Sustainability is focus of UCW conference


Expansive green tree on green hill against bright blue sky

University Career Women (UCW) at ASU invites the university and greater community to attend its annual professional development conference from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Aug. 3 at the Sheraton Phoenix Airport Hotel, Tempe. Centered on the theme of “Striving for Sustainability,” this conference is a great opportunity to learn more about sustainable organizational practices and life choices while building your professional network and knowledge of campus and community resources.

Featured presenters include Kamala Green, executive director of ASU’s Office of Equity and Inclusion, and Kimber Lanning, executive director and founder of Local First Arizona. Green will focus on building diversity in your team and using the talents of all to aid in ASU’s recruiting and retention efforts, in her talk “Diversity and Inclusion: Sustaining Equality in the Workplace.” Lanning will discuss the impact of buying locally and local entrepreneurship on regional prosperity, in her remarks “Economic Sustainability: Where Do We Go from Here?”

Eleven other presenters will round out the day’s program with breakout sessions on a range of topics. Jehnifer Niklas and Alana Levine, from ASU’s Global Institute of Sustainability, will present “Your Guide to Sustainability and Campus Recycling.” Korah Hoffman, a counselor with the ASU Employee Assistance Office, will talk about the importance of “Personal Sustainability.” Several members of the medical and wellness community will hold sessions related to physical health and sustaining energy and well-being. There will even be a session with Duane Roen, founding coordinator of the Project for Writing and Recording Family History in ASU’s School of Letters and Sciences, on sustaining your family’s history, with research tips for beginners.

ASU's Global Institute of Sustainability, School of Letters and Sciences, and School of Social Transformation have provided sponsorship support.

The $99 fee for the conference includes the full day of keynote speakers and breakout sessions, continental breakfast and lunch, access to a range of vendors who will be tabling at the conference, as well as full membership in University Career Women for the 2012-2013 fiscal year (membership fees purchased separately are $30). UCW members are free to take part in a number of “lunch and learn” sessions and other special events throughout the academic year.

Founded in 1985 as an offshoot of ASU’s Faculty Women’s Association, University Career Women offers an arena for networking, opportunities for career and personal growth, and focuses on the interests of women professional staff, but UCW is open to all including community members beyond ASU.

“We’re excited to have the support of so many university and community partners who have come together to shape this year’s conference theme of sustainability,” says outgoing UCW co-president Jane Little, assistant to the director in the School of Social Transformation. “Creating a more sustainable world begins with individuals, and this will be a day with take-aways for each individual for bringing sustainable practices into the workplace and changing habits of mind and action that can lead to community and personal sustainability as well.”

To attend, complete the downloadable registration form on the UCW website, asuucw.org, where visitors can also view a brief PowerPoint slideshow describing each of the conference sessions.

The deadline for conference registration has been extended to 5 p.m., July 31.

Contact co-presidents Jane.Little@asu.edu or Tami.McKenzie@asu.edu with any questions about the event.