The third annual OWN IT Summit, which seeks to connect Georgetown students and other young women to female leaders, will take place April 9, featuring speakers including NASA’s Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, MuslimGirl.net founding Editor-in-Chief Amani Alkhat and CBS This Morning co-anchor Norah O’Donnell.
OWN IT consists of individual sessions, divided into three distinct types, each of which caters to different audiences. Topic-based breakout sessions feature discussions with 20 to 40 people, while workshops aim to teach 20 to 40 people a new skill.
Office hours, the smallest sessions at the summit, select 15 attendees for one-on-one conversations with a panelist.
The summit is based on the tenets of promoting leadership, accessibility, affordability, diversity and feminism. OWN IT’s goal is to fill the leadership gap by giving young women a venue to learn from and connect with women who are leaders in a variety of fields.
Founded by Helen Brosnan (COL ’16) and Kendall Ciesemier (COL ‘15), OWN IT’s inaugural summit was held in 2014 and drew over 40 speakers and 400 participants. Attendance to the summit doubled the following year.
The organization has since expanded nationwide to campuses including Boston College, Washington University in St. Louis, the University of Texas-Austin, the University of Southern California, Universidad Interamericana Recinto Metro in Puerto Rico and the University of Pennsylvania.
Past speakers include Peabody and Emmy Award-winning journalist Maria Shriver and Ambassador Melanne Verveer, the first U.S. Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues.
Tickets are available for $20 to Georgetown faculty, student and alumni and $25 to non-Georgetown affiliated attendees.
