Women’s Empowerment Training Track
The Women’s Empowerment Training Track is designed specifically for female community supervision professionals seeking to strengthen their confidence, voice, influence, and resilience. Through interactive discussions, self-reflection, and realistic workplace scenarios, participants will gain practical strategies for navigating workplace challenges, building stronger relationships, and responding effectively to microaggressions while exploring the difference between intent and impact and practicing the PAUSE model to constructively address difficult interactions. Participants will also learn to own their power and agency through the framework of Protect, Preserve, Practice, and Persist by identifying what is within their control, protecting their energy and purpose, practicing self-compassion and accountability, and using their voice and choices with intention. The Power of Presence component focuses on transforming competence into visibility, influence, and leadership; providing strategies for strengthening leadership presence; navigating organizational dynamics; building professional networks and sponsorship; and communicating with confidence. Participants will leave with practical tools to navigate challenges, strengthen resilience, and make a meaningful impact in both their professional and personal lives.
The Women Empowerment Track inspires women to move beyond simply having a seat at the table—to maximizing their presence, shaping conversations, and creating opportunities to lead within community corrections. Come to New Orleans to participate in one or all three of these sessions. Note: Limited seating will be on a first come, first serve basis.
PRESENTATIONS
Beyond the Words: Recognizing and Responding to Microaggressions in the Workplace
Workshop Description: Microaggressions can occur in everyday workplace interactions and may affect communication, trust, morale, and working relationships. Often subtle and sometimes unintended these interactions can be difficult to recognize and even more difficult to address. This interactive session will help participants identify common workplace microaggressions; explore the difference betweenintent and impact; and develop practical strategies for responding without unnecessarily escalating conflict. Through realistic workplace scenarios, discussion, and skill-building exercises, participants will practice addressing microaggressions when they experience them, witness them, or realize they may have caused harm themselves. Participants will leave with practical tools for promoting respectful communication, accountability, and healthier workplace relationships.
This 60-minute interactive workshop will engage participants through guided discussion, self-reflection, realistic workplace scenarios, and practical skill-building exercises. Participants will begin by considering common comments and behaviors that may be experienced as microaggressions and discussing how intent and impact can differ. Small-group scenario activities will allow participants to identify potential microaggressions and explore how they might respond as the recipient, a bystander, or a supervisor. Participants will practice using the PAUSE model (Pause, Ask, Understand the Impact, State What You Need, and Engage or Exit) to constructively address difficult interactions. The session will also include an exercise on receiving feedback without becoming defensive and identifying opportunities for acknowledgment and repair.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Identify common forms of microaggressions.
- Distinguish intent from impact.
- Use practical language to address microaggression in the moment.
- Intervene appropriately as a colleague or supervisor.
- Respond productively when told that something they said or did have a negative impact.
Facilitator: Cheryl Bristor-Wilson, Clinical Director, AFSCME PSP
Me, Myself & Motivation: Owning Your Power in Community Corrections
Workshop Description: The work we do in community Corrections is meaningful, but it can also be emotionally and professionally demanding. Me, Myself & Motivation: Owning Your Power in Community Corrections is an interactive presentation focused on helping female community corrections professionals recognize the power they have in how they show up, respond, communicate, and navigate the challenges of the work.
Through reflection, practical strategies, and the framework of Protect, Preserve, Practice, and Persist, participants will explore how to protect their energy; stay connected to their purpose, practice self-compassion and accountability; and persist with intention. The presentation challenges participants to move beyond simply managing the demands of the profession and instead recognize where they have influence and agency. Ultimately, participants will be encouraged to identify what is within their control, use their voice and choices intentionally, and create a personal commitment to owning their power both professionally and personally.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Identify areas within their control and recognize where they have influence in their professional lives.
- Apply the four-part framework of Protect, Preserve, Practice, and Persist to navigate workplace challenges.
- Recognize how boundaries, communication, mindset, and self-compassion can support their effectiveness and well-being.
