Titled “Area women use momentum to ‘march onward'” Jackson Hole Daily Contributor Hannah Habermann interviewed Womentum about its first inaugural March Onward event in Celebration of International Women’s Day.
March 3, 2023
As the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg once said, “Women belong in all places where decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”
In that spirit, the local nonprofit Womentum will shine a light on the strength and power of local women in its inaugural “March Onward: A Celebration of Women” event Tuesday night at the Center for the Arts.
The event, which takes place the day before International Women’s Day, will showcase three local women who have pursued their passions on national and international stages in the fields of education, environmentalism, sustainable agriculture, and leadership.
While Womentum’s recent programming has focused more on bringing inspirational women from out of town to the Jackson community, the organization wanted to highlight the work of local women to celebrate International Women’s Day as well as Women’s History Month.
With an emphasis on personal connection, the event is designed to give each leader a platform to share the story behind her work and titles.
“Our goal for the event is for the audience to listen to these very personal stories,” Womentum Executive Director Samantha Eddy said. “They might already know some of the women who are talking and have ideas about what they’re doing, but they might not necessarily know who the actual women behind the projects actually are.”
The evening’s keynote speakers are Crista Valentino, Nona Yehia, and Kate Schelbe. Each will give a short presentation sharing her own journey, and then all three will participate in a panel moderated by Ingrid Daffner Krasnow.
At 26, Valentino founded CoalitionWILD, a global mentorship program supporting emerging leaders working to transform the planet through youth-driven environmental solutions. Valentino is currently serving as the interim director of the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board.
Yehia is the CEO and co-founder of Vertical Harvest, North America’s first vertical hydroponic greenhouse and a cornerstone in the Jackson local foods scene. The company also focuses on inclusive, customized employment for people with physical and intellectual disabilities.
Schelbe is the executive director of Girl’s Education International, an organization that works to expand and support educational opportunities for underserved girls and women in remote and undeveloped regions of the world. Additionally, she is the first director of the new Behavioral Health Alliance in Jackson, which oversees and coordinates behavioral health efforts by Teton County Public Health, the Community Safety Network, St. John’s Health and others.
Eddy hopes that audience members will come away from the event feeling empowered and with a sense of increased excitement to bring their own dreams and ideas to fruition.
“My hope is for each presenter to share their story of inspiration, courage and perseverance so that the audience leaves feeling like, ‘Wow, because they did something they believed in, we can too,’ ” Eddy said.
Choosing the local women to present as the keynote speakers proved to be quite the challenge, given the impactful work done by so many community members in a wide range of fields. For the event, Womentum wanted to focus on women who have had large-scale impact beyond Jackson, with an emphasis on innovative philanthropic leadership.
“There are so many amazing women in this community who could be presenting at this event,” said Eddy. “If this event goes well, we would potentially like this to be an annual event where we’re regularly featuring inspiring local women.”
Doors for the event open at 5:30 p.m., and the 75-minute presentation and panel discussion kicks off at 7 p.m.
Ten information tables for local women-led businesses and organizations will be set up in the lobby before and after the program, giving attendees the opportunity to network and learn about women-led work in the Jackson community.
Cocktails will be available for purchase before and after the presentation.
Tickets to the event cost $7. Anyone unable to attend the event in person can tune in to a livestream free of cost. Visit JHCenterForTheArts.com
In addition to hosting March Onward, Womentum has multiple workshops on deck. The application window for Womentoring, the nonprofit’s signature nine-month mentorship program, opens in May and will be accepting applications for mentors and mentees. Visit WomentumWy.org for information.
Womentoring, which kicks off again in September, has been running for over 15 years and has built a community of over 500 women who have participated in the mentorship program.
“Many of the women who have participated in the program continue to be locally based and are running organizations and businesses that contribute tremendously to the community,” Eddy said.
“It’s an extraordinary network of females supporting each other.”