In recent years, Judy Mueller, the executive director of Vienna's Women's Center, has attracted names like Christiane Amanpour, Erin Brokovich and Steve Case to speak at the center's annual leadership conferences. This year the conference, in its 17th year, will feature Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York; Newsweek editor Eleanor Clift; writer Ann Crittenden; and others.
"I know how to get these people," Mueller said. "I don't tell how."
Every year she recruits year-round to assemble a variety of speakers representing the worlds of business, politics and journalism. The theme of this year's conference is "Care-giving in a Time of Change."
Speakers will talk about their personal experiences caring for their
families. They will also discuss the challenges of balancing a career with a family life. Mueller said that, often, care-giving is not valued in the corporate world.
"We say we value care-giving," Mueller said. "It appears everywhere in our verbiage. We value children, apple pie and motherhood. We value the elderly. But in reality there is a disconnect."
Mueller said there should be social security and pension money for women who stay home to raise their children.
"Women are penalized if their husbands go all over the world, in military jobs for example," Mueller said. "Those women can't have long-term careers and can't get pensions."
Mueller described the Women's Center as a "one stop shop" for crisis
management. She said divorce is the number one reason women call the center, which employs legal, financial and psychological professionals. Women's Center employees take calls from 8:45 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays, and on Saturday until 4 p.m. Charges depend on ability to pay.
"When there is a car crash people say, 'Oh, what a terrible crash. Let's marshal people to help.' Divorces are almost as common as car crashes, but no one acknowledges the horrendous casualty that occurs when families split up," Mueller said.
<mh>Gender Persecution
<bt>Mueller said it is her job to stay informed, to keep her finger on the "pulse beat of what's happening to women and children." She started visiting Uzbekistan three years ago; At this year's conference the center will be selling traditional clothing Mueller has gathered from the nation.
"Its amazing to think how people had been over in places like Georgia or Uzbekistan and just said, 'Oh, look at their funny clothing.' Now that is no longer the case," Mueller said. "The United States has woken up after 9/11 and we are seeing the gender persecution that goes on in other parts of the world."
Mueller said advances in communication have made the world a "dramatically" smaller place.
"We've become so visible to each other," Mueller said, "so enmeshed through communications that what happens in Afghanistan does matter to us."
<mh>Synergistic
<bt>Allie Lee, Mueller's executive assistant, said it is interesting to watch the conference attendees interact with each other.
"The real power is that none of these people may have stood in the same room before," said Lee. "Last year, we had Erin Brokovich in the same room as Anna Powell [secretary of state Colin Powell's wife]. [Brokovich] said how much she respects Colin [Powell]. The day lends itself to its own energy."
Registration forms for the conference, which will take place on March 2 at the Hilton McLean Hotel, are available at the Women's Center, 133 Park St. NE, Vienna.
Those interested in attending can also register online, at www.thewomenscenter.org. Ticket prices range from $125 to $170, depending on how early the registration is filed and whether or not the registrant is a member of the Women's Center. To reach the Women's Center call 703-281-2657.