Noted CNN Analyst Speaks at Leading for Change Conference

CNN political analyst Zerlina Maxwell knows the ins and outs of social media. In a short time, all while studying for a law degree at Rutgers University, she used hashtags, blogging and Twitter to catapult onto the national stage as a commentator and opinion-shaper during the 2012 presidential election.

Her social media activity eventually landed her on BuzzFeed’s list of Top 17 people who forced with way into the political conversation through Twitter. Maxwell shared insights into how she became a breakthrough opinion-maker during the 2nd annual Leading for Change Conference organized “by girls, for girls” through The Agnes Irwin School’s Center for Advancement of Girls on Saturday, September 27.

“Everyone can be a leading voice on an issue,” Maxwell told more than 120 girls during one of two keynote addresses at the daylong conference. “You don’t have to be in charge of an organization to get people to care about what’s important to you.

“Social media shrinks the world and makes anyone accessible,” she said, describing hashtags as the modern version of the social consciousness-raising discussions among women’s groups and other advocacy organizations during the 1960s and 1970s. She offered tips for how students might begin to make a impact through their own social media activity: “Be your best self ... add value in your comments, be strategic about whom you follow online, and interact

The L4C Conference drew high school students from across the Philadelphia region. It was designed to empower high school girls through education on critical issues to make a difference in their communities. Students attended workshops on entrepreneurship, media relations, negotiation skills, gender norms, community activism and other topics.

Keynote speaker Megan Murphy, Executive Director of the National Coalition of Girls’ Schools, a leading advocate for girls’ education in the United States, told the audience that the need for girls and women to assume leadership roles in society was still great.

“Let me tell you why we need girls to embrace leadership,” said Murphy, giving a list of statistics reflecting how few women hold positions of authority and power. “Only 20 percent of the seat in parliaments around the world are held by women. Only 10 percent of the governorships in the United States are held by women, and equally small numbers of women hold mayor’s seats and superintendent positions in public schools.”

AIS sophomore Courtney Williams said she got a lot out of attending the conference, and become even more passionate about voicing her opinions. “I’ve learned a lot of tools for success.

I was already confident but now I feel more confident and I’ve learned that I can speak for myself even more than I already have. I think this conference has provided that for me.”

Clarice and Maxine Bailey, co-founders of the Girls Justice League, dedicated to taking action for social, educational and economic fairness for girls and women in Philadelphia, presented a workshop on the challenges and opportunities for being community activists – in school, in neighborhoods or in cultural groups.

Rachel Krol, a Harvard Law School graduate who teaches negotiation skills at the University of Pennsylvania, led a workshop about the interpersonal skills needed to be a leader in any field – managing differences, building relationships, negotiating effectively.

Also presenting workshops were Susan Mostek, Executive Director of the Chester County Fund for Women and Girls; Dr. Loretta Sweet-Jemmott, a CAG Advisory Board member and one of the nation’s foremost researchers in the field of HIV/AIDS prevention among teens; Charlotte Jacobs, Associate Director of Innovation and Program Coordination for the Center for the Study of Boys’ and Girls’ Lives; Katlyn Grasso, founder and CEO of GenHERation, an empowerment network for high school girls; and Debasri Ghosh, Director of Education and Community Relations for the advocacy group WOMEN’S WAY in Philadelphia.