MANKATO — If you’re looking for a day of women empowerment, the YWCA Mankato has the ticket for you.
The YWCA Mankato invites the public to join them for Resilient & Ready: Women Taking Charge, their signature Women’s Leadership & Empowerment Conference from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday at Minnesota State University’s Centennial Student Union Ballroom.
Ceceli Bidelman, executive director of the YWCA, said she’s hoping to attract 150 attendees.
“I think we’re in an interesting time right now, women are,” she said. “This whole conference is very mission focused for us in terms of acknowledging the reality of what financial justice looks like for women. It is also a day of empowerment in terms of providing really solid information people can take away and put to use.”
The event’s keynote speaker is Janine Rogan, author of “The Pink Tax: Dismantling a Financial System Designed to Keep Women Broke.” Rogan is a self-described financial feminist and CPA.
Bidelman said Rogan “works with women to stand in their power and build wealth. But in a way that is authentic to who they are as people and as women.”
Resilient & Ready: Women Taking Charge will feature four break-out sessions:
• “Financial Planning is for Everyone” will be presented by Chloe Cumbee, a certified financial planner. Attendees will learn practical strategies for managing credit, reducing debt and laying the foundation for long-term financial strategy.
• Michelle Morris will present “Abundance Unlocked: The Path to Financial Freedom.” Morris is a transformational life coach who invites women to reimagine their relationship with abundance.
•“Owning My Financial Story: Creative Money Strategies for Women” will be hosted by small-business consultant and web designer Hannah Bretz. She’ll share her journey from relying on traditional roles to becoming a self-employed single mom who learned to take charge of her money and create income in unexpected ways.
• Jenn Melby-Kelley will present “Real Talk: Money, Grit & Community.” The local entrepreneur, artist and community leader will bring her trademark honesty and heart to the conversation around money and resilience. She is a small business owner, Mankato City Council member and advocate for women and the arts, according to the YWCA.
The target audience for conference is “anyone who is interested in learning more about their relationship with money,” Bidelman said. “I think it’s for anyone who just wants to learn more about how to be confident in this space — in the financial space.
“I really think overall this conference is not about denigrating a system. But it’s understanding how the system has impacted women financially. And then, what is it we can do about that? So it’s empowering. The empowerment comes in the take-aways that women will learn that day.”
To register, go to ywcamankato.org. The cost is $110 per person.