The Female Faces of War Conference began in 2007 as a celebration of International Women's Day, under the sole sponsorship of the YWCA of Greater Rhode Island. The speakers were Ada Winsten, a holocaust survivor, Ruth Crocker a Vietnam widow, Awista Ayub, from the Afghanistan Youth Sports exchange, Vanessa Contopulos, a music therapist who worked with the Invisible Children in Uganda, Stepahny Kern, a mother who lost her son in Iraq, and Dorcas Kumba Kamanda, a nurse from Sierra Leone who has started a clinic in Kabala.

Year 2 in 2008 brought a collaboration with the exhibit project "Women Protecting US" at Battleship Cove. The event expanded to include an overnight onboard the Battleship Massachusetts, a preview showing of Women Protecting US. The other speakers were Medal of Honor recipient Thomas G. Kelly, Secretary of Veterans' Services, Judy Barrett Litoff, PhD, of Bryant University author of many books on women who served in WWII, Mary Lou Palumbo who contributed her work on WWII women for Ken Burns' "The War", Prof. Jill Carey and two students who documented the Red Cross uniform collection at Battleship Cove, Ruth Crocker, who performed as Louisa May Alcott during the Civil War, Major Margaret Oglesby who earned a bronze star in Afghanistan, Lt Missy Cummings, Currently the Boeing Asst. Prof in Aeronautics and Astronautics at MIT and the Navy's first woman fighter pilot, Kristin Lynch from Bryant University, Brittany Berquist from her charity program, Cell phones for soldiers, Shakti Sabhrwal, M.D. who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom, U.S. Navy Master Chief (Ret) Cindi LaPorte who spoke of her 30 year career, and the changes in the military that now puts women and men side by side in the battlefield field.

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