Program overview
Wondering what happens at WDN Connect? This year’s program will feature analysis of the post-election political moment, lessons from movement leaders, a showcase of our collective impact from our initiatives and member organizing spaces, opportunities for connection and community-building, and so much more! Below is an overview of our program to help as you plan your travel.
THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 14
Morning
Pre-Conference: TRANSformative Stories with Motus Theater (select the pre-conference ticket at checkout to join this event)
Afternoon
Free Time
Evening
Conference 101: Welcome & Happy Hour
Opening Night Reception
Welcome Dinner with Julie Pham
Evening Program with Amy Goodman
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 15
Morning
Breakfast, Meet-ups, & Movement Space
Keynote & Discussion Sessions
Afternoon
Lunch
Discussion Sessions
Free Time & Optional Activities
Identity Meet-ups
Evening
Special Friday Night Event at History Colorado
Comedy Night with Melissa Hale Woodman
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 16
Morning
Breakfast, Meet-ups, & Movement Space
Keynote & Discussion Sessions
Afternoon
Lunch & Learns
Breakout Sessions
Evening
10 years of Reflective Democracy: Celebration Happy Hour
Closing Dinner & Party
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 17
Morning
Breakfast & Goodbyes
Pop-Up Meetings
transformative stories from transgender & nonbinary leaders
Pre-conference:
11:30-3 pm MT | Thursday, November 14 | $160
Select the Pre-Conference ticket at checkout
WDN Connect is for our vibrant community to gather, connect with friends and allies, and envision a more just future together. Get convening vibes going early by joining the Pre-Conference with Motus Theater, a special live storytelling event.
“At every performance, another place in my heart breaks open and I move to the only place from which we can heal – the place of our shared humanity.”
–Margery Goldman, WDN Board Member & Founding Supporter of Motus’ remarkable journey
We’ll kick things off with a catered lunch together and then settle into our seats for a special performance: four transgender and nonbinary leaders will deliver artfully crafted stories about their hopes, dreams, and experiences negotiating oppression and liberation with a live musical underscore. These powerful stories will reveal the obstacles and opportunities transgender and nonbinary people negotiate, as they intertwine with their racial identities. Our storytellers – Shauna Brooks, Raye Watson, David Breña, and Alison Reba – will end with a robust audience discussion.
The Schedule:
11:15 Board the bus at our conference hotel
11:25 Travel to local theater
11:45 Lunch catered by Comal
12:30 Motus Theater performance
3:00 Return to the conference hotel
SPEAKERS
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amy goodman
Amy Goodman, host and executive producer of Democracy Now!, is celebrated for bringing alternative voices often excluded from mainstream media to millions. Her impactful work has earned multiple recognitions, and she has co-authored six New York Times bestsellers.
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Noura Erakat
Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney, award-winning author, and associate professor at Rutgers. Noura has served as legal counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives and as a legal advocate for Palestinian refugee rights at the United Nations.
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Katrina Gamble
Katrina Gamble is a political strategy advisor with WDN Action and the founder of Sojourn Strategies. A political science professor turned social impact strategist, Katrina brings the rigor of an academician and the thoughtfulness of an organizer grounded in nearly a decade of community-centered work.
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Jena Griswold
Jena Griswold is Colorado’s 39th Secretary of State and the youngest Secretary of State in the country. In 2019, she spearheaded one of the largest democracy reform packages in the nation. Now, she is a leading voice in expanding mail ballots to every eligible American.
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Xiomara P. Caro-Díaz
Xiomara P. Caro Díaz is the Executive Director and founder of the María Fund. She dreams of a country where Puerto Ricans recognize their beauty, experience, and dignity as priorities – and has worked towards that future for decades.
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Sloan Leo Cowan
Sloan Leo Cowan is a community designer, facilitator, educator, artist and Founder of FLOX Studio Inc. They are a leading thinker in community design, or facilitation design – the art of helping people work better together.
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Dusti Gurule
Dusti Gurule is President & CEO of the Colorado Organization for Latina Opportunity and Reproductive Rights (COLOR) and the COLOR Action Fund. She is the Board Chair for Voces Unidas Action Fund, a community-based advocacy organization in Colorado’s central mountain region.
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Hillary Holley
Hillary Holley is the Executive Director of Care in Action. She is a proud Georgia native who has dedicated over half of her 30 years working in Georgia’s movement spaces, including helping to launch and working on the historic 2018 Stacey Abrams campaign. She serves on the boards of Emerge Georgia and States United PAC.
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Dr. April Lockley
April Lockley is the medical director of the Miscarriage and Abortion Hotline and a per diem abortion provider in the New York region.
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julie pham
Julie Pham, Founder & CEO of CuriosityBased, guides workplaces in fostering curiosity, collaboration, and inclusion. She has deep experience in motivating people and has been invited to speak globally.
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loan tran
Loan Tran, National Director of Rising Majority, has championed liberation causes for over a decade. Their writings have appeared in The Solidarity Struggle and Gendered Lives.
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Tracy Weitz
Tracy Weitz is a Grantamking Advisory Council member for the Abortion Bridge Collaborative Fund and a Professor of Sociology and Director of the Center on Health, Risk, and Society at American University. Tracy is also Senior Fellow for the Center for American Progress, a non-partisan policy institute in Washington DC.