Vienna Nonprofit Announces Annual Leadership Conference Will Focus on Workplace Mental Health

The Women’s Center is taking its annual leadership conference online for the second year in a row.

The Vienna-based nonprofit (133 Park St. NE), which provides mental health services and education, announced yesterday (Thursday) that its 35th annual Leadership Conference will be held virtually from 1-5 p.m. on Apr. 9.

In the past, the conference took place at the Hilton McLean hotel in Tysons, drawing over 700 attendees, but last year’s event had to be rescheduled and reorganized for an online setting after the COVID-19 pandemic put large, in-person gatherings on hold, according to a press release.

The 2021 conference has been titled “Learn, Pivot, Grow” and will focus on the mental health challenges that many people are experiencing in their professional and personal lives during the pandemic.

“This isn’t just an economic crisis. It’s a mental health crisis, too,” The Women’s Center CEO and Executive Director Rachna Singal Krishnan said. “That’s why we felt the theme ‘Learn, Pivot, Grow’ was so timely. It gives us an opportunity to explore the issues of the times and forge our best path forward.”

Krishnan notes that the pandemic has been particularly disruptive for women, who tend to work in the industries hit hardest by the public health crisis and have been more likely to take time off work or leave their jobs altogether to shoulder childcare responsibilities.

Founded in 1974, The Women’s Center aims to provide accessible and affordable mental health care through offices in Vienna and D.C. On top of offering counseling services that are funded in part by Fairfax County, the nonprofit runs a training program for mental health professionals.

In addition to speakers and panels, the leadership conference will feature an auction and luxury vendors that will donate a portion of their proceeds to the center.

An initial lineup of speakers can be found on the conference website. Tickets will be available for sale starting on Mar. 9.

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