All posts by Chelsea Du Fresne

The Summer Monster Update Is Here!

Conference

 

While the website and twitter accounts have been still, our heroes, disguised as mild mannered organizers, have been busy behind the scenes seeing to all the details needed to make this a gloriously successful event!

First and foremost, if you did not get your ticket during the Kickstarter, do not fret! It’s not too late. Tickets are available for purchase here! Student rates are available.

We have acquired space in the Historic Humphrey Conference Center on the University of Minnesota’s West Bank. The center is ADA compliant and situated on light rail.

Secular Women Work is committed to making the conference an accessible space, particularly for those from resource-limited settings. Scholarships include paid conference registration and a travel stipend, where available. Despite being a small, first-year conference, we have a selection of scholarships available. Members of underrepresented groups within the secular movement are encouraged to apply.

To make planning your trip as easy as possible, we have included a list of accommodations and dining options which includes many vegan and gluten free choices

Our schedule is starting to take shape as we add more fascinating speakers, including:

  • Debbie Goddard, Director of Outreach for Center for Inquiry and Director of African Americans for Humanism
  • Amy Monsky, Executive Director of Atheist Alliance of America
  • Heather Hegi, past Board Chair and current Secretary of Minnesota Atheists
  • Hiba Krisht, writer, apostate, and mental health advocate
  • Monette Richards, President of the Center for Inquiry, Northeast Ohio and director of Secular Woman
  • Stephanie Montgomery, Vice President of Secular Avenue
  • Miri Mogilevsky, co-founder of Help Without Heaven

The topics for our panels and workshops are coming together as well. Check out:

  • The current challenges facing the secular movement
  • Activism for newbies
  • Assertive communication
  • Self-care and avoiding burnout
  • Lobbying
  • Getting the most out of your social media
  • Managing volunteers
  • Fundraising
  • Making sure your activism is effective
  • Reproductive justice activism beyond clinic escorting
  • Building inclusive communities

We’re adding more speakers and topics every day as we get the final details pinned down.

Our code of conduct is coming soon! If you want a preview, we’re basing it on the policy from Skeptech last April. We’ll be updating it with some guidelines for making discussion in workshops productive and inclusive, but the core of the policy worked well and won’t change.

And now, a word about our sponsors…

Secular Woman Work is made possible, in part,  by C.A.S.H., Minnesota Atheists and Secular Woman. We are highly grateful for the hard work and generosity of each of these organizations and cannot thank them enough.

 

 

Scholarships Are Available!

Conference

Secular Women Work is committed to making the conference an accessible space, particularly for those from resource-limited settings. Scholarships include paid conference registration and a travel stipend, where available. Despite being a small, first year conference, we have a selection of scholarships available. Members of underrepresented groups within the secular movement are encouraged to apply.

With the goal of creating future community organizers and activists, scholarship candidates will be selected based on the following criteria:

  • The conference’s potential impact on the growth of the candidate.
  • Membership in an underrepresented group or groups within the secular movement.
  • Our ability to make sure you can attend and make use of the scholarship.

We recognize that conferences are often the gateway into organizing, and that experience levels vary widely among those starting out. For us, a commitment and passion for activism are paramount. Everybody starts somewhere! If you’ve blogged but never done “meatspace” organizing, that’s fine. If you just want to increase your civil activism and don’t know where to begin, that’s great too—Secular Women Work will encompass a variety of approaches and starting points. The most important thing is that you apply!

Deadlines

The initial deadline for applications is end of day July 6. After that date, we will grant the scholarships we have available then. If you’ve missed the July 6 deadline but still want a scholarship, go ahead and fill out the form. We can’t promise we will have more scholarships available, but we may. Candidates will be admitted on a rolling basis.

In order to apply, fill out the following form with your full name, email address, whether or not you require travel assistance, and what you hope to take away from the conference.

Secular Women Work Scholarship Form

Best of luck and we hope to see you in August!

-The Organizers

Speaker Feature: Mandisa Thomas

Conference

Come August, the conference will feature a full slate of women and genderqueer activists. This week, we’re going to feature three such activists: Mandisa Thomas, Lauren Lane, and Desiree Schell. All three are spectacular and amazing, so we hope you enjoy them!

Mandisa Thomas is the president and founder of Black Nonbelievers, Inc. She also has a new project called New Turn. From their website: “The focus is to provide help for ex-convicts, at-risk juveniles and individuals who are at a general education and economic disadvantage by developing critical thinking and practical instruction and skills, as well as maximize entrepreneurial capability.” We took some time and discussed the kind of activism atheism needs, how to build communities, and her work with Black Nonbelievers. You can find out more about New Turn here.