- Reconnect with their personal purpose and understand how it can shape the impact they want to make.
- Develop an intentional commitment to owning their power and taking meaningful action in their work.
Facilitator: Courtney Thompson, Public Information Officer, Cook County, IL, Adult Probation Department
The Power of Presence: Securing and Maximizing Your Seat At the Table
Workshop Description: Great work does not always speak for itself. You need visibility, confidence, and a network to make sure your voice gets heard. The Power of Presence is an empowering masterclass built for women who are ready to stop waiting for an invitation and start taking control of their trajectory. Landing a seat at the table is only half the journey—knowing how to get into the room, command authority, and make a lasting impact is what truly drives career transformation.
Designed for ambitious women ready for their next career step. This session breaks down the strategic blueprint to step out of the background into building a leadership presence, cultivating high-impact sponsors, and turning entry into influence. You will gain actionable strategies to sharpen your strategic voice, navigate organizational dynamics with confidence, and move from participating in the conversation to actively shaping it.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Gaining Access: How to position yourself for key high-stakes rooms and attract influential sponsors who advocate for you.
- Mastering Leadership Demeanor: Practical methods to articulate high-level ideas, project unwavering confidence, and own the room—even when you are the only woman in it.
- Cultivating Presence: Techniques to communicate with authority and own your expertise.
- Turning Visibility into Value: How to translate your day-to-day contributions into recognized business impact that leads to promotions and seat retention.
- The Multiplier Effect: How to use your seat, influence, and perspective to pave the path forward for other women coming up behind you.
Facilitator: Loronda C. Giddens, Special Project Manager, Georgia Department of Juvenile Justice
I Celebrate Me
Workshop Description: Inspired by the powerful themes of resilience, survival, healing, and self-recognition found in the song “I Celebrate Me,” this reflective and transformative workshop invites women to pause, reflect, and honor the journeys they have survived. Too often, women move from one responsibility to the next without acknowledging the strength it took to endure hardship, overcome setbacks, navigate disappointment, and continue showing up for themselves and others.
This interactive and affirming experience creates a safe and empowering space for participants to examine the defining moments of their lives: the battles no one saw, the sacrifices they made, the challenges they overcame, and the courage they demonstrated even when they felt unseen or unsupported. Through guided reflection, group dialogue, and personal affirmations, participants will reconnect with their inner resilience and recognize the woman they have become through every scar, setback, transition, and triumph.
The workshop emphasizes the importance of self-acknowledgement—learning to celebrate yourself even when applause does not come from others. Participants will explore how self-validation, positive affirmations, and intentional self-celebration strengthen confidence, emotional wellness, leadership, and personal growth. Women will leave encouraged to stop minimizing their survival, honor their progress, and embrace the truth that making it through difficult seasons is itself a powerful achievement.
At its core, “I Celebrate Me” is more than a workshop—it is a declaration. A reminder that every woman deserves to recognize her own strength, honor her own story, and celebrate herself for making it through what was meant to break her.
By the end of the session, participants will be able to:
- Reflect on pivotal life and career experiences that shaped their strength and identity.
- Identify personal victories, survival stories, and moments of perseverance.
- Release the need for external validation and practice self-acknowledgement.
- Reframe pain, setbacks, and challenges as evidence of growth and endurance.
- Celebrate the woman they are becoming without apology.
Facilitator: Dr. Carmen Gomez, Deputy Commissioner of Probation Massachusetts Probation Services
LEVEE SPONSOR
ANCHOR SPONSORS
Contributing Sponsors
Allied Universal Electronic Monitoring - Expo Hall Bingo | FieldWare - Expo Hall Bingo | Procivica - Expo Hall Bingo, Post-Event Survey | Smart Start - Lanyards | SuperCOM - Expo Hall Bingo | Tyler Technologies - Attendee's Badge
Special thanks go to our Corporate Members!