♪ welcome to "beyond the headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. this year marks the 25th anniversary of the professional business women of california conference. every spring, women from all over the country come to san francisco to learn, be inspired

and network. all in the name of gender equality. so mark your calendars for the big event happening may 13th in san francisco. here is jackie speier, co-founder of this amazing conference and she met with eric for the current state of conference. eric. >> welcome, congresswoman. let's talk about the pbwc and some of the things affecting you in the nation's capitol. first, congress, gridlock, is there any hope on that front? >> not during election year, i'm sorry to say. so i think my view of the message is, let's do it on the local level. we can stick to some of our problems locally. let's raise up other sleeves and together on a local state level, we can try to work with the business community in fashioning some of the responses. whether it's for transportation. whether it's for biomedical research. the dollars have been cut

dramatically some 25%. and yet, nats the life blood of so much of this region. >> one of the conflicts for nut capital is sexual harassment in the military. today, we know general jeffrey sinclair is going to plead guilty to lesser charges and not sexual assault. what kind of message do you think that sends? >> well, it sends the wrong message and it underscores why we have to take it out of the chain of demand. because the argument floor abannan doing the sexual assault charges have to do with undue influence. well, we don't want undue influence on baffle of the victim or on baffle of the assailant. we want an independent, individual within it to make that assessment. both as an attorney or versus. if we do that we'll have cases come forward that should be heard. why is it that only 5,000 cases of the reported, of the 26,000

that aren't record, of the 5,000 reported only 500 go to court-martial and only 250 are convicted. >> well, talking about pbwc, you come back here and this is something very close to your heart. why? >> well, i founded it 25 years ago. so this is a big year for us, the 25th anniversary of the professional business women of california. the conference now boasts more than 25,000 participants as actively involved in pbwc. every year, we have this conference, a way to sharpen your skills, to network. to look at your future. and we like to help women get there. >> so when you hear people say, oh, there's no glass ceiling anymore, and women have the same opportunities as men, that sort of thing. what's your response? >> first of all, the response is it's not true that women make 77 cents for every dollar earned by a man with the same qualifications, same job. that women in the oval office

and the executive office are still only 15% on the board. still only about 15% even in congress. we're looking at 18% in terms of the membership in the house and the senate. we haven't gained the critical mass that is important. >> still, inequality as well in elected office for women, right? >> correct. >> what about that? >> well, it's ironic because women represent 56% of the voters and yet we represent only 18% of the membership in congress. if you look to state levels, the number of women serving as governors. the number of women in legislature has actually declined in recent years. so we have to find a way to encourage more women to become more involved in this process. because women do make a huge difference. and if we want some of the issues that women are concerned about like capital in terms of gaining small business loans. if you have women at the forefront of arguing in favor of

those kinds of benefits, we're more likely to see them. >> 2016, are we ready for a woman president? >> we're ready for a woman president, if hillary clinton decides to run and i think she will, she will be the most prepared person to walk into that oval office. >> yeah, she's done pretty much everything you can do in terms of civil side of things, first lady and secretary of state. >> and u.s. senate. >> i'm sorry, and the u.s. senate. how do we forget that. what can we expect from the pay conference? >> the may conference is about standing together, rising above. arianna huffington is one of the keynote speakers, elizabeth lindsey. there will be workshops throughout the period of time and it's an opportunity for women to hone there skills. and they're introducing a new format called the dolphin tank,"

patterned after "the shark tank." they'll have women with expertise in the investment arena helping them to decide whether or not they've got an idea worth investing in. >> how have they gotten better in the last 25 years and how has it not gotten better? >> it certainly has gotten better in terms of women recognizing there are opportunities out there for them. every time a woman has an opportunity to come to a conference like this, talk to other women in similar experience, professions, and look for ways to improve themselves. they find they walk away from this conference saying things like this is the most important day of my professional life. and that's what we want to continue making it for them. >> pretty gratifying, you say? >> it's like my baby's grown up. it's now a nonprofit. the spinoff is a nonprofit. and the women on this board put

in hundred of hours a year and they do it for free. so it's truly a nonprofit in every imaginable way. >> how can folks find out more? >> pbwc website. may 13th. be there. it will change your life. >> all right. congresswoman jackie speier, thank you so much for joining us. and thank you for joining us as well, cheryl. >> eric, thanks so much. when we come back, we're going to hear from one of the

headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. we're continuing our discussion about the upcoming professional business women of california conference happening tuesday, west th at moscone cewest in san francisco. joining me right now is dr. elizabeth lindsey. she will be the keynote speaker at this year's 25thth pbwc conference. she's a world renown specialist

in the field of cultural intelligence. what is that phrase? i don't know. >> many people don't. it's a way of improving throughout the mellenia in cultures around the world. i've lived with way finders who can traverse thousands of miles of ocean without map instruments. >> oh, my goodness. >> it's interesting. >> it is, and how it relates to our lives it teaches us how to navigate our internal compass. how we can traverse a land scape that's constantly changing. >> we do all have a lot of stress these days. i've got to talk about what you talking about living with other people. she's the first female polynesian explorer and fellow for national geographic. you do things and travel and do things that most of us wouldn't dar i >> i do. well, i was raised by elders.

