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ALL BADGE HOLDERS REGISTER FRIDAY AND SATURDAY AT THESE VENUES

PICK UP YOUR BADGE

Friday @ The Ivy anytime from 10am-7pm
Saturday @ Buskirk Chumley Theatre anytime from 9am-5pm

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Our Keynotes

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Ellise Smith

Ellise Antoinette Smith is from Detroit, Michigan, with a research focus on the experiences of bodies that identify as fat. With an interdisciplinary focus, Smith uses photography (#VisualActivism), podcasting, spoken word poetry, and social media as a catalyst to center these narratives.

As doctoral student in the Urban Education Studies program at IUPUI, Smith dedicates her scholarship to creating celebratory spaces for the marginalized identities that she holds using frameworks such as Black Feminist Thought, Sense of Belonging, Intersectionality, and Critical Race Theory. She aims to ensure the work and narratives around bigger bodies are included in academia while challenging the dominant ideologies around body image acceptance.

Smith centers her work within the sector of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion as she pulls from her experiences working with first-generation, low-income students, racial equity, and eradicating injustices for underrepresented populations.

CEO - FATNESS FICTION, PLUS+ SIZE RADIO MAGIC, PHOTOGRAPHER
Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at INDIANA UNIVERSITY

SCHEDULE ANNOUNCED.

Friday, September 30 thru Sunday, October 2

Workshop Speakers, Panelist, and Session Leaders!

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Day 1

Friday, September 30

Day 2

Saturday, October 1

Day 3

Sunday, October 2

FRIDAY and SATURDAY: 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

Bloomington Yoga Collective

Rise & Shine Workout/Meditation

Block 1: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Photographer 1

Damaly Shepherd

Photographer 2

Jessican Dee Kinman

Photographer 3

Charles Audu

Photographer 4

Benedict Jones

Photographer 5

Chelsea Sanders

Block 2: 3: 30 p.m. - 4:30 p.m.

Session 1 (Business/Self)

Putting The Fun in Funeral

BLOCK 1 9:15 a.m. -11 a.m.

OPENING Keynote

Be Golden Empowerment Panel

HOST: Nichelle Wash

Shelli Yoder (social impact)

Erin Thomas (self)

Shatoyia Moss (social impact)

Linda Calvin (business)

Eric Spoonmore (business)

Elizabeth Helene (self)

FEATURED KEYNOTE:
Staying Power: Thriving in the Storm

Yalonda J. Brown

How is it that women often take on the impossible and live to serve and support beyond our capacity? In this interactive keynote, Yalonda will share her journey of resilience and how to thrive through the storms of life. Attendees will be inspired to tap into their passions and purpose to be brave, show up authentically, and know that they are enough! She will walk attendees through her approach to managing and bouncing back from adversity with clarity, confidence and composure. Participants will have opportunities to reflect, reframe and recharge. They will leave with a renewed perspective on how to embrace the unknown with intention and joy.

block 1: 10:30-12:00 pm

DRAG BRUNCH

Join us for a farewell brunch. You have met so many amazing people throughout this weekends events. Don't miss it! Breakfast in included and don't forget to bring your single dollar bills for tips for our Drag Queens.

DJ Take6

Brie Onna Burger
Desiree Bouvier

Pearl Persephone

block 2: 12:30 - 1:30 p.m.

Sensual Movement for Authentic Liberation

Anita De Castro

Enter a supportive space and give yourself permission to explore your innate sensuality. Through slowness, awareness, breath, touch, sound, and movement, you will connect with your body and whatever is alive in the moment. These simple tools can be used both by yourself and with a partner. Curated with the sensual feminine in mind, this workshop offers you a moment of play and reflection to support you on your journey back to self, erotic reclamation, and personal liberation. Experience more intimacy, self-connection, pleasure, and aliveness. Anita's sensual movement experiences are trauma-informed, anchored in love, rooted in authentic liberation, and intended to provide safe containment. It’s time to find your way back to your breath, your pleasure, and your power.

Kel McBride

We have all been to a boring, cookie-cutter funeral that didn’t acknowledge the uniqueness of the dead. If you are here at Be Golden, I doubt that is what you are looking for when you die. This Death Changing Experience will share creative, environmentally friendly, and customizable options to create a distinctive event. Interactive discussions or journaling (bring yours or I’ll have some paper) will engage you to consider how you will ensure your funeral reflects the real you when your time comes. To wrap up the session we will get your plan in place so you get the right “Going Away Party”.

