Welcome!

Welcome everyone. Thank you all for coming out. I am really excited about this evening and so glad you have joined myself and SHE WRITES in our second exploration of Ordinary Women: Extrarodinary Heroines. We are so glad to be back after our successful night in January where we hosted a great group of women writers. That evening was so inspirational we decided to do it again.

There is a great power in the collective energies of women coming together and no one knows better than my co-hosts for tonight - Kamy Wicoff and Deborah Siegel, the co-founders of SHE WRITES. She Writes is an online community and a workplace for women who write, with over 8000 active members from all fifty states and more than thirty countries. In addition to their work with She Writes , Kamy and Deborah are bright, accomplished writers and activists in their own right. Like all of the women on the panel tonight, they are passionate about discovering, speaking and honoring the stories and experiences of women.

We live in interesting times, if you doubt that, you probably aren’t reading as much as you should. The depth and breadth of stories written by and about women is astounding. If you don’t believe me, you will, once you hear the work of these great writers tonight. While each of these writers has their own vibrant and unique view of the world, they are united in their commitment to give voice to the experiences of ordinary women.

In addition to being writers, these women are teachers, mentors, businesswomen, and passionate about stories. Yours, mine, theirs. I hope this evening will give you a glimpse into some new worlds, introduce you to new voices but most of all I hope it will inspire you to tell your stories, speak your truth and live your life as an Ordinary women, extraordinary heroine.