and they predicted that the time will come and time will be in trouble. they said you will go far to keep the elders alive because there will be a wisdom that the world will need. that's exactly what i'm doing. i realize with the staff changing world we see this with technology and johns vanishing, but we need to find ways. new ways of navigating these uncharted waters. because the old ways simply aren't working anymore. >> what would be an example? >> for example, one of the things that we do with navigators, they integrate the world with the heart. ways of elevating our sense of awareness. what they would do, they would always say, we receive information so rapidly. it comes to the heart. and neuroscientists are supporting and validating all of this. what we're seeing, are women ar

very good intuitively, and we often marginalize our instinct and intuition for rational ways of learning. and we're finding when we begin to trust ourselves again and heighten those states of awareness we're actually much better off. and we perform better and our ways of influencing others in terms of trending the true course for our lives is much more accurate. >> so does this help us with the constant stress that we're all dealing with? >> well, stress is related but in a whole other way. these people understand that stillness is essential. you know, we look at science -- we certainly look at neuroscience now and the brain, and see if -- we actually perform much better when we have moments of stillness. and all of these cultures that i have lived with practice that. i was living in the and dion sea. this was a culture when one

realized that birds stopped singing and they were the only clan that didn't sustain any injury during the 2004 tsunami because they realized that the birds stopped singing and there was a problem. this is where our height of awareness comes into play. >> coming into awareness around justice. >> slecompletely. >> you're going to be talking to the women of pbwc, what do you want them to take away from this? >> what i see with women, our lives are filled to capacity, our plates are full. she's women are exhausted. what i talk about is harnessing our energy in such a way that we live deliberately but we live in a state of clarity and clear decision. instead of expending our energy and rushing and striding. what the navigators would do is harness is all and come clear

here. and from that place of knowing, then they begin to navigate their lives. >> for a practical experience for a woman to take away, what you want to give to them, what would you see? how do you see a practical experience? >> what i have in the past done with women is we have a multistep process which talk about in the conference. but how we clear our lives. and begin to reference ourselves once more. i lived on an island where women had no mirrors. had never seen a mirror. >> i can't imagine that. >> it's extraordinary for a woman, we're always self-referencing. but when we seek to look out to people to give us answer, and start to listen to a voice internally that's always there. where the answers always are, then it's a very different way of beginning to step into our true power. people talk about power in this country. and in our society. but when we really begin to

self-reference it more, we step into a place of utter stillness where we can look around at all of the chaos and all of the franticness and know that we are not swayed by it. that we actually become elevated in a way that we influence the field in which we live. >> and you can choose your own destiny? >> absolutely. and neurophysicists are supporting what the elders say. >> that's phenomenal. i cannot wait to hear it. >> thank you. >> we do have to take a little bit of a break. we'll be back with more of the upc

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welcome back to "beyond the headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. today, we've been talking to some incredible women about their years and about the upcoming conference they'll be attending. attending. it's the 25th anniversary of the professional business women of california conference coming up at moscone center in san francisco. joining us now is nicole soluri. she's the chief council of the california state lottery and the president of the pbwc. how long you have been involved with pbwc? >> well, cheryl, i got involved with pbwc back in 2009.

it was a volunteer project that i was asked to assist with. and the rest is history. i absolutely love those in the organization. the founders and the community. and i was just starstruck. it's a wonderful organization and i've had a blast ever since. >> so now you're the board chair? >> i am, and that's a big deal. it's a little bit of work but it's very rewarding. i am engaging regularly with the board of directors. with sponsors. sponsor representatives. community members, speakers and it's just a really wonderful opportunity that i'm honored and humbled to have in its 25th year. >> i know, 25 years is just amazing. but i love of the fact that the organization reaches out to young women, too? >> yes, absolutely. we have a couple components of our overall programming directed at young women. first, the upcoming conference, we have our scholarship program

