MISSION
The Young Women Leaders Committee is a group of dedicated, inspiring high school and college women who are passionate about serving the young girls in our community by equipping them with key leadership skills.
HISTORY
In 2017 two young women from the Gilroy Early College Academy and members of MissCEO, an organization aimed at fostering leadership skills in young women, put together a Networking conference focused on bringing professional workshops to the high school girls in the Gilroy/Morgan Hill area. Together Sameera Kahn and Darice Wong, along with other MissCEO members from GECA, created an exciting day complete with workshops, speakers, activities and of course lots of food.
The AAUW (American Association of University Women) Morgan Hill members who attended the 2017 Networking Conference were so impressed at what these young women had accomplished, that they offered to be the fulcrum for an even larger event the next year, one that would include young women from all of the local high schools in the planning. Since then, AAUW has taken responsibility for mentoring the student leaders in planning and executing an annual conference for students, by students.
The 2018 and 2019 Future Women Leaders Conferences were held at the Morgan Hill Community and Cultural Center. Leadership workshops were planned by the student leaders of the conference and offered to local teens.
For 2020, the group renamed itself “Young Women Leaders” and are planning a conference with a focus on how students can take a leadership role in combating climate change in their community.