On September 5, 2025, women from across Orange County gathered together in Brea, CA to discuss a taboo topic: POWER.
Hosted by the North Orange County Community College District, the Women in Power Spaces (WIPS) convening is designed to bring women from different sectors together—Education, Politics, Healthcare, Technology Finance, Business and Law—to build relationships, share information, and develop practical plans to uplift all female-identifying people to the upper bastions of influence.
The sold-out event gathered over 150 people to examine the intersectionality between gender and political power, economic rights, reproductive rights, and gendered violence. Expert participants include keynote speaker Nina Jankowicz, acclaimed author of books such as How to Be A Woman Online; Dr. Caroline Heldman, Professor of Gender Studies at Occidental College and co-author of the textbook Women, Power and Politics; Krista Hollinger, CEO of Planned Parenthood Orange and San Bernardino Counties; Darcy Totten, Executive Director of CA Commission on the Status of Women & Girls; Sharon Quirk-Silva, Assemblywoman for the 67th District; Dr. Deepti Gandhi, physician and menopause expert; Gabrielle Blanchard, Board Member of relationship violence organization Human Options; and Betty Yee, former CA State Controller and 2026 candidate for governor.
Attendees called the Convening “extremely thought-provoking and inspiring,” “incredibly powerful” and noted that the day “reminded us that we don’t have to navigate leadership alone.”
Thank you to all the speakers, sponsors, event committee members and attendees for making the inaugural WiPS event such a success.
“I left feeling encouraged—encouraged to keep pushing back, to unapologetically own who we are, and to support both my peers and the next generation of female leaders. Looking around the room, I felt a deep sense of pride and admiration for the representation gathered there.”
Casey Sousa, EdD
ARISE Faculty Coordinator, NOCE
“This wasn’t your typical networking event, and that was the point. Events like these expand our circles, deepen our support systems, and remind us that we don’t have to navigate leadership alone. They reaffirm that solidarity is strategy, and that women lifting each other up is how we all rise.”
Cheryl Broom
CEO, GradComm
Event Schedule
Entry
National Anthem
Welcome
Featured Speaker
Madame President? Gender & Politics on the Road to the White House
Dr. Caroline Heldman Gender, Women & Sexuality Studies Program Chair, Occidental College
Inside the 2026 CA Governors’ Race
moderated by Ashley Walker, Nossaman
Jodi Balman Political Science Professor, Fullerton College
Lunch and Keynote
How to be a Woman Online
Nina Jankowicz Disinformation Expert and Author
01:00PM – 01:30PM
Table Talk Activity
Leadership in Higher Education Panel
moderated by Dr. Letitia Clark, SOCCCD
Dr. Kathryn Perkins LGBTQIA+ Advocate, CSU Long Beach
Dr. Barbara Dunsheath NOCCCD Trustee, Retired Professor
Dr. Sherylle Tan Interim Director, Kravis Leadership Institute
Chloe Serrano Former Fullerton College Student Trustee, UCLA
Women’s Health & Safety Panel
Dr. Deepti Gandhi Family Medicine Physician
Darcy Totten, Executive Director, CA Commission for Women & Girls
Krista Hollinger CEO, Planned Parenthood
Gabriella Blanchard Human Options Board Member
Self Defense Class and Networking
Program Sponsors
Judicial Sponsors
Legislative Sponsors
In-Kind Sponsors
Table Sponsors
Women in Power Spaces 
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