The sixth annual Persist Women’s Conference was held on Thursday, October 13th, from 3 to 9 p.m. at the Cheech Marin Center for Chicano Art and Culture. The event was hosted in partnership with the UC Riverside Women’s Resource Center, School of Public Policy, and Office of Governmental and Community Relations. 

Events ranged from workshops and panels discussing activism, reproductive rights, and Latinas in locally elected government. Keynote speakers included the Honorable Sabrina Cervantes, the Honorable Rosilicie Ochoa Bogh, and the Honorable Eloise Gómez Reyes. 

Denise Davis, the founder of this conference, started this event after the 2016 Presidential election when she hosted a lunch for students to discuss the election results. 

 “I thought about what resources we could provide to engage more women and/or marginalized students and community members in the political process, and that’s how Persist was born,” said Davis, who went on to start the conference in October of 2017.

This conference has been hosted every October since its inception and took place online during the pandemic. 

“I am most excited about the fact that we are back in person for the first time since 2019!  I’m also looking forward to hosting this event at The Cheech, a phenomenal and unique museum of Chicano art and culture,” said the founder. 

ASUCR President Mufida Assaf spoke at the Everyday People Making Change panel, as she currently makes change by hosting anti-discrimination trainings, increasing accessibility to mental health resources, and amplifying the voices of student organizations. 

She was excited to meet the other speakers and interact with the attendees.

“The Persist Women’s Conference is a great opportunity for us to come together and discuss the accomplishments and challenges women face, and it’s also important to increase women’s engagement in political discourse,” Assaf said. 

View photos from the event here.

View the playlist with the recorded sessions by clicking on the button in the upper right-hand corner of the video below or by visiting the UCR School of Public Policy's YouTube channel.