Riveting Broads Summit – Postponed
COVID-19 Update
After careful consideration, we have decided to postpone the Riveting Broads Summit this Friday, March 13th. Given recent escalations of COVID-19 exposure on statewide, national and internal levels, our decision reflects the safest and most responsible path at this time.
That being said, we are pleased to be working with such incredibly thoughtful and understanding partners that are similarly prioritizing the well-being of all of our attendees, sponsors, vendors and event staff.
As such, this is not a cancellation notice but rather a decision to postpone the summit to a time when information is clearer and where all parties can be accommodated. We hope that you will all be able to join us for our future date, to be announced.
We will be meeting as an organizing committee in the next few days to determine the ideal time for rescheduling and will be keeping you apprised of all details in real time.
Thank you for your enthusiasm, patience and open mind as we determine the best course of action for all.
Sincerely,
Miranda, Jacqui, and Molly
The first Riveting Broads Summit creates space for self identifying women to share their stories in their own words. Crucial conversations in media, politics, and everyday life are too often about women instead of with them. We plan to change that.
Hosted by Miranda’s Hearth and the Riveting Broads, this daylong event will bring together thought leaders, creative visionaries, political representatives, and entrepreneurs from across New England to explore womanhood through an equitable, inclusive, intersectional lens.
With a full day of thought-provoking breakout sessions, artistic performances, and keynote speakers, guests will explore how representation and gender dynamics have evolved, where they have remained stagnant, and how everyone benefits when the world prioritizes diversity.
SCHEDULE OF THE DAY
9:00 AM – Registration, live art projects, and networking
Breakfast provided by Tartine Kitchen & Eatery
Mariposa Making with Miranda’s Hearth & Mariposa Painting with Anna Dugan
The Mariposa Project: una celebración de la migración / a celebration of migration, celebrates the natural and beautiful process of migration as embodied by the annual 3,000 mile migration of the monarch butterfly. Participants will be invited to make their own mariposa out of recycled fabric while reflecting on how migration, whether personal, familial, or ancestral, has shaped their lives. Simultaneously, muralist Anna Dugan will be completing a live painting of a large scale mariposa for the Mariposa Match & Festival on May 2.
Make a Boob with Yuko Okabe
This project celebrates breast, nipples, boobs, tits, etc. in all their forms and glory. We can challenge the taboo-ed imagery of breasts by having participants joyously create a boob in a fun, casual environment without judgement. Participants will be able to choose from a diverse range of pre-selected colors and shapes or can create their own representation of a breast as they wish. There’s zero expectation for high detail or a high-gloss finish so the project can be completed by people with a wide variety of skill levels.
9:45 AM – Opening Performance & Welcome
10:15 AM – Keynote: Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, Amplify Latinx
The morning keynote will be given by Rosario Ubiera-Minaya, Executive Director of Amplify Latinx, principal and owner at Cojuelos’ Productions and overall groundbreaking community organizer, activist and creator.
11:30 AM – SESSION ONE
Choose one of the following breakout sessions
The Mama Project: Women making art across borders
Presenters: Sara Stackhouse & Nozuko Mnyumbela
This presentation is a case study of The Mama Project, which brings together women from across borders to make art together. Working primarily with women from township communities in South Africa and female artists from the US, leadership and participants are intentionally diverse, reflecting many races, cultures, languages, economic levels. Our goal is to understand and amplify tradition, history, experience, personal story, and the aspirations of a diverse group of women across the globe, and to see what we can make together. In a broken world, The Mama Project seeks to weave things together.
Redefining Motherhood: An exploration for those of us who don’t fit the mold
Presenter: Samantha Yeaton, Roots and Rituals
This talk addresses the diverse ways in which we arrive at motherhood (or choose not to.) This includes the struggles faced by couples for whom ‘just have sex’ doesn’t result in a baby (same sex, trans, and infertile couples, and single people) including societal messaging, financial barriers, and outright discrimination.
The Power of Collaboration: A case study of establishing Lynn Main Streets through coalition
Moderator: Doneeca Thurston, Lynn Museum
Panelists: Carolyn Cole, Lynn Cultural District; Samantha McHugh, Greater Lynn Chamber of Commerce; Tia Cole, Galleries at Lynn Arts
With the formation of Lynn’s first Main Street/UrbanMain program as their informative backdrop, this panel will discuss the following crucial elements of collaboration: identifying individuals’ strengths, knowing your audience, self awareness within a team, creating an authentic environment, developing cognizance of different communication traits within your entrepreneurial ecosystem, and strategic process planning and implementation.
Women and Diversity in Politics Panel
Moderator: Kirstin Shapiro, 2019 Candidate for Beverly City Council, Emerge 2020
Panelists: Linda Champion, Assistant General Council to The Commonwealth of Massachusetts; Julie Flowers, Beverly City Councilor At-Large; Isis Patterson, Constituent Services for U.S. Congressmen Seth Moulton; Cinda Dahn, 2019 Candidate for Lynn City Council
The equity in politics is changing as we speak and the women on this panel are working hard to make it move a little faster. This panel will explore how inclusion and diversity in politics has been snuffed out and why a change is so important to create policy that has broader more effective outcomes.
