2023 East Bay Women’s Conference all about overcoming challenges

At the 2023 East Bay Women’s Conference held March 7 this year in Walnut Creek’s downtown Lesher Center for the Arts, women and the stories they told did what they have done throughout history: refused to let circumstances determine the outcome.

Call it tenacity, gallantry, grit or go with old-fashioned mettle, but regardless of the label, an audience of 650 people, three charismatic keynote speakers, an all-women panel of health experts and the remarkable staff of the Walnut Creek Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau (the event’s host) demonstrated it in spades.

Headliners at the event exuberantly emceed by Eduardo Placer included Carla Harris, a senior client advisor at Morgan Stanley with 36 successful years on Wall Street; Princess Sarah Culberson, an activist, educator, writer and princess of the Mende people in Sierra Leone’s town of Bumpe; and Katie Sowers, the former Kansas City Chiefs coach, former San Francisco 49ers assistant coach and first woman and openly gay coach in NFL Super Bowl history. Sowers now is the defensive coordinator and director of operations for the Ottawa University women’s flag football program, among other roles.

Shawn Filardi, the Walnut Creek Chamber’s program and events director, said in an interview the day after the conference that this year’s arrangements presented unusual challenges that led to seemingly serendipitous opportunities. Not only was the conference finding its in-person legs after going virtual during the pandemic, it was operating in a new location after being held for many years at the San Ramon Marriott Hotel.

The complex logistics increased exponentially six days before the conference, when Filardi received notice that one of the original keynote speakers, actress and activist Kathy Najimy (of the films “Sister Act,” “Hocus Pocus,” “Soapdish” and others), would be unable to participate due to sudden illness.

“It was a scramble,” Filardi said, “but we pulled it off. We were under the wire, but our committee was great. We reached out to Katie Sowers, and she was enthusiastic. We even got the programs updated in time.”

After a continental breakfast, networking and entertainment acts and introductions, Harris led the brigade with a rousing presentation. Sharing tips from her book, “Lead to Win,” Harris highlighted hard-earned “Carla’s Pearls” of wisdom for showing up daily as a powerful leader.

For most of her career, Harris worked under “my way or the highway” leaders. If told to jump, the proper response was, “How high?” In contrast, she said today’s Millennial and Gen Z generations demand transparency and the right to speak out. If told to jump, Harris said they’d likely respond, “Why?“ Harris said the new workplace playbook means designing your own future instead of allowing it to be dictated to you by others.

Next up, speaker Culberson’s book, “A Princess Found,” tells the remarkable story of how, after being adopted by an all-White family and growing up in Morgantown, West Virginia, she eventually found her birth father and learned she is part of a royal family in Sierra Leone.

Having founded the nonprofit Sierra Leone Rising and having been recognized as a thought leader addressing biracial and cultural identity, she asked the audience, “What fills your tank? How can we be better together? What is your superpower?” The answers, some provided by shout-outs that she invited from the crowd, circled around themes of listening to learn, collaborating, practicing self-love and having open conversations, especially about race.

Similarly, speaker Sowers delivered five recommended principles to live by: Don’t assume she likes pink; your attitude will be the difference; if it doesn’t open, it might not be your door; hatred never cures ignorance; and always err on the side of love. In an exclusive interview a day before the conference and speaking after a full day of cross-country travel, Sowers expressed zero fatigue.

“I’m super-excited about what I’ll talk about,” she said. “The lens through which you view life determines who you become. I believe strongly in setting your mind to see the world in the way you hope it will be.”

Failure and loss, she said, have been her greatest teachers. In 2020, she was the offensive assistant coach with the 49ers in Super Bowl LIV. Despite leading 20-10 entering the fourth quarter, the 49ers lost 31-20 to the Kansas City Chiefs. Her father died that same year, and many factors combined led to a decision to leave San Francisco to live closer to her family.

Now, coaching the Ottawa women’s football team, she said a recent tough game loss offered opportunity for growth and has led to subsequent victories and her team’s best season ever.

“We viewed it with the attitude we’d seen them at their best and they just caught us on a bad day. We lose and then learn it’s action that has to take place after failure. You can dream, but you have to work to make sure you’re the best version of everything you can be. No job is too big or too small.”

With a lot of “firsts” under her belt, Sowers says whenever a person in the minority breaks a leadership barrier, especially in a predmoninantly male world like the NFL, there’s always a first but that what is important is to not be a “last.” She said true equity will only be achieved when a woman in the NFL who is LGBTQ is an everyday occurrence.

In the meantime, Sower’s primary goals — other than winning championships and becoming head coach with a top-level collegiate or professional men’s or women’s football team — center on curing ignorance, encouraging listening and maximizing the full potential of girls, cisgender and transgender women and lesbians.

“My mom said err on the side of love. I’d rather be wrong for being too loving than be wrong for being judgmental. There needs to be effort on both sides of every debate to learn the why.”

Sowers knows she’ll never have all the answers or be certain her barrier breaking has “done justice” for women she imagines will follow in her footsteps but is hopeful nonetheless.

“I just know I sought organizational holes where I added value, so I say, be proactive, don’t wait for direction, follow internal desire, showcase your skills and you will find value.”

Lou Fancher is a freelance writer. Contact her at lou@johnsonandfancher.com.