where we reward very successful high school seniors with scholarships for college. >> nice. >> i have really enjoyed the opportunity to serve as a member of the scholarship committee over the last few years. and these women are remarkable. their accomplishments would astound you. in addition to the scholarship program, we host an annual young women's summit every year. that's designed for women ages 17 to 23 years ol s old. it's a day of networking and inspiration. really great for young women of our community. >> is it easy for them to sign up and it affordable? >> it is, for the young women's summit. we hosted it at jupiter networks in the silicon valley. it was free to attend. we wanted to make it access to young women because young women at that stage of their lives don't have a steady income or significant income to be able to

afford big things like conferences and events. in terms of conferences you never know who you're going to meet at pbwc. we have a saying i met him or her out of pbwc, and out of that come great stories of connections of professional communities make. you never know if you're going to meet your next future employer. great friends, confidants. so dress professionally, yet, comfortably, because it's an all-day event. there's a little bit of walking but be yourself. we have wonderful keynote speakers. in addition to that, we have some very impressive workshop seminar speakers. in, you know, the subject matter ranges from standing ovation presentations to giving and receiving feedback. and mentoring. and it's really a diverse selection of opportunities to learn and be inspired. >> i got to talk to you about the library.

everybody dreams of running a lottery. here you are with the chief counsel. how will you wind up there? >> i went to santa claire university for undergrad and davis for law school. i started my career in a large firm that's based in palo alto. i spent a couple years at a firm in sacramento. and then i was appointed by governor brown to my current role. and it's -- that is really an honor. and i will say, governor brown and his appointment staff has done a great job of putting a lot of women on our management team. so it's a really, fun, talented group of folks. >> and you goat meet some of the winners, too, right? >> of course, you hear the great stories about the winners. and the piece that, certainly, we don't want to get lost in all of this. certainly, one of the critical things about the lottery is our mission to supplement education in public schools in california. >> so your money's not going to waste?

>> no, absolutely not. and we're proud of the contributions we make on an annual basis to public education. >> one final thing. tickets are going fast for the pbwc conference. do you get discounted if you sign up early? >> well, the rates will go up over time. at this point in time, i know we have attendance that is exceeding 4,200. so we're looking to sell out. hopefully, by the time your viewers watch this episode, it won't be sold out and there will still be an opportunity. if anybody is interested they can go to pbwcconference.com to purchase tickets. should be a great event. >> i can't wait to see you there. can't wait for the conference. nicole, thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. we do have to take a short break. when we come back, we're going to learn more about pbwc's landmark 25th anniversary. stay with us. we'll be right back.

welcome back to "beyond the headlines." i'm cheryl jennings. today, we've been talking about the may 13th professional business woman's conference which is happening at moscone center west in san francisco. joining me is kathryn larson the executive director of pbwc. i'm so glad to have you here. >> it's one of the largest years that pbwc's ever had. it's a monumental year for us. and it's also our 25th years of the conference. >> it's a landmark event for everybody, isn't it? >> it is. we also have community events that are sponsored by our corporate partners that go on about every -- >> quarterly. >> yeah, quarterly. and that's an opportunity for people trtunity for s as well ae an extension of the large conference. >> and the important thing about those quarterly activities is the networking piece of it, right? >> absolutely. what's important about the networking in there, is not only

the networking but the diversity of the industry there. so you're networking with women from all industry sectors which is one of the beauties of pbwc. >> and they chose to be there so they want to talk to us looking for ideas, moral support, that kind of thing? >> it's not just about networking, too. ewe find that people find mentors and sponsorships to working with other women as well. >> and also you have recognized online? >> oh, we do. we take a kind of three-prong approach to the organization. it's about inspiration, networking and education is extremely important. so our monthly webinars that are available to all of the sponsors and the outside community provide that and will hit on those areas of interest to women, if it's balance. if it's networking. leadership. we really hit on it all. >> you know what i think is so admirable, this is an expensive

conference to produce. you have a lot of big time sponsors who really step up for this. >> oh, we couldn't do it without the support of our sponsors. and at this point, we have about 27 large corporate sponsors, partnerships, that help us produce this -- put it on and provide it. >> what i love they support gender equity. >> absolutely. an that's really truly the mission of the organization, outside of the education and the networking. >> what would you like people to take away from the conference and then from what they can learn online about pbwc? >> what would i like them to take away from the conference? you know, the beauty of 5,000 women in a room, there's just nothing like it. and it gives women the opportunity again to support each other. and i think that's the most important thing. is that we realize the power as women to be able to support each other. and this gives you your platform

to not only support each other, but to really have a day of learn -- >> learning and growing. >> absolutely. >> fantastic. thank you so much for being here. i can't wait to be in the conference. you're right, when you walk in that room with all those women, it's fun. that sais all the time we have r today. we have more information about today's program, go to our website, abc7/community. follow me on twitter i'm cheryl jennings.

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