Women school leaders are looking forward — they’re letting go of the past, ditching the baggage, and finding new ways to serve their students.

That positive outlook has inspired the theme for the 2022 Women in School Leadership Forum: “Leaning In & Leading Forward.”

“The theme is meant to inspire us to continue to embrace the challenges that we face as women leaders and encourage us to carry on as risk takers,” said planning committee Chair Lisette Estrella-Henderson, who is also Solano County Office of Education Superintendent of Schools. “This year we are excited about bringing our women leaders together to network, learn and grow together with a mindset toward embracing forward-thinking leadership and ways to engage our teams in a journey towards a stronger future in this time of increasing complexity and rapid change in education.”

This year’s event will be Sept. 21-23 in San Diego. Last held in 2019, the Women in School Leadership Forum took a two-year hiatus due to impacts from the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, female school leaders from throughout the state will have an opportunity to meet in person following a pandemic that has widened gaps for their students and limited their opportunities for professional growth.

“Studies have shown that women have been disproportionally impacted by the pandemic,” Estrella-Henderson said. “The pandemic threw us into continuing our critical work while at the same time caring for the health and safety of our own families all while continuing to face the ongoing challenges of women in school leadership, such as gender bias and stereotyping and less access to established networks. In many cases we found ourselves feeling more isolated than ever before.”

This conference will be a chance to strengthen those networks and take action to address inequities in schools due to the effects of poverty, homelessness, racism, access to health care and other societal issues. Topics to be discussed at the conference include:

Attendees will enjoy networking receptions, informative sessions, mock interview panels where they can practice job interviewing skills, and opportunities to recharge with morning walks and yoga.

Estrella-Henderson said she is excited to be in the same room as other intelligent, goal-driven and accomplished visionaries in education.

“I’m so looking forward to being in fellowship with each other as women educational leaders from across the state to continue our efforts to support and lift each other up as we share and learn from each other about positive mindset and self-care.”

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