The information below is intended to supplement the general information about the AAUW NC 2026 Conference Speakers.

 

KeyNote Speaker: Congresswoman Alma Adams District 12

Dr. Alma S. Adams was elected to her sixth full term representing the 12th Congressional District of North Carolina on November 5, 2024. After winning a special election in November 2014, Congresswoman Adams was sworn in immediately as the 100th woman elected to the 113th Congress. Representative Adams serves on the Committee on Education & Workforce and the House

Committee on Agriculture. She serves on the subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education and is Ranking Member on the Subcommittee on Higher Education and Workforce Development. Additionally, she serves on the House

Agriculture Subcommittee on Nutrition and Foreign Agriculture and the Subcommittee on Conservation, Research, and Biotechnology. One of her outstanding legislative accomplishments is the enactment of H.R. 5363, the

Fostering Undergraduate Talent by Unlocking Resources for Education (FUTURE) Act that permanently provides funding totaling $255 million a year for all Minority-Serving

Institutions, including $85 million for HBCUs. Another is the establishment of a new $50 million R&D grant program for HBCUs and MSI’s in 2023 federal budget.
Representative Adams has previously served on the Financial Services Committee, Joint Economic Committee and in several leadership positions, including Assistant Whip for the Democratic Caucus, Vice Chair of Agriculture, Ranking Member of the Small Business Committee, ranking member of the Subcommittee on Workforce Protections, and ranking member of the Small Business Subcommittee on Investigations, Oversight, and Regulation.The Congresswoman is the co-founder and co-chair of the Black Maternal Health Caucus with Rep. Lauren Underwood of Illinois, as well as the founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bipartisan Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Caucus. Adams is also a member of the Women’s Caucus, Diabetes Caucus, Autism Caucus, Congressional Black Caucus, Progressive Education Caucus, Historic Preservation Caucus, AIDS/HIV Caucus, Hunger Caucus, Medicaid Expansion Caucus, and the Art Caucus.The Black Maternal Health Caucus works to reduce the unacceptable rates of mortality and morbidity for Black parents. Adams introduced the landmark Momnibus package in 2020, 2021, and 2023 with other members of the caucus. The HBCU Caucus promotes bipartisan legislation that supports HBCUs and their graduates. Since its inception, the caucus has coordinated the Diversity in Tech program and the HBCU Braintrust, both of which foster engagement, collaboration, and partnership between Fortune 500 companies, government and industry leaders, and HBCUs. The caucus also won $40 million for HBCUs for scholarships, funding for newly established centers of excellence in agriculture, and additional funding for agricultural research and cooperative extension for 1890 land grant universities in the 2018 Farm Bill. Throughout her career, Representative Adams has fought for a quality education for all students, including legislation to provide nutritious breakfasts in schools and increased pay

for teachers. For 40 years, Dr. Adams taught Art at Bennett College. While at Bennett, she led the effort to increase student civic participation coining the phrase “Bennett Belles are Voting Belles” and organizing annual marches to the polls. As a former educator, Rep. Adams has dedicated her career to improving the lives of young people and her community. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including the North Carolina A&T State University Human Rights Medal, the highest award presented by her alma mater to an individual who fights against social injustice and helps improve the world, and was inducted into the National Black College Alumni Hall of Fame.
In 1994 Dr. Adams was appointed by her peers to serve in the North Carolina House District 26 seat. She went on to serve ten terms in the State House. During her tenure, she rose to become the chair of the North Carolina Legislative Black Caucus and was instrumental in passing legislation that improved the climate for quality affordable health care in the state.

Representative Adams also pioneered the Displaced Homemakers Bill and successfully spearheaded the state’s first minimum wage increase in nine years.
Before serving as a member of the North Carolina General Assembly, Congresswoman
Adams served nine years on the Greensboro City Council. Throughout her service to the second district in Greensboro, Dr. Adams worked to create safe and affordable housing andfor the revitalization of neighborhoods. She began her political career in the 1980’s by becoming the first African American woman ever elected to the Greensboro City School Board. It was then that she made a lifetime commitment to effecting social change in her community and beyond. Congresswoman Adams has one daughter, Linda Jeanelle Lindsay, one son Billy E. Adams II, four grandchildren: Joslyn Lindsay, Aaron Lindsay, Billy E. Adams III, and Miracle Sumner, and one great granddaughter Blair Rose Adams. Congresswoman Adams graduated from North

Carolina A&T State University in 1968 and received her Master of Arts in Art Education in 1972. She earned her Ph.D. in Art Education and Multicultural Education from The Ohio State University in Columbus, Ohio in 1981.

