Join the Colorado Women’s Bar Association and In This Together Media (ITTM) for an introspective, irreverent, and fun evening with State Representative Leslie Herod, Philadelphia-based writer and filmmaker Imran Siddiquee, Holocaust Survivor Fanny Starr, Girls Athletic Leadership Schools Founder Liz Wolfson, and Denver School Board Candidate and recent Manual High School Graduate Tay Anderson, moderated by ITTM founder Saira Rao.
These extraordinary contributors to ITTM’s latest anthology will share their stories of refusing to take no for an answer when they faced barriers due to their identities, and of personal and professional success against the odds. All proceeds will benefit the CWBA’s lobbying efforts on behalf of issues like anti-discrimination, pay equity, paid family and medical leave, reproductive rights and women’s health care, and anti-trafficking.
State Representative Leslie Herod represents House District 8 in the Colorado State House of Representatives as the first LGBT woman of color to serve in that body. Raised by a single mother who was an officer in the Army Nurse Corps, Leslie grew up all over the world. She began her career in public policy immediately after college, and became a Senior Policy Advisor to Governor Bill Ritter, Jr., specializing in social services, criminal justice, mental health, specific issues relating to senior citizens, and anti-poverty issues.
Fanny Starr is a Holocaust survivor. She and her family were locked up in the Lodz Ghetto in September 1939. Her husband Zesa Starr was then captured as a Prisoner of War, labeled a Jew, and sent to Posen Concentration Camp. Ms. Starr and her husband were held as slave laborers in concentration camps for six long years. Today, Ms. Starr speaks out to fight Holocaust denial and to keep the "faith that humanity can learn from its mistakes."
Imran Siddiquee is a writer and filmmaker, based in Philadelphia, focused on the intersection of race and gender. He was on the founding staff of The Representation Project, where he led large-scale campaigns to call out sexism in the media. In 2014, he gave a TEDx talk called “How Hollywood Can Tell Better Love Stories,” discussing the relationship between cinematic representation and empathy. His writing has appeared in The Atlantic, Buzzfeed, and The Week, among other publications.
Liz Wolfson competed in Division I hockey as a young woman. After college, she worked to help CEOs and philanthropists reach their goals for many years, then had a vision of her own and founded the GALS school, which emphasizes comprehensive health at school. GALS has grown to 350 students in grades 6-11, with its first graduating class in 2018, and is the first Colorado home-grown educational network to expand beyond the state.
Tay Anderson is the youngest school board candidate in Denver history at age 19. He has served as the Manual High School Student Body President and Chair of the Colorado High School Democrats, overcoming personal challenges including homelessness and the long-term hospitalization of his beloved grandmother. He believes that every student is bigger than the narrative told about her.
Moderator Saira Rao is a graduate of the University of Virginia and NYU School of Law. Before co-founding ITTM, she practiced at a large New York firm and wrote the satirical novel Chambermaid, about her experiences as a judicial law clerk. At ITTM, Saira aims to increase the diversity represented in children’s media so that children like her daughter can see themselves in the stories they see and hear.
Cocktail reception and silent auction at 5:30 p.m. prior to event.
The CWBA and Women in Kind are partnering with Nanno (the app that lets you find, book, and pay caregivers on demand) to provide free on-site childcare for this event. Space is limited, so click here to register for a spot.https://goo.gl/forms/8pGZMZB41kQQaqcE2
Thank you to our event sponsors:Hall & Evans, LLC Childs McCune, LLC The Law Office of Patricia Jarzobski, P.C. Lowrey Parady, LLC Sweeney and Bechtold, LLC
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