Annual Statewide Conferences

The Girls for a Change conference was first held in 1998, and has now been an annual event each year since 2005. A committee of 20 girls Girls entering grades 8-12 can apply to be on the Statewide Conference Committee. The meet every other week during the school year to plan and execute the annual Girls for a Change Statewide Conference.
  • The 1998 conference hosted 165 girls, with keynote speaker Jane Fonda.
  • The 2005 “Opening Doors” conference hosted 124 girls, with keynote speaker Jane Fonda.
  • The 2006 “Discover Your Power” conference hosted 130 girls, with keynote speaker Eve Ensler.
  • The 2007 “Dream Big” conference hosted 118 girls from 8 communities, with keynote speaker Lisa Woll.
  • The 2008 “Picture Your Potential” conference hosted 79 girls from 10 communities, with keynote speaker Anne Sherwood.
  • The 2009 “Courage to Climb” conference hosted 149 girls from 24 communities, with keynote speaker Luanne Freer.
  • The 2010 “Live Out Loud!” conference hosted 204 girls from 41 communities, with keynote speaker Stephanie Quayle.
  • The 2011 conference “The World You Want-Respect, Adapt, Stand Up” hosted 226 girls from 34 communities and 2 states, including groups from 5 reservations, with keynote speaker Jane Olson.
  • The 2012 conference “100% Possible-Contents May Settle but Never for Less” hosted 185 girls from 34 Montana communities including groups from 4 reservations with Keynote Speaker Dr. Waded Cruzado and Conference Opening Address by Denise Juneau.
  • The 2013 conference “Operation Innovation” hosted 140 girls from 32 Montana communities including groups from 5 reservations with keynote speaker Sarah Calhoun and conference opening address by Elke Govertsen.

The schedule for the conference each year is as follows. After the opening ceremony, each girl attends two workshops before lunch, and two after lunch. Girls choose their workshops from a list of exciting classes offered by community volunteer presenters.

Examples of past workshops:

  • Mindful Woodworking: Build a meditation bench using a variety of woodworking power tools. Then, put your bench to use while you learn techniques for meditation.
A Mindful Woodworking sanding her project.
  • Maki Your Own Sushi: Come learn about the exciting and fun culinary art of sushi! Maggie from Dave’s Sushi of Bozeman will teach you about the history and tradition of sushi. After the lesson, you’ll get to try making your own sushi rolls!
A Maki Your Own Sushi participant practices rolling sushi.
  • Bollywood Dancing: Ever notice how catchy the soundtrack to “Slumdog Millionaire” is? Join Indian exchange students in learning fun dance moves from India!
Priyanka, an exchange student from India, leads students in Bollywood dancing!

We’re looking forward to hosting even more girls from all across the state in the future! If you’re interested in presenting a workshop, attending the conference or volunteering for GFAC, please give us a call at 406.587.3840.