Some years ago, Mayor Pegeen Hanrahan went to her high school prom in the Reitz Union.
Sunday, in the very same ballroom, she gave the keynote address at the 22nd Annual Women's Leadership Conference, an event attracting local students, mothers, activists and entrepreneurs.
The conference, organized by the Women's Leadership Council, featured a series of workshops, speakers and programs to help women embrace the power of leadership. The conference touched on topics including the role of women leaders in world affairs, feminism in the media and leadership in the classroom.
Now, in her second term as Gainesville's mayor, Hanrahan shared an intimate dialogue with a crowd of more than 100 about the obstacles she faces as a woman in the government.
"I think it's an enormous advantage to be a woman in politics," she said. "Still, you feel very vulnerable when you put yourself in that situation."
Inspired by the workshop topics, guests shared their feelings on abortion rights, body image and balancing career and personal life.
UF alumna Coleen Dooley came with her daughter, Erica, who now attends the university and sits on the leadership council.
As a nurse practitioner, Dooley said she has seen the implications of domestic violence, restrictions of sexual education and women's rights.
"It's gotten to be really scary for me," she said.
Dr. Jeanne O'Kon, a psychologist and chair of the UF Women's History Month Committee, presented a workshop on handling the complexity of women's roles.
O'Kon said managing one's life with a partner, children and career can lead to role overload and stress.
"Our society makes a big deal of romantic love, blissful perfection," she said. "It is an idea, not reality."
Maria Hendrix, 44, knew exactly what O'Kon was talking about.
Hendrix graduated from UF in May 2007 with a degree in marketing, having worked 40 hours a week the entire time she was in school. She said after the conference that she felt an esoteric support from the women she had met.
"Now I feel, you know, like I can do this," she said.
Jessica Lhota, owner of the Beauty Loft in Gainesville, spoke about her struggle to open her own business despite her young age.
Lhota opened her upscale cosmetics boutique in 2006. Six months later, she moved to a location three times the size due to overwhelming demand.
She is 19 years old.
"People look at me and they see my age," she said. "I need to gain their respect, make them realize I know what I'm doing."
