Attorney General Martha Coakley Addresses Leadership Conference for Women

FROM THE OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL

August 12, 2008

CAMBRIDGE – This morning, Attorney General Martha Coakley delivered the keynote address at the meeting of the Women2Women International Leadership Conference and Cultural Exchange program. The event was held at Lesley University in Cambridge.

The Women2Women International Leadership Conference and Cultural Exchange is a program sponsored by Empower Peace, a non-profit organization dedicated to bridging the gap between young people in the United States and their counterparts in the Middle East. The goal of the conference is to provide young women, ages 15 to 19, with the opportunity to learn, network and acquire the leadership and professional development skills needed to succeed and become future leaders. This year’s conference hosted participants from the following countries: Azerbaijan, Cyprus, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Pakistan, Palestine, Tajikistan, United Arab Emirates, United States, and Uzbekistan.

Attorney General Coakley spoke about her personal background and discussed the challenges and choices she faced in pursuing a career as a lawyer, prosecutor and now elected official. The address was followed by a question and answer session, where many of the attendees were interested in career choices for women and how systems in the United States combat child abuse and domestic violence.

The Women2Women International Leadership Conference and Cultural Exchange will be held from August 9 through August 16, 2008. Today ’s portion of the conference convened from 9:00 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. at Alumni Hall at Lesley University located at 29 Everett Street, Cambridge, MA. Approximately 90 students, teachers and staff attended the event.