More than 60 women leaders gathered for the Central Valley Women’s Forum (CVWF) March 29, 2017, at Fresno Pacific University’s North Fresno Campus.
Panels focused on pivotal issues and trends facing California and the Central Valley. Keynote speaker University of California Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland, Ph.D., spoke on educational challenges of the UC system and the region. UC Merced serves a student population where 71 percent of students are economically disadvantaged, from underrepresented groups or are undocumented. “The hardest challenge has been adapting to declining public investment in education,” she said.
The CVWF is an annual program from Leadership California Leadership California, a network of over 1,600 accomplished women dedicated to advancing the leadership role of women in impacting business, social issues and public policy. The event was sponsored by FPU, PG&E, State Farm and United Parcel Service.