena, including the adoption of “ x ” in naming gender nonconforming individuals, genderqueer folx, two spirit people, femmes, transgender folx, and non-binary people.

Womxn acknowledges that gender identity exists in a sphere and one word has room for multiple gender expressions without weighing one more important. It highlights that more than one gender expression can be impacted by patriarchy, misogyny, and sexism.

Community Commitments

We support each other in the real world, on campus, and in the digital space. We listen, learn, and grow. Our community is continuously evolving and so are we. We create brave spaces that are intersectional, inclusive, and non-judgmental. We empower and amplify the voices that go unseen, unheard, and underappreciated.

We unapologetically stand up against racism, homophobia, anti-blackness, transphobia, ableism, classim, and xenophobia.

We take care of ourselves and each other because joy, self-care, and community empowerment are acts of resilience.

Services & Programs

One on one appointments, We Rise Ambassador Program, Feel Good Moments, Reproductive Justice at UCI, Sad Girls Club at UCI (Hybrid), Affiliate Program, Menstruation Equity at UCI, Weekly Newsletter (Virtual)

We hope you have enjoyed your time with us at the summit & hope to see you next year!

Take our survey so you can be entered to win a gift card to the womxn-owned businesses listed below:

Live Tinted- is dedicated to celebrating all complexions with clean, vegan, cruelty-free pigments. Founded by South-Asian beauty entrepreneur and businesswoman, Deepica Mutyala, Live Tinted strives to create cutting edge, “clean beauty” formulas that work on all tinted skin while minimizing their environmental impact.

Harlum Candle Co. - The Harlem Candle Company is a luxury home fragrance brand specializing in scented candles inspired by the richness of Harlem. Their mission is to continually capture the beauty and essence of Harlem of yesterday and today as they illuminate spaces around the world with their soft glows and exquisite scents.