LeadHERship Conference

LeadHERship Conference Logo

Welcome to the LeadHERship Conference—a biennial gathering dedicated to reshaping STEM by empowering women and gender minorities, and championing social justice and equity. Hosted by the Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership, this conference unites individuals from diverse backgrounds for a day of motivation, networking, skill-building, and professional development. Participants of any sex, gender, or gender identity are encouraged to join.

The LeadHERship Conference: November 10 + 11

The 2023 LeadHERship Conference will begin on Friday, November 10, with featured keynote speakers followed by a community reception. On Saturday, November 11, registrants will be invited to choose from a variety of educational workshops throughout the day, including a luncheon, closing keynote speakers, and networking reception. 

LeadHERship Conference sessions provide an opportunity for participants from Stevens and our surrounding communities to present and discuss ideas on current and emerging topics in the following four thematic areas:

  • Re-Imagining Gender & Leadership: new and trailblazing ideas on who and what makes a leader 

  • Justice & Equity in STEM: conversations at the intersection of STEM and social justice 

  • Trending Topics: current and global matters relating to gender equity, inclusion, or related topics   

  • Personal & Professional Empowerment: skill development in leadership and identity development

While this conference focuses on gender equity and empowerment of women and gender minorities, participants of all gender identities are encouraged to join this transformative experience to foster inclusivity in STEM!

2023 LeadHERship Conference Schedule

Friday, November 10

Event

Location

Livestream Link

3:00 p.m. (Doors open at 2:45 p.m.)

Conference Welcome and Opening Speakers: Dr. Safiya Noble in conversation with ChristinaJ M.Eng. '06

DeBaun Auditorium, Edwin A. Stevens Building

Click here to watch the livestream of this event (expires on November 13, 2024)

4:30 p.m.

Community Reception

Babbio Center Atrium and Patio

Saturday, November 11

Event

Location

Livestream Link

9:00 a.m.

Conference Check-In

Continental Breakfast

Babbio Center Atrium

10:00 a.m.

Workshops Block 1

Babbio Center classrooms

11:00 a.m.

Workshops Block 2

Babbio Center classrooms

12:00 p.m.

Complimentary Lunch

LeadHERship Expo Hall

Tech Flex Auditorium and University Center Main Level

1:30 p.m.

Workshops Block 3

Babbio Center classrooms

2:30 p.m.

Closing Speakers: Dr. Johné Parker in conversation with Stephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey ‘06 

Tech Flex Auditorium

Click here to watch the livestream of this event (expires on November 14, 2024)

3:30 p.m.

Networking Reception

University Center Ground Level

2023 LeadHERship Conference Workshops

Explore the diverse workshops offered at this year's LeadHERship Conference and see all workshop descriptions and speakers.

2023 LeadHERship Conference Speakers

Dr. Safiya NobleDr. Safiya Noble

Dr. Safiya Noble is a 2021 MacArthur Fellow, a recipient of the inaugural NAACP-Archewell Digital Civil Rights Award, and author of the highly acclaimed Algorithms of Oppression: How Search Engines Reinforce Racism (NYU Press). She is an internet studies scholar and David O. Sears Presidential Endowed Chair of Social Sciences and Professor of Gender Studies and African American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) where she serves as the Faculty Director for the Center on Race & Digital Justice and the Co-Director for the Minderoo Initiative on Tech & Power, and where she Co-Founded the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry (C2i2). She and her work have been featured in Time, The Guardian, the BBC, CNN International, Wired, The New York Times, and Rolling Stone, among many others. Her talks and research focus on the ways that digital media impacts our lives and intersects with issues of race, gender, culture, and technology. Learn more at safiyaunoble.com


ChristinaJ headshotChristinaJ M.Eng. ’06

ChristinaJ is a first generation Indian American. She has a Bachelors in Computer Engineering from Drexel University and a Masters in Systems Engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology. She began her career as a Systems Engineer and then Project Manager at BAE Systems, a large U.S. government defense contractor, where she earned the Meritorious Performer Award and led her team to win the Chairman’s Gold Award in Innovation, the highest award in the global company. In collaboration with Harvard University, she has been published in the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers.

ChristinaJ currently lives in Colorado with her family and is the Chair of "Taste of CA" a large multicultural event celebrating each other and our differences. ChristinaJ helps others launch their tech ideas through angel investing. As a general partner with XIA Capital, she explores forward-thinking approaches to AI and sustainability.

A passion for the arts from a young age and classical training in Indian dance led ChristinaJ to found and operate two dance schools, in addition to choreographing, teaching, and performing across the world. She has also won several pageants including Miss India NJ, Miss Millennium Beauty Queen and Miss Asia America and starred in the first Telugu movie filmed in the U.S. An award-winning author, ChristinaJ's debut children’s novel Royal Planet is an intersectional and action-packed adventure. Learn more at christinaj.com


Dr. Johné Parker Dr. Johné Parker

Johné M. Parker is the inaugural Associate Dean of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and an Associate Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at the University of Kentucky. She is a proud Yellow Jacket who received her degrees from the George W. Woodruff School of Mechanical Engineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Her industry career includes working as a roustabout in an oil field and a process engineer on the manufacturing floor.

Dr. Parker’s research interests are in the areas of systems and control, wireless sensing, intelligent manufacturing and diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging in STEM. She has mentored many amazingly diverse and talented high school, undergraduate and graduate students in her lab. She is also interested in science and technology policy and was honored to serve as an ASME Congressional Fellow in the Office of Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND, retired) on a wide range of issues from appropriations to emerging technologies. Learn more at www.engr.uky.edu


Headshot of Stephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey

Stephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey '06

Stephanie LeBlanc-Godfrey is the Global Head of Community Inclusion Programs for Women of Color at Google.

She was born in Brooklyn, NY, attended Stevens Institute of Technology and completed her bachelors of engineering degree in Electrical Engineering before starting her career in the finance industry. She then pivoted her career to digital media, where she spent over 10 years in Advertising Operations at major media conglomerates such as Forbes Media, FOX News Digital, and NBC News Digital.


Currently her work at Google is in service of women of color and parents/caregivers to create community where it doesn't naturally exist and to influence the policies, programs and processes that impact their sense of belonging and inclusion at Google. Learn more at www.iamslg.com

Important Information and FAQs

Past Conference Speakers

Past Conference Workshops

Conference Host and Sponsor Information

Lore-El Center for Women's Leadership LogoThe LeadHERship Conference is hosted by the Lore-El Center for Women’s Leadership, and co-sponsored by the Office of Student Culture and Belonging, Graduate Student Life, Undergraduate Student Life, and Development and Alumni Engagement, along with generous support provided by alumni and the Office of the President | Diversity & Inclusion. Learn more and contact us at [email protected]