Our next National Conference will be held April 4-6, 2008 at the Long Island Sheraton in Hauppauge, NY.

Author and activist, Ellen Bravo will deliver the keynote for our National Mothers' Center Conference, "MOTHERS '08�". The former director of 9to5: National Association of Working Women, Ellen teaches Women's Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. As a consultant to 9to5, she coordinates the Multi-State Working Families Consortium, a network of state coalitions working for paid time to care. Her most recent book is Taking on the Big Boys - Why Feminism is Good for Families, Business, and the Nation, which describes the difference one person - even a busy mother - can make in working for change.

In addition, we are in the process of lining up powerful and informative programs in the areas of:
- Women/Mother Issues: Advocacy and Empowerment
- Skills Development for Mothers' Centers (e.g. Setting Up a Childcare Program, Fundraising Ideas, Mothers' Center Circles, Advanced Facilitation Skills)
- Mothering/Parenting Issues
- Work/Life Issues (how to include volunteer work on your resume, tips for getting back into the work force when you're ready, alternative work options)

We are now accepting workshop proposals for our upcoming conference focusing on advocacy - personal, community based and national. We have multiple goals for the conference. We will:
� Bring together our members from across the country for networking, additional training and skill-building in how to create and sustain Mothers' Centers and Mothers� Center Circles,
� Offer programming that will inspire women to see themselves as powerful advocates for themselves, their families and their communities, and
� Bring together representatives of various mothers� support and advocacy organizations to listen and talk with each other, to gather information and identify common issues.

We will consider workshops in the general areas of:
o Women/Mother Issues: Advocacy and Empowerment
o Mothering/Parenting Issues
o Community Building

Proposal Guidelines & application are downloadable below.

We will continue to bring you up to date as more conference information becomes available.