This Year's Guests
The speakers will address a variety of topics relating to intersectional feminism and will aim to inspire
young people to promote gender equity and to work for positive change in their communities.
young people to promote gender equity and to work for positive change in their communities.
Ms. Naomi Young
Naomi Young is a Policy Associate at the ERA Project in Columbia Law School's Center for Gender & Sexuality Law. Prior to joining the ERA Project, Naomi was an Equal Justice Works Fellow and later a Senior Staff Attorney at Her Justice, a not-for-profit organization providing legal representation to women living in poverty in New York City. Naomi managed Her Justice’s Financial Freedom Project to advise clients struggling with consumer debt and economic abuse, and trained and mentored pro bono attorneys on various legal matters. From 2020-2023, she co-chaired the New York City Domestic Violence & Consumer Law Working Group which is a leader in local, state, and federal advocacy to address the needs of survivors at the intersection of domestic violence and consumer law. She co-founded the Economic Justice for Survivors Collective with whom she co-authored a report and policy platform entitled "Reinvesting in Economic Justice, Equity, and Solidarity for Survivors in New York City." Naomi obtained her J.D. at City University of New York School of Law where she was a Graduate Fellow and a Sorensen for International Peace & Justice Fellow. She obtained her B.A. summa cum laude from Allegheny College. Naomi is admitted to practice law in New York State. |
Ms. Melissa Murray
Melissa Murray is the Frederick I. and Grace Stokes Professor of Law at NYU School of Law, where she teaches constitutional law, family law, criminal law, and reproductive rights and justice. Murray’s writing has appeared in a range of legal and lay publications, including the Harvard Law Review, the Yale Law Journal, the New York Times, the Washington Post, and the Atlantic. She is a legal analyst for MSNBC, and is a co-host of Strict Scrutiny, a Crooked Media podcast about the Supreme Court and legal culture. Murray is a graduate of Yale Law School and the University of Virginia. Following law school, she served as a judicial clerk to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, then a judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and Stefan Underhill of the U.S. District Court for the District of Connecticut. |
Ms. Lindsay Shookus
Lindsay Shookus is a 7-time Emmy-winning and 2-time Peabody-winning television producer. For twenty years she worked as a veteran producer at Saturday Night Live, running the talent department, where she was responsible for booking the hosts, musical guests and finding new cast members. Lindsay executive produced Miley Cyrus’ New Year’s Eve Party, was an Associate Producer on the critically-acclaimed television show 30 Rock, and produced NBC’s Adele: Live in New York City special. She was named one of The Hollywood Reporter’s Up-and-Coming Execs 35 & Under and has appeared on Billboard’s Women in Music list three times. Lindsay co-founded Women Work F#cking Hard, a women’s community focused on empowering female founders and helping businesswomen develop their careers and advocate for one another. Lindsay studied journalism at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, where she earned her BA in 2002. She is a member of the 2022 Class of Henry Crown Fellows within the Aspen Global Leadership Network at the Aspen Institute. She resides with her daughter in New York City. Ms. Shookus’ presentation is called “Good in the Garbage: Finding Life’s Best Lessons During Its Hardest Times.” The presentation will focus on women’s self-empowerment and self-love, making mistakes and moving forward, and overcoming adversity. |
Ms. Belan Yeshigeta
Belan Yeshigeta is a sophomore at Columbia University and Executive Director of Generation Ratify, a movement of +13,000 young feminists from across the country working to finalize the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and advance gender justice. She first began her ERA advocacy in her sophomore year of high school by organizing young people across Virginia to get out the vote and flip the state legislature to ultimately make Virginia the 38th and final state necessary to ratify the ERA. Since then, she has been working with her organization to advance the federal ERA and state-level ERAs across the country. Belan has also worked in her local community by coordinating volunteer and enrichment opportunities for students in her county and working on her county board’s Human Rights Task Force to advance equitable education. |
Ms. Nell Benjamin
Ms. Nell Benjamin wrote the lyrics to the Tony-nominated Mean Girls: The Musical and co-wrote the score to Legally Blonde: the Musical, (Olivier Award, Tony nomination). with Laurence O’Keefe. She also co-wrote The Sea Beast for Netflix (Best Animated Feature Oscar nomination. Annie Award nomination) She has written book and/or lyrics for Come Fall In Love: the DDLJ Musical, Dave The Musical, Because of Winn Dixie; Cam Jansen (Drama Desk Nomination); Half Time; Pirates! (or Gilbert and Sullivan plunder’d), Sarah, Plain and Tall; The Mice (from 3hree); I Want My Hat Back, How I Became A Pirate, The New York Philharmonic New Year’s Eve celebration and Young People’s concerts. Her play, The Explorers Club won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Play, a Drama Desk nomination, an Edgerton Foundation New American Plays Award, and an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation grant. For Television, she has worked on “Unhappily Ever After;” “Whoa! Sunday with Mo Rocca;” “The Electric Company;” “Best Time Ever With Neil Patrick Harris;” “Ant & Dec’s Saturday Night Takeaway;” “Julie’s Greenroom.” Nell is currently working on Nancy Drew: The Musical, Real Women Have Curves, Huzzah!, and Fado, along with an original movie musical for Universal. She is a proud recipient of the Jonathan Larson award and Kleban Foundation grant, and a member of ASCAP and The Dramatists Guild. |
Workshops
Art Workshop with
Ms. Nettie McCormick Nettie McCormick is the Chair for the Art Department at Marymont school of New York. This is her 11th year at Marymount and she has loved each moment empowering her students to think outside the classroom and into the visual world around them. Many of her art units surround social justice issues and she is thrilled to participate in the artistic activity this year for the summit. Nettie's goal and focus as a teacher is to assist her students in finding their voice through the visual arts. She is thrilled to be a part of the WOW Summit for the first time this year. |
Writing Workshop with
Dr. Paloma Yannakakis Paloma Yannakakis is the author of the chapbook, Double Take. Her poems have appeared in Denver Quarterly, Lana Turner, Afternoon Visitor, among other journals, and are forthcoming in various anthologies. She received her BA from Harvard College, a PhD from Cornell University, and an MFA from the Iowa Writers' Workshop. A co-editor of House Mountain Review, she also enjoys collaborating with artists in other media. She lives in New York and teaches at the Marymount School of New York. |