Session 2 (Self)

Life Can and Should Feel F*cking Good 

Renee Weaver

Reconnect with yourself to reenergize your life and business. Life’s too short to walk through it feeling internal dissonance between what your intuition is telling you and how you are ACTUALLY living your life. Alignment is your body’s natural state. That feeling of being out of alignment is your body telling you something needs to change - listen to it! When you are naturally aligned, you feel calm, fulfilled, free, and grounded. You have conviction instead of questions, trust instead of doubt, and you lean in where you used to avoid. As you grow in your life and business, it’s easy to lose connection with your true self. You notice you start to say yes to things that you really want to say no to, you start to skip those self care routines that make you feel so good, and when your head hits the pillow at night, exhausted but restless, you start to wonder if this is all there really is…. To reenergize and rejuvenate yourself and your life, you must get back in touch with your true self. When you reexamine and recommit to your values and purpose, when you start to listen to and follow your inner voice, when you consciously move toward what brings you joy, when you learn how to think and feel on purpose rather than based on old habitual stories you've told ourselves over and over again.…you reenergize your life into one that FEELS as good as it looks. These concepts will be taught through fun and thought-provoking exercises and activities...come ready to challenge old perspectives and dive in to new possibilities! Start re-connecting with your true self during the workshop and leave with an actionable plan to keep moving forward. Creating natural alignment in your life and business has never felt so freaking fun, join us!

Block 3: 5:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.

Session 1 (Business)

Refresh Yourself and Work the Vision

Dr. Virginia Githiri

How many times do we become discouraged or lose motivation when trying to create a business write a book or any other thing that we’ve been dreaming about? Typically, we lose steam because we are simply exhausted. In this workshop, Dr. Virginia Githiri will provide strategies so you can successfully work you plan to secure your vision without unnecessary burnout.

Block 2: 11:30 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.

Session 1 (Self)

Your Too Much is Your Radical YOU 

Becca Hopson

In this feminist-led session, will provide a purpose driven approach to radical change. Your “too much” (or “not enough”) can become your courageous strategy to empower your incredible self in life, business, or in impact. Lean into courage to better understand who you are, what's important to you, and what you're wanting to create. Unlearn programming that's holding you back and take radical steps with momentum by prioritizing your self-awareness, self-trust, and self-expression to grow. Walk away with courageous tools for renewal and momentum.

Session 2 (Social Impact)

Imposter Syndrome

Nichelle Wash

There are many factors that impact “how we show up” in our community spaces and workplaces. In addition to salient identities, many people struggle to reconcile their internal battle with external battles which can lead to issues of imposter syndrome. Understanding this phenomenon with a cultural context will give participants a vantage point to facilitating inclusion, promoting leadership, and establishing best practices for engagement and communication.

Session 3 (Business)

Session 2 (Business/Self)

The Art of Designing an Aligned Life & Business

Susie deVille

As entrepreneurs and creators, we're constantly pushing our limits. When we're feeling unmotivated and uninspired, we think more discipline is the answer. We push ourselves harder, only to find we are more disconnected than ever before. We feel stuck, exhausted, and out of alignment with our passions. You know you have big dreams that you want to realize, but you're lacking the insights, tools, and habits needed to plant the right seeds to unleash your greatest creative potential. How can you dig into the rich soil of you? How do you, for once and for all, get beyond what has always held you back? By doing the deep work of getting to the core of who you truly are and reclaiming your inspired creativity. In this 1-hour, interactive, and fun presentation, you will learn how to leverage The 5M's™ and fully cultivate your imagination and intuition so that you can... Tap into the goldmine that is your innate creativity Tolerate uncertainty in states of flow and ease Leap right over censoring yourself without the fear of "getting it wrong" or being judged Live and work in an aligned, inspired state of playful possibility, joy, and curiosity Move out of stuck and rocket forward with clarity and confidence. All those who attend Susie deVille's session will be gifted a copy of her transformational book, BUOYANT: The Entrepreneur's Guide to Becoming Wildly Successful, Creative, and Free.

Block 4: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

Liquid Gold Launch Party w/ Local Panel

Christa Curtis
Molly McDonald
Virginia Githiri
Ally Powell
LaTondra Murray

Join us at Be Golden’s first launch party with heavy hors d'oeuvres, a special toast, live music, panel discussions, and networking. Cheers!

Building Community For Your Cause: Brand Ambassadors, Sponsors, Strategic Partnerships

Kristen Olson

Monetize your passion the right way, build community for the long term, getting comfortable stepping into the light/cam/mic.

Location: Bonne Fête

Block 3: 1:30 p.m. - 2:45 p.m.

Session 1 (BUSINESS) 

Financial Freedom

David Haeberle

A guide to personal and business financial skills necessary to obtain financial freedom for the safety and security of self and family.

Session 2 (SELF WORTH)

10 Lessons Cancer Taught Me About Life

Sara Hauck