Fabulous Femmes love Gender Now!
What a weekend!! Two very full days of connecting and talking with lots of fabulous femmes and allies at the Femme Conference in Oakland.
Not only was it the debut of our Gender Now coloring book but we sold out of every copy! We even met Kate Bornstein, author of My Gender Workbook
which is referenced in the coloring book. Kate bought a copy and graciously signed our copy as well, even posed for a photo.
Maya had some of her new jewelry available which, from what we could tell, was a big hit. Zai helped us vend on Sunday and even set up her own stand. She was a great helper! 
After the awesome response to the coloring book, we’re even more looking forward to Gender Spectrum coming up in Berkeley September 3-6th! We just found out today that Maya will be presenting her workshop on Saturday at 9:40am. We are definitely looking forward to connecting with even more fabulously creative folks!!
Filed under Conferences, LGBTQI Families | Tags: conference, expression, femme, gender, identity, lgbt | Comment (0)Tales from “Our Community, Ourselves” Diversity Conference
Spring is here and we’ve been all over the place. I’m one of those terribly homey people. I LOVE home. But I also LOVE to travel. India, Mexico, Brazil, Puerto Rico, New York, Philadelphia, South Carolina, Vallejo, Alameda County… The world fascinates me with its beauty and variation, from the far away and vastly different to the close to home and still different! In San Francisco, we live in what I jokingly refer to as an “adjacent reality,” similar to the rest of the country, but noticeably unique. Ahhh, San Francisco, she’s an island unto herself in some ways. So even when we only travel a county or two away, I feel like we’re on an adventure…away from our familiar little village of the Castro and Mission Districts, away from the public trains and rolling fog, our local markets and favorite strolls.
This last Friday, April 23rd, we were up before the sun and off to the Newark Hilton for the Diversity Conference sponsored by Child, Family and Community Services, Inc. of Alameda County. I love doing these things with Matthew. He drives and I navigate. Usually I’ve been alone, so I drive and I have no idea who’s navigating. We got there nice and early and set up our table. It was the first public event for Claiming Face, the Educator’s Guide, and Continue reading »
So Much More than Art
We attended Our Focus: The Child and Creciendo Juntos: Educadores, Niños y Familias Conference this past weekend sponsored by Las Positas College and Chabot College. 
I often present at conferences like these but it was our first time as vendors. We didn’t know what to expect and were just fabulously impressed with the great turn out, around 500 attendees. We were also impressed with the intent and breadth of the conference format. There were presentations in English, Spanish and Cantonese. And during lunch great dragons and flying skirts dancing and drumming!
During the keynote given by First 5’s Deputy Director Gloria Corral, we were nodding our heads and dreaming about sharing our Claiming Face curriculum as a tool to build cultural capacity in classrooms! We also connected with many great educators and students.
My presentation was filled to the maximum with Continue reading »
Filed under Conferences, Power of Reflection | Tags: CLAIMING FACE, conference, educators, presentations, reflection | Comment (0)Early Childhood Conference – March 13, 2010
Chabot College and Las Positas College will be hosting an early childhood conference on March 13, 2010 at Chabot College in Hayward. The theme: Our Focus: The Child & Creciendo Juntos: Educadores, Niños y Familias. This conference is specifically geared toward early childhood professionals who educate or care for infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children.
Maya will be presenting some of the lessons of her Claiming Face curriculum and how to use creativity as a tool for self-empowerment. She will also be selling and signing her children’s books and art prints at the conference. Her presentation is scheduled for 11:00am – 12:20pm on Saturday.
Conference Details:
Saturday, March 13, 2010
8:00 am—5:00 pm
Chabot College
25555 Hesperian Blvd. Hayward, CA 94545
Sponsored By:
Chabot College
Las Positas College
Every Child Counts
First 5 Alameda County
More information and to register for the conference visit their website.
Hope to see you there!
Filed under Conferences | Tags: children, CLAIMING FACE, conference, creativity, empowerment, family | Comment (0)Reading the World Conference
UPDATE February 16, 2010: Unfortunately it looks like the economy continues to take its toll. Due to low registration for Reading the World this year, the conference has been cancelled. We are disappointed as Maya was looking forward to presenting at what has been in the past a very enjoyable event. On a positive note, you can still find us at The Early Childhood Conference at Chabot College in Hayward, CA, March 13th and also at the Día de los Niños / Day of the Child event in April at the JFK Library in Vallejo, more information on these events coming soon.
***************
The University of San Francisco’s School of Education sponsors a yearly conference called Reading the World, A Conference Celebrating Multicultural Literature for Children and Young Adults. Maya has presented at this conference in past years and will again be presenting at the 2010 conference that will be held March 6 and 7th in San Francisco. Her presentation will focus on the importance of reflection and bringing creativity into the classroom as a tool for empowerment.
The Reading the World conference brings together educators, students, illustrators, authors, Continue reading »
Filed under Conferences | Tags: conference, presentations, Reading the World | Comment (0)
