INSPIRATIONAL SPEAKERS SET FOR WOMEN CONFERENCE INCLUDES LOCAL AUTHORS, ARTWORK.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO

Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Inspirational speakers, noted educators, a feminist legal theorist and a sexy mom expert are on tap for the second annual Antelope Valley Women's Conference.

More than 1,000 people are expected Thursday at the daylong event at the Antelope Valley Fairgrounds. The theme is "Looking Beyond the Ordinary."

"Girls just want to have fun. We deserve to have fun. We give all the time. Women are the givers of the world," said conference executive director Vivian Komori, who with her husband runs a wholesale produce business.

"This is a chance for us to have something. It's just for us."

The conference will begin with a continental breakfast at 7:30a.m. and end at 5p.m. Tickets are $95 per person, $75 for seniors 65 and older and full-time students. Lunch is included.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.avwomensconference.com or by contacting Dianne Ressegue at registration(at)avwomensconference.com or at [phone].

The event will feature three keynote speakers, morning and afternoon sessions with other guest speakers, an art show, a book fair showcasing local authors and work by the speakers and 126 vendors.

The goal of the conference is to celebrate, ignite and invigorate the women in the Antelope Valley, organizers said.

"These women are just amazing, and if we can even have one ounce of inspiration that they are putting out for us, we will walk away a better person, with more to give our family, co-workers, community, employers and employees," Komori said.

Keynote speakers are Pamela Jett Aal, author of "Mind Your Own Business -- a Career Management System," Dr. Christiane Northrup, known for her empowering approach to women's health, and Lorraine Monroe, first principal of the Frederick Douglass Academy in Harlem.

Between keynote speakers, attendees may choose from three speakers in the morning session and three speakers in the afternoon session.

The morning speakers are time-management expert Carolyn Gross, "Shine or Whine: Managing Chaos with Confidence;" columnist Melanie DewBerry-Jones, "The High Cost of Being Nice;" and organizing expert Dorothy Breininger, "Organizing and Balancing Your World."

The afternoon speakers are legal theorist Elvia Arriola, "Shopping the World: Stories From Working Women;" sexy mom expert Alana Pratt, "When Mama's Happy, Everybody's Happy;" and emotional health specialist Darlene Mininni, "The Emotional Toolkit -- 7 Power-Skills to Boost Your Happiness and Optimism."

Awards will be given to three women for their "Beyond the Ordinary" lives.

Mother Antonia, known as the Prison Angel, will be honored for her humanitarian efforts.

A former Beverly Hills socialite and twice-divorced mother of seven grown children, she sold her home in 1978 and moved into a Baja California prison to minister to inmates.

Now 80, she heads a Roman Catholic religious order that women ages 45 to 65 can join to work with the poor.

Pharmacologist Candace Pert will be honored for her extensive AIDS research and development of an HIV/AIDS treatment.

Also being honored is Palmdale resident Linda Pluss, a former Palmdale School District Teacher of Year, Lancaster Chamber of Commerce Woman of the Year, past president of the Antelope Valley Domestic Violence Council, and, of late, cross-country adventure bicyclist.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

[phone]