Second ‘She Roars’ conference to celebrate female students and alumnae

On Thursday, more than 3,000 alumni and guests are expected to gather on campus for “She Roars,” a three-day conference to connect, celebrate, and empower University women.

The second-ever She Roars conference will take place Oct. 4–6, just a few months before the 50th anniversary of the University’s January 1969 decision to begin admitting women. President of the Alumni Association of Princeton University and chair of the Alumni Council Jennifer Daniels ’93 will kick off the event and deliver opening remarks in Richardson Auditorium at 5 p.m. on Thursday.

The expected turnout has exceeded initial estimates and is anticipated to be well over twice the turnout of 1,350 at the inaugural event held in 2011, according to the Steering Committee for She Roars.

Women alumnae, especially those on the Steering Committee, have led the organization and planning of the She Roars conference.

The Steering Committee is composed of 15 women, including both undergraduate and graduate alumnae, and is co-chaired by Dr. Laura Forese ’83, Kim Goodwin ’81, and Susan Katzmann Horner ’86.

Forese, a University trustee, is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital.

Goodwin, also a University trustee, is the chief executive officer of Avanico Holdings and a member of the Princeton University Investment Company Board of Directors.

Horner serves on the Princeton Alumni Council’s Ad Hoc Committee on Alumnae Initiatives and works as a media consultant.

In an interview with The Daily Princetonian, Horner explained that since the second conference is seven years after the first, this upcoming conference will have a “number of remarkable young alumnae who have much to offer … as presenters and guests.”

She added that the conference will bring back the members of the student panel of 2011, young women who were identified by the administration as leaders on campus.

“It will be interesting to hear their reflections on the many strides women on campus have made in taking leadership roles since 2011,” said Horner.

The highlight of the conference will be the conversation with Associate Justices of the Supreme Court Sonia Sotomayor ’76 and Elena Kagan ’81. The event will be moderated by Heather Gerken ’91, the Dean and Sol & Lillian Goldman Professor of Law at Yale Law School and held on Friday, Oct. 5, at 5 p.m. in Jadwin Gymnasium.

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Both justices have taken time off the first week of the Supreme Court’s new term to attend this conference.

Goodwin described the timing of the interview with Sotomayor and Kagan as “fortuitous,” in light of the recent Brett Kavanaugh hearing.

“[W]hile our esteemed alumnae will likely refrain from any partisan commentary, I am confident that [Gerken] will lead them in a lively discussion,” Goodwin said. “This will be a historic period in our country as well as an illuminating moment on our campus.”

Horner added, “Everyone I’ve spoken to is hoping to absorb not just wisdom from these two incredible women, but also the humanity that emanates from them.”

In many ways, this weekend’s conference will expand on the 2011 event. Focus groups and surveys from the original conference expressed a desire for more intimate opportunities to connect through small table discussions and workshops, according to the conference’s Steering Committee.

One new addition is a new alumnae project featuring vlogs of small memories, significant turning points, and advice to women submitted by alumni, some of which will be incorporated into the conference. A complete repository of the clips is posted in a digital gallery.

Another new event for this conference is the the emphasis on alumnae performers and authors. Alumnae will be featured along with student groups in the Women in the Arts showcase and the Alumnae Author Book Fair.

Additional workshops include “Women & Leadership: Strategies for Success” and “She Should Run: Why and How More Princeton Women (Like You) Should Run for Office.”

The entire conference schedule can be found on the She Roars website.

Two of the events will be live-streamed online: “They Didn't Know Their Place: Adapting the Work of Jane Austen, Edith Wharton and the Life of Carole King” and a Conversation with Sally Blount ’83.

Blount is the Michael L. Nemmers Professor of Strategy and Former Dean at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.

In light of the current sociopolitical landscape, Horner urged participants to keep their hearts and minds open and to openly and freely express their opinions.

“I have no doubt that dynamic, heartfelt conversations will take place on a range of topics, from the global rights of women … to personal identity in an intersectional world,” Horner said. “We will hear inspiring, relatable stories from women of all voices.”

Forese said that the ultimate goal of the conference is to “bring women back to campus to connect and engage with each other and with Princeton.”

Horner emphasized that the event is a celebration of all alumnae.

“[Our alumnae are] made up of so many ‘extraordinary ordinary’ women for whom success does not mean the markers of fame and fortune, but less visible, yet as important, hallmarks of influence in life,” Horner said.

Both Forese and Horner also described the impact that their experience at the University had on their personal and professional lives.

“Princeton taught me to be resilient, courageous and persistent,” Forese explained. “I also learned the value of teamwork [and] planning this conference has been all about those values.”

Horner reminisced about her experience when the student male-to-female ratio was two-to-one. She credited the woman professors in the English department as her role models.

“[They] impressed upon me through their brilliant presence and … considerations of gender dynamics in their literary interpretations that I should never think of myself as less than,” she said.

She emphasized her commitment to strengthening the community of University women in her role as chair of the Alumnae Initiatives Committee. “Each generation of Princeton women may have had different experiences as women on campus,” said Horner, “but we can all share in a unique legacy moving forward by continuing to join together in community.”