Additional Guest Speakers

Young People’s Literature Awards – 2025

Carol Baldwin, Author –  Half Truths

Carol Baldwin’s debut YA historical novel, HALF-TRUTHS, was published in April 2025 by Monarch Educational Services. It won the 2025 NC AAUW Award in Young Adult Literature, is a Historical Book winner from the North Carolina Society of Historians, the winner of the 2025 Hindi award, and the recipient of the Bronze Medal in the Coming-of-Age category from Reader’s Favorite. Carol co-publishes Talking Story, a newsletter for educators and media specialists, and holds a B.S. in Mental Health and a M.S. in Community Counseling. Before turning to writing for children, Carol published Friendship Counseling: Biblical Foundations for Helping Others and Teaching the Story: Fiction Writing in Grades 4-8. She is Write2Ignite’s Co-Director for the Master Classes. When she’s not working on her next book, Carol enjoys reading, exercising, networking with other writers, and blogging.

Read more about Carol Baldwin on her website: https://carolbaldwinbooks.com/half-truths/

Patrice Gopo, Author –  Ripening Time

Patrice Gopo is the child of Jamaican immigrants and was born and raised in Anchorage, Alaska. She is an award-winning essayist and the author of multiple picture books, including Ripening Time and All the Places We Call Home. Patrice lives with her family in North Carolina, where one taste of fried plantains immediately takes her back to some of the sweetest moments in her childhood.

Read more about this author on her website: https://www.patricegopo.com/.

Corey Mitchell, Founder and Executive Director, Theatre Gap Initiative

Tony Award winner Corey Mitchell is the founder and artistic director of the Theatre Gap Initiative (TGI). Leveraging years of industry experience, he leads the TGI team with distinction. He is also active as a director, actor, keynote speaker, educational consultant, and workshop presenter in Charlotte and throughout the country. He was the inaugural winner of the Tony Award for Excellence in Theatre Education and the recipient of the Arts Innovator Award from The Arts Empowerment Project.

Read more about Corey Mitchell and the Theater Gap Initiative: https://theatregap.org/meet-our-team/

Jeanne Smith, State Education Co-Chair League of Women Voters Charlotte – Mecklenburg

The League of Women Voters promotes participation in elections and provides nonpartisan information to educate voters on issues and candidates. The League of Women Voters of Charlotte Mecklenburg is one of 15 local Leagues in North Carolina, serving voters in Mecklenburg, Iredell, Rowan, Cabarrus, Gaston, and Union counties.

Charlotte Branch and the LWV: Event honoring Women’s History Month partnered with League of Women Voters March 29, 2026 with three engaging aspects to the event:

    • AAUW Charlotte will have an informational table showcasing the organization.
    • A movie about the Second Wave of the Feminism Movement (circa early 1960s until the
      1980s)
    • A panel discussion with women who were actively involved in the movement.  (see the info below about the ERA NC Alliance)

Read more about the LWV – Charlotte – Mecklenburg: https://www.lwv.org/local-leagues/lwv-charlotte-mecklenburg

Marla Barthen – State Co-President ERA NC Alliance

ERA-NC Alliance – Marla Barthen co-president AAUW is a founding member of the alliance. The Equal Rights Amendment North Carolina Alliance is a group of organizations that agree ratification of the ERA will improve women’s lives in North Carolina and the United States. Learn about our Lead and Member Organizations and how your organization can be a part of this movement to achieve true equality under the law for both men and women in our country.

The NC ERA Alliance will report on the Driving the vote for Equality through North Carolina.

The “Driving the Vote for Equality” tour, a 25-state campaign to support the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) and celebrate Women’s History Month, officially launched on March 1, 2026, in New York City. Led by ERA advocates, including former Rep. Carolyn Maloney, the tour retraces the 1916 cross-country route taken by suffragists Alice Snitjer Burke and Nell Richardson, utilizing a restored 1914 Saxon automobile.

 

Read more about the ERA-NC Alliance: https://www.era-nc.org/