The Minerva Awards: 4 Women with Legacies of Service

Next month at The Women's Conference, California First Lady Maria Shriver will present four women with 2009 Minerva Awards for their legacies of service:

• Dr. Kathy Hull - Founder of the George Mark Children's House in San Leandro, CA, "the first freestanding residential pediatric palliative care center in the United States."

• Dr. Jane Goodall - Founder of the Jane Goodall Institute, UN Messenger of Peace, Founder of Jane Goodall's Roots & Shoots, and author of the recently published book, Hope for Animals and Their World: How Endangered Species Are Being Rescued from the Brink
  

• Agnes Stevens - Founder of School on Wheels, an organization which provides support and, "one-on-one tutoring for homeless kids who live in shelters, motels, group foster homes and on the streets."
  

• Helen Devore Waukazoo - Co-Founder and Executive Director of the Bay Area-based Friendship House, which provides residential substance abuse treatment for American Indians.
  

The Women's Conference, hosted by California First Lady Maria Shriver and Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, will take place on October 26 & 27, 2009 at the Long Beach Convention Center.  The conference's mission is, "to inspire, empower and educate women to be Architects of Change in their own lives and in the lives of others."

Speakers includes entertainment luminaries like Ashton Kutcher, Alicia Keys, Geena Davis, Kate Gosselin and Paula Dean, superstar journalists like Katie Couric, Paula Zahn, Arianna Huffington and Nicholas Kristof, and powerhouse do-gooders like Greg Mortenson, Majora Carter, Premal Shah and Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger III.

Full-day passes to the conference sold out in less than two hours(!), but a live webcast will be available on www.womensconference.org.  You can also follow the Conference's Twitter feed, become a Fan of their Facebook page, watch their YouTube Channel, view their Flickr photos, join their LinkedIn group and subscribe to their blog.