WDI USA 2025 National Convention
Location: Indianapolis, Indiana at The Westin
(You can scroll down for more hotel booking information.)
“a wonderful and intimate experience”
“informative and inspirational”
“an infusion of feminist oxygen into my system”
Check back here soon to purchase convention shirts!
In 2022, we reignited the women’s liberation movement. In 2023, we accelerated it, and last year, we amplified it. Now it’s time to GROW the women’s liberation movement!
With a keynote by Professor Donna Hughes, PhD
Schedule (to be updated with additional details):
Friday, September 19
4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Registration
5:30 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Meet and greet in the hotel bar
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Dinner, seated by geographic region, and meet the board
7:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Where Are We in the Movement to Protect The Sex-Based Rights of Women & Girls Today?
Speaker: Kara Dansky
8:10 p.m. – 9:00 p.m.
Structured networking session
Saturday, September 20
8:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 10:20 a.m.
Current Advocacy Efforts to Protect Incarcerated Women
Facilitator: Irene Lawrence
Speakers: Lauren Bone, Elspeth Cypher, Amie Ichikawa
10:30 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Breakout sessions
Abortion: Where have We Been & Where Do We Go From Here?
Facilitator: MaryLou Singleton
Speakers: Kara Dansky, MaryCate Delvey, Lauren Levey
J’accuse! How the Self-Imposed Blasphemy Law of “Islamophobia,” Willful Ignorance, and Antisemitism Led Feminists to Betray & Abandon Jewish & Muslim Women
Speaker: Goldie Hoffman
12:00 p.m. – 12:50 p.m.
Lunch
Janice G. Raymond Keynote Address: Power, Misogyny, and Sexual Exploitation in a New Era
Speaker: Donna Hughes
1:00 p.m. – 1:50 p.m.
Breakout sessions
Get Me Out Of Here! A Microhistory of Patriarchal Body Horror
Speaker: Aurora Linnea
The Pop Culture Landscape of “Trans”
Speaker: Melissa Nurczynski
Countering Hypersexualization and Mammification: How to Combat Misogynoir in the Postmodern Era
Speaker: A’Ja Lyons
2:00 p.m. – 2:50 p.m.
Breaking Barriers: Building A Stronger Women’s Liberation Movement in 2025 & Beyond
Speakers: Suzanne Forbes-Vierling, Lorraine Nowlin
3:00 p.m. – 3:50 p.m.
Breakout sessions
Lesbian Caucus: Separatism and the Women’s Liberation Movement
Facilitator: Lauren Levey
Speakers: K.C. Bianco, Mary Ellen Kelleher, Katherine Kinney
Re-Membering the Body: Patriarchal Language, Feminist Embodiment, and the Politics of Intuition
Speaker: Amy Sousa
4:00 p.m. – 4:50 p.m.
Creating In-Person Groups for Women Only
Facilitator: Lauren Levey
Speakers: Liz Fedak, Mary Ellen Kelleher, Katherine Kinney
5:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.
Optional socializing/networking hour or break
Mandatory training session for those participating in NCAA Hall of Champions action
6:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.
Dinner
Sunday, September 21
8:00 a.m. – 8:50 a.m.
Breakfast
9:00 a.m. – 9:50 a.m.
Why Has The Fight to Save Women’s Sports Been Uniquely Successful?
Facilitator: Elizabeth Chesak
Speakers: Kim Jones, Kim Russell, Jennifer Sey
10:00 a.m. – 10:50 a.m.
Breakout sessions
Workshop: Taking Action in Your Community
Facilitator: Irene Lawrence
Speakers: Liz Fedak, Julie Lane, Amy Sousa
Breakout session #2: TBA
Facilitator: TBA
Speakers: TBA
11:00 a.m. – 11:50 a.m.
Detransition: What’s Next?
Facilitator: Elizabeth Chesak
Speakers: Claire Abernathy, Rachel Foster, Prisha Mosley, Elle Palmer
12:00 p.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Structured speakout
Closing remarks
2:00 p.m. – TBA
Action at NCAA Hall of Champions
Event Information
Last day to buy tickets
Midnight on 08/31/2025, Eastern Time (US & Canada)
About event
Join WDI USA from September 19-21 in Indianapolis, IN, for our fourth national women’s political convention. This year, our focus is on growing the women’s liberation movement.
Please note: This is a women-only event.
Here is a guide to all you need to know about making your way around Indianapolis.
On registration rates:
- We have set aside a limited number of registrations at a Hardship rate. Please reserve one of these only if you truly would not be able to attend the convention at the Expected rate.
- The Sisterhood ticket, new this year, purchases one ticket for you and one for a woman in need. Your contributions make our Hardship tickets possible!
- The Appreciated rate does not confer any extra attendee benefits. It represents an additional contribution toward the costs of the event, which ticket sales alone cannot cover. We are grateful to each registrant able and willing to subsidize the attendance of women with fewer resources.
Please note that this is a private event. WDI USA reserves the right to cancel and refund any registration at any time for any reason.
Hotel booking:
BOOK YOUR HOTEL ROOM HERE BY AUGUST 31.
Of course, you do not have to stay at the hotel. You’re more than welcome to seek out alternative arrangements. WDI USA is not currently in a position to assist with that, but we encourage women who want to attend the convention to find a way to make that possible.
If you are interested in joining a private, vetted Facebook group for the purpose of finding a roommate, please contact [email protected].
Women’s Declaration International USA, Inc. (WDI USA), a not-for-profit corporation, has notified the IRS of its intent to operate as a 501(c)4 organization. Convention registrations are not tax-deductible. WDI USA reserves the right to cancel and refund the ticket of any registrant, for any reason, at any time.
