Upcoming Events
Speaker Series: Education is Power with Dr. Gina Fromer
About the "Strong Women For These Times" Speaker Series
This event is part of the Strong Women For These Times Speaker Series, created in response to the ongoing challenges facing women, gender non-conforming individuals, and marginalized communities. At YWCA Berkeley/Oakland, we believe that conversation is a catalyst for social change. By providing a platform for thought leaders, activists, and artists, we aim to challenge injustice, inspire advocacy, and promote resilience in the face of adversity.
What to Expect:
✨ Reception & Refreshments – Enjoy light refreshments and snacks before the conversation begins.
🔥 Fireside Chat – A powerful discussion between Dr. Gina Fromer and YWCA Berkeley/Oakland staff covering themes like the importance of education, generational poverty and more.
🗣️ Q&A Session – Engage with Dr. Gina Fromer in a thought-provoking discussion about her experiences, insights and work at GLIDE.
Our use of “girls” and “women” is inclusive of all cis and trans women, non-binary, gender
non-conforming, genderqueer, and any female-identified folks.**
About Dr. Gina Fromer:
In 2023, Dr. Gina Fromer became President & CEO of the GLIDE Foundation, which is based in the Tenderloin of San Francisco. For more than 60 years, the GLIDE Foundation has been dedicated to fighting systemic injustices, creating pathways out of poverty and crisis, and transforming lives.
Throughout her life, Dr. Fromer has devoted her career, energy and talent to serving the needs of those most disadvantaged across CA. As a sixth generation San Franciscan and raised in the Bayview-Hunters Point neighborhood, she has ascended from needing support from GLIDE as a young mother to becoming its CEO and President. Prior to joining GLIDE, Dr. Fromer was CEO of the Children's Council, CEO of the San Francisco Education Fund, and the California State Director at The Trust for Public Land. She has a wealth of leadership experience and deep connections to a vast array of communities.
Dr. Fromer earned her Ph.D. in Organizational Development and Leadership from the University of Arizona Global Campus.
If you would like to donate to the event or have any accommodations, inquiries or questions please email isalinas@ywca-berkeley.org or call 510-848-6370.
Speaker Series: Carolina Ixta: Shut Up, This is Series
Come meet local Oakland author, Carolina Ixta and come talk about anti-black racism, colorism, toxic parenting, poverty and teen pregnancy topics that are part of her critically acclaimed debut novel, Shut Up, This Is Serious.
In collaboration with Chicanx Latinx Student Development
(CLSD), Gender Equity Resource Center at UC Berkeley (GenEq) and Mujeres Activas en Letras y Cambio Social (MALCS).
Speaker Series: Satsuki Ina: A Mother’s Love: The Making of a Dissident
Dr. Satsuki Ina, psychotherapist turned author and co-founder of Tsuru for Solidarity, a non-violent social justice organization led by survivors and descendants of the WWII roundup and imprisonment of Japanese immigrants and their American citizen children, will share the story of her mother's' torturous struggle to protect her children from harm driven by what scholars concluded was the result of, "war-time hysteria, racism, and the failure of political leadership."
Neighbor-to-Neighbor: Exploring New Models of Healthcare and Wellness
Featuring Dr. Kim Rhoads, MD, MS, MPH - founder of Umoja Health, a nationally recognized leader in health equity, advocacy and cancer-disparities work.
Join us for a discussion about neighbor-to-neighbor community care, modern ways of healthcare, prevention and advocacy, with practical guidance navigating care and community resources for women in the Bay Area.
From Surviving to Thriving: A Conversation With Samina Ali
Samina Ali is coming to the YWCA Berkeley/Oakland to talk about her new memoir, Pieces You'll Never Get Back. She is an award-winning author, speaker, and activist. Her debut novel, Madras on Rainy Days, won the French Prix Premier Roman Etranger Award and was a finalist for the PEN/Hemingway Award in Fiction. She is a recipient of the Rona Jaffe Foundation Writers' Award, and her TEDx talk, What the Qur’an Really Says About the Hijab, has garnered over 8 million views. Ali’s writing has been featured in NPR, The Economist, and more. Her latest book, Pieces You’ll Never Get Back, is a harrowing yet redemptive memoir chronicling her near-death experience after giving birth, her struggle with a major brain injury, and her journey to recovery and self-reclamation. The book has been hailed as one of the most anticipated memoirs of the year, with television rights currently under offer.
A Conversation with Berkeley Mayor Adena Ishii
Adena Ishii proudly serves as Berkeley’s first Asian American and woman of color mayor. From navigating public safety net services at a young age to learning about her Japanese American family’s unjust treatment from the government during WW2, her experiences shape her sense of justice and inform her work. Mayor Ishii prides herself in fighting for what she believes in and for those who aren’t being heard to carry out her vision of a Berkeley that is better for all.
With Our Magic, Venceremos: Deyci Carillo Lopez
Deyci Carrillo López, a proud product of Guanajuato, México, and Deep East Oakland, California, has used poetry as a tool of resistance, healing, and self-definition since she was 13. Through her words, she reclaims her power and challenges the forces that seek to define her worth. Her work uplifts the experiences of immigrants, women, and marginalized communities, offering both solace and a call to action. Follow her on Instagram: @puravida510.