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North Carolina Democratic Party's

2025 Women of Color Leadership Forum

Saturday, July 12, 2025 from 10AM - 2PM
The Goodwin House 220 Hillsborough Street Raleigh, NC 27603

Join Women of Color from across the state for our 2025 Women of Color Leadership Forum hosted by NCDP’s Second Vice Chair, Dr. Kimberly Hardy!

$50 | Lunch is included


 

We will have two panels:

  1. “Is there really a seat at the table? The reality of leading as a woman of color post-election” moderated by Montica Talmadge.
  2. “What does the future look like? A generational conversation about the path to leadership for emerging women of color” moderated by Cathy Leake.
Date and Location

Saturday, July 12, 2025 10AM - 2PM

Tickets

Lunch is included!

Ticket Levels

Individual Ticket: includes lunch, two panels, book signing with April Ryan, and gift items!

Bronze Sponsorship: includes 2 tickets, a quarter-page ad in the program, lunch, two panels, book signing with April Ryan, and gift items!

Silver Sponsorship: Includes 6 tickets, a half-page ad of recognition in the program, a VIP photo-op with keynote speaker April Ryan, lunch, two panels, book signing with April Ryan, and gift items!

Gold Sponsorship: Includes 11 tickets, a full-page ad of recognition in the program, a private dinner for purchaser with April Ryan the night before, VIP photo-op, lunch, two panels, book signing with April Ryan, and gift items!

Our featured speaker is April Ryan, best-selling author, MSNBC Political Analyst, DC Bureau Chief for The Grio, and longest-serving Black White House Correspondent.
White House Correspondent April Ryan has a unique vantage point as the only Black female reporter covering urban issues from the White House – a position she has held for over 28 years, since the Clinton era.  She is now the longest-serving Black woman in the press corps.  Her position as a White House Correspondent has afforded her unusual insight into the racial sensitivities, issues, and attendant political struggles of our nation’s past presidents.

April is the Washington D.C. Bureau Chief for TheGrio. Ryan successfully opened the D.C. Bureau for theGrio as well as secured a seat for the organization in the White House Briefing Room. Her efforts also moved the organization into the rotation for presidential pool duty, something that is not an easy task.

April and Dr. Kimberly Hardy will have a fireside chat-style discussion about her book “Black Women Will Save the World: An Anthem”.

We will have an awesome lunch, April will be doing a book signing, and there will be gift items for all attendees!

We will honor outstanding women of color whose leadership has been both inspirational and transformational. This year’s honorees include:

Ms. Jessica Holmes
Former North Carolina Auditor and first African-American woman to serve on the NC Council of State
Ms. Paula Shelton
President of the Democratic Women of North Carolina
Ms. Stephanie Pigues
Deputy Director of Put NC First and former Deputy Campaign Manager for the Josh Stein Gubernatorial campaign
Dr. Aimy Steele
Founder and Executive Director of the New North Carolina Project
Rev. Carolyn Thompson
Former Judge on the North Carolina Court of Appeals
The Honorable Annie Brown Kennedy
the first African-American woman to serve in the North Carolina General Assembly (posthumous awardee)

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