Coffee & Conversation
A new educational event series at the University of Utah is creating space for community
members to engage in critical discussions while enjoying coffee, tea, and other treats.
The Women’s Resource Center (WRC) began hosting “Coffee and Conversation” in Fall 2022. Each semester, the WRC will select a specific issue to focus on and each session in that series will view the issue through a different lens or perspective. During the 2022 Fall semester, the issue in focus was reproductive justice.
The idea for Coffee and Conversations was born from the shared values of community and justice in the Women’s Resource Center. WRC staff members wanted to rebuild their sense of community since the pandemic. Additionally, each staff member in the WRC cares deeply about justice and wanted to see that value reflected in their programming. Rather than doing one-off events about a different issue each time, they decided on a multi-part series to engage with community issues more adequately.
Katie Valdez, Women’s Resource Center Program Coordinator, says these events have gone very well. “Each of the three sessions we’ve had so far have been relatively well attended, and students have been really engaged in the discussions. Not to mention, our panelists have been simply amazing.”
In response to the second session, “Estamos Aquí, estamos poderos@s: Undocumented People in the Struggle for Reproductive Justice,” a student wrote, “I really appreciated and very much enjoyed seeing a panel of women of color from different backgrounds and who hold different roles at the University of Utah. This panel was not only educational, it personally made me feel seen and in community at the University of Utah.”
The Women’s Resource Center has big plans for the future of the Coffee and Conversation series. They are planning to continue this series in the spring with the theme “Climate Justice.”
Follow the Women’s Resource Center on Instagram @uofuwrc and stay posted for details about the spring Coffee and Conversation Series.