Watch: Keynote Speaker Riley Gaines spoke to 500 attendees about defending women’s sports at the 2024 Leadership Institute’s Embracing Womanhood Conference.

The Leadership Institute held Orlando’s inaugural Women’s Empowerment Conference at the Rosen Centre, with Senior Director Angela Faulkner serving as MC and Attorney Vennia Francois as Event Chair. The event inspired over 500 attendees with a powerful message on women’s rights.

The event kicked off with a welcome reception, bringing together local politicians, community leaders, and out-of-town guests for an evening of networking and celebration.

Notable among the attendees was Congressman Cory Mills, who energized the audience with a speech emphasizing the essential role of men as protectors and allies in the fight for gender equity.

Mills’ powerful words, “Boys by Birth, Men by Age, and Gentlemen by Choice,” resonated deeply, reinforcing the event’s theme of mutual respect between men and women

Keynote speaker Riley Gaines, a 12x All-American swimmer and outspoken advocate for maintaining single-sex spaces in women’s sports, took center stage. She was joined by other prominent figures, including detransitioner Chloe Cole, Florida Congresswomen Laurel Lee and Kat Cammack, Florida State Senator Erin Grall, State Representatives Rachel Plakon, Karen Gonzalez-Pittman, and Kaylee Tuck, former State Representative Deborah Tamargo, Orange County School Board Member Alicia Farrant, Event Chair Attorney Vennia Francois, South Dakota State Senator-Elect Amber Hulse, and Moms for Liberty Co-Founder Tina Descovich. Each speaker delivered compelling messages about the urgent need to protect women’s rights, particularly concerning Title IX, women’s sports and spaces.

The Leadership Institute also hosted panel discussions on five critical topics:

Women’s Voices in Leadership
Parental Rights
Defending Women’s Spaces
Civic Engagement in the Real World
Gen Z: The Voices of Future Leaders