12:30 PM – Lunch Break: Networking & Art Activities
Lunch provided by Uncommon Feasts
Locally-sourced, love-driven, hand-crafted cuisine created out of fresh seasonal ingredients by Michelle Mulford in Lynn, MA.
Mariposa Making with Miranda’s Hearth & Mariposa Painting with Anna Dugan
Make a Boob with Yuko Okabe
1:30 PM – SESSION TWO
Choose one of the following breakout sessions
Style: A deeper sense of self
Presenter: Queen Allotey-Pappoe, Queen Adeline Collection
Queen Adeline creates wearable art inspired by the joy of living and celebrating the rich pattern and color of African textiles. Each piece is a one of a kind, hand made, highly functional statement piece, designed for women on the go. Women are taught to believe our bodies are standardized and the fashion industry dictates what we can wear. Fortunately we are more than that. We come in different shapes, sizes, hues and creeds. This workshop will empower participants to break the mold and learn to create their own style representing their powerful self.
The Solidarity Economy: Immigrant women of color establishing a new way of business
Presenters: Isabel Lopez, Cecilia Larios, and Blanca Martinez from Shine Together
Translation provided by Ivana Ustariz
This talk is a case study examining the work accomplished by Shine Together, an immigrant-led cleaning co-op. Three immigrant women of color will discuss their experiences looking for resilience and equity while advocating for inclusion in local and state policies through their business model.
Water & Women: Exploring the (un)balance of women’s work as protectors of water
Presenter: Robin Miller, CERES
Water is a connecting element – it is vital for all life on the planet and without it, none of us would be able to function. Around the world, women disproportionally bear the burden of providing access to clean and safe drinking water for their families and often hold the role of being protectors of water without being involved in higher bodies of decision-making about how water is allocated, protected and shared by communities.
Barriers to Business Panel
Panelists: Victoria Moreno-Jackson, Subversive Textiles; Angela Aren, Kind Lab; Arjana Makoci, Regulate Yours; Julia Campbell, J Campbell Social Marketing
This panel of talented female entrepreneurs will discuss barriers they encountered as they started their own businesses. From running a business as a non-neurotypical woman to balancing motherhood and entrepreneurship, these women will dive deep into a variety of obstacles that they have overcome.
2:30 PM – SESSION THREE
Choose one of the following breakout sessions
Empowerment through Wellness: Exploring our identities and cultures to build resiliency
Presenter: Michelle Garcia DeOcampo
This workshop provides a rare, critical space for diverse women to explore their mental health and wellness in relation to identity, culture and community. It aims to elevate self-identifying women, women of color, immigrant women, LGBTQIA+ women, and women living with mental health challenges/disorders. Michelle Garcia DeOcampo has worked in mental health education and as a training consultant. Her educational background is in social work and globalization. She facilitates and teaches peer-style, drawing on her own resiliency/recovery experiences shaped by her cultural identity.
Centering the Whole: The intersection of womanhood and racial identity
Panelists: Christine Armstrong, Transformative Culture Project; Allegra Fletcher, Arts Connect International; Kenisha Coy, MY CARE Initiative
Racial identity is a key component of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Many people of color have undergone significant trials and tribulations while coming to terms with their identity and to subsequently obtain their current statue as pillars of the community. This panel will highlight three such stories and perspectives, and how it intersections with womanhood and feminist identity.
Community Leadership: Building equitable communities through thoughtful leadership
Moderator: Amy Smith, Salem State
Panelists: Joan Amaral, Zen Center North Shore; Ivana Ustariz, Earth Wisdom Keeper ; Esther Ngotho, Human Rights Committee; Kate Farrington, Montserrat College of Art
This panel brings together five women whose leadership and research have changed their communities. It highlights research that demonstrates how diverse and inclusive communities are highly beneficial for community members as well as examples of how specific communities have shifted to become more equitable and inclusive.
The Equal Rights Amendment Needs Your Help
Presenter: Elizabeth Kilcoyne, Greater Newburyport Women’s Political Caucus
This talk explains how the ERA brings access to the law that women have never experienced before and how you can help. Elizabeth is a writer and has been an adjunct faculty member at Suffolk University, Moakely Center of Public Administration for 17 years. She has researched the ERA and wrote to every legislator in the Virginia General Assembly before the historic vote in January.
3:30 PM – COFFEE BREAK
Coffee and pastries provided by Breaking Grounds Cafe
Breaking Grounds Café offers paid employment training and education to people with disabilities who want to work in the food service, hospitality or customer service industry.
3:45 pm- Closing Keynote & Performance
5:00 PM – COCKTAIL RECEPTION
Live Music by Julie DiOrio
