Los Angeles, CA [October 20, 2010] – California First Lady Maria Shriver today announced that Second Lady of the United States Dr. Jill Biden will join the extraordinary lineup of newsmakers and world opinion leaders confirmed for The Women’s Conference 2010.  Taking place at the Long Beach Convention Center, the conference will run from Sunday, October 24 through Tuesday, October 26. Dr. Biden, in her first appearance at the conference, will speak during the Opening Session of The Main Event on Tuesday, October 26th in front of a sold-out crowd of 14,000 attendees.

Her participation, along with the entire main stage and select breakout sessions, will be streamed live in their entirety at: http://www.womensconference.org.

“I am honored to welcome Second Lady Jill Biden to The Women’s Conference 2010. I truly admire Dr. Biden’s commitment to highlighting the importance of community colleges to our country’s economic future. She has also done so much to bring much needed attention to women’s health issues and to raise awareness of the sacrifices made by our military families,” said Maria Shriver. “I’m so proud that The Women’s Conference has become a destination where the world’s greatest voices, hearts and minds like Dr. Biden come together for authentic and candid conversations that you cannot find anywhere else.”

Other program highlights from The Main Event’s stage sessions and fourteen breakout conversations include:

-Remarks by First Lady of the United States Michelle Obama during the opening session of the main stage;

-Brian Williams moderates a main stage conversation during opening session with Nike Inc. Co-Founder and Chairman Phil Knight, New York Times Columnist Nick Kristof, and Starbucks President and CEO Howard Schultz;

-Campbell Brown moderates a morning breakout conversation titled What Happens When Women Lead with Yahoo! CEO Carol Bartz, Former Chairman and CEO of Xerox Corporation Anne Mulcahy, Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Dr. Katharine Jefferts Schori, and Disney/ABC Television Group President Anne Sweeney;

-Linda Ellerbee in a Once-in-a-Lifetime Conversation with a Legendary Architect of Change with Robert Redford during a morning breakout conversation;

-Diane Sawyer moderates a main stage Conversation with Legendary Supreme Court Justices during the luncheon session with The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor and The Honorable Ruth Bader Ginsburg;

-Remarks by former First Lady of the United States Laura Bush during the luncheon session of the main stage;

-Matt Lauer will moderate a main stage conversation titled Who We Are, Where We Are Going with Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and California gubernatorial Candidates Jerry Brown (D) and Meg Whitman (R). This will be the first and only conversation between Schwarzenegger, Brown and Whitman to discuss the past, present and future of California and the nation; and

At the end of the day, The Women’s Conference will continue its tradition of honoring “Remarkable Women, Remarkable Legacies” during The Grand Finale featuring the always inspirational and moving presentation of The Minerva Awards. Held during the afternoon main stage session, the special ceremony will be hosted by Maria Shriver and will feature remarks by Mary J. Blige and by the five 2010 Minerva Award honorees: Oprah Winfrey, The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor, Oral Lee Brown, Sister Terry Dodge and Carolyn Blashek. The Grand Finale will end with a special musical performance by Sarah McLachlan.

With six separate events covering three full days, The Women’s Conference 2010 is the largest and most dynamic conference for women in the world. More than 150 newsmakers and world opinion leaders gather with more than 30,000 women from all walks of life to be educated, inspired and empowered to be Architects of Change in their own lives, within their communities and around the world. This year’s conference has been produced around the overarching theme of “It’s Time,” which is intended to inspire people from all walks of life to see this challenging moment in history as an opportunity to come together and transform ourselves and our communities as Architects of Change.

Due to popular demand, additional tickets have been released for The Grand Finale featuring the presentation of the prestigious Minerva Awards. A limited number of tickets are available for $50 at www.WomensConference.org. The Women’s Conference’s Main Event on Tuesday, October 26, A Day of Health, Wellness and Transformation and Night at The Village on Monday, October 25 and Night at the Theater on Sunday, October 24 have sold out. Online Press registration has now closed.

For those unable to attend the forum in person, The Women’s Conference is inviting organizations around the country that share its mission to freely access the live satellite feed or live Webcast of The Main Event to create “Satellite Summits” on Tuesday, October 26 – self-organized, live viewing events that will educate and inspire their own local community members. The Women’s Conference will be presenting Satellite Summit New York City at New York University in partnership with The White House Project. More than 500 people will gather together to watch a live simulcast of the conference and engage in a multi-generational conversation spanning both coasts on the topic of women’s leadership. All in all, tens of thousands of women will be attending The Women’s Conference 2010 via live Webcast and at Satellite Summits throughout California and across the country. For more information, or to attend Satellite Summit NYC, visit: www.WomensConference.org.

Registration is still open for Maria Shriver’s March on Alzheimer’s on Sunday, which will serve as the official kick off to The Women’s Conference 2010. On Sunday, October 24 from 3:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m., thousands of people will gather at the Rainbow Lagoon in Downtown Long Beach and march along the waterfront with Maria Shriver and celebrity co-chairs, including Leeza Gibbons, Jane Fonda, Natalie Maines, Soleil Moon Frye and others to raise funds for and awareness of Alzheimer’s disease. Amber Riley from FOX’s hit show Glee will perform live during the candlelight vigil. Glee’s Jane Lynch will also make a special appearance, and appearances by additional cast members will be announced in the coming weeks. A minimum donation of $25 is required to sign-up for the march and all participants will be encouraged to raise additional funds to support the work of the Alzheimer’s Association, the leading voluntary health organization in Alzheimer care, support and research. For more information, visit http://www.womensconference.org/march-on-alzheimer-s.

In the lead up to The Women’s Conference 2010, the conference organization will present The Modern House Call for Women, a groundbreaking three-day event that will provide a range of free medical, dental, financial and educational services to under-served women in the Long Beach area. The Modern House Call For Women will take place from Friday, October 22 – Sunday, October 24 at The Walter Pyramid at California State University at Long Beach. The Modern House Call for Women is a partnership with health clinics, medical groups and community-based organizations, including the Harbor Dental Society, CA Department of Health and Human Services, the Los Angeles County Public Health Department, Amrit Davaa World Health Corp, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation, CareNow, Inc., among many others. All health care and financial services offered at the event – including supplies and equipment – are being donated by generous professionals and organizations throughout California. Some of the free services include vision, dental, mammograms, bone density, immunizations, PAP smears and more. Event organizers are expecting a high level of demand for the free medical services, so all patients must pre-register and receive a wristband to access the clinic. For more information, visit http://themodernhousecall.com or call 877-490-9284.

About The Women’s Conference

Hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Women’s Conference is the nation’s premier forum for women. From October 24 through October 26, The Women’s Conference 2010 will engage more than 30,000 people. The three-day forum will be kicked off this year on Sunday, October 24 with Maria Shriver’s March on Alzheimer’s in Long Beach. Alzheimer’s disproportionately impacts women – both as victims and caretakers of loved one’s suffering from it – and the disease will feature prominently both during the three days of the conference and a full week before as Maria Shriver plans to publish a groundbreaking new Shriver Report focused on Alzheimer’s.  Proceeds from The Women’s Conference’s Main Event, Grand Finale featuring The 2010 Minerva Awards, Night at The Village, A Day of Health, Wellness & Transformation, and Night at the Theater events all support the conference organization’s six WE Programs – WE Educate, WE Invest, WE Connect, WE Act, WE Inspire and WE Honor. For more details, visit: www.WomensConference.org.

Press Release - Marissa Moss