Exponent II 2019 Annual Fall Retreat Announcement

Edited for clarity on 5/22/19

Over the past year, our Facebook discussion group has grown, well, exponentially…

It is exciting to have new people join the group, and each arm of the Exponent II organization (magazine, blog, and retreat) is working to make sure that we remind and promote the other aspects of Exponent II.

To that end, I am delighted to get to announce the 2019 retreat details. The Exponent II retreat has been going on since the early 1980’s in New England as part of our mission to provide a forum for Mormon adult women (18 years and older) in all our diversity, including those based in how we identify our faith, race, ethnicity, gender (including cis and transgender women, gender-fluid individuals as well as female-identifying intersexed women), to share their life experiences in an atmosphere of trust and acceptance.

This year’s retreat (September 20-22, 2019) will open for registration at 12:00 PM (Eastern Daylight Time) on Monday, June 17th. There have been years when this retreat has sold out in less than 24 hours, so be ready with your credit card on June 17th if you are able to join us this year. Our workshops are being finalized now and include topics like women’s authority, creating art, self-care, and more. We go to the Barbara C Harris Episcopal Camp and Retreat Center (named after the first woman ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion, so it’s very fitting for our group), which is in Greenfield, New Hampshire. If you are flying in from out-of-state, the Portsmouth, New Hampshire airport is closest to the retreat center, but generally, it is easier to find a ride from the Boston airport, since so many locals drive from there. As the retreat date approaches, we can help coordinate ways to rideshare.

Keynote Speaker

Our board is pleased to announce that our keynote speaker at this year’s retreat will be Rebecca van Uitert, the Dean of Career Services & Professional Development at Brigham Young University Law School.

Rebecca van Uitert currently serves as the Dean of Career Services and Professional Development at BYU Law School. Prior to joining BYU, she practiced corporate immigration law at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP at both their Chicago and New York City offices. She also established and led the Fragomen Chicago office’s pro bono program, which focused on assisting refugees, asylum applicants, DACA students (“Dreamers”), and U visa (criminal victim) applicants. Rebecca has volunteered extensively with the CARA Family Detention Project since 2014, providing emergency representation to detained women and children seeking asylum along the southern border. Most recently, she, her mother, and three other BYU Law School deans traveled to Texas to offer their time, skills, and hearts toward assisting these vulnerable families imprisoned at the border.

Rebecca has also provided years of pro bono service to World Relief Refugee & Immigrant Services and the National Immigrant Justice Center. She previously held appointments on the Executive Board of the National Immigrant Justice Center, the Chicago Council for Emerging Leaders, and various international and local committees of the J. Reuben Clark Law Society. She is admitted to the bar in Illinois and New York.

In 2015, after thirteen years of marriage, Rebecca and her husband Jason adopted four biological siblings from foster care. Since the adoption, she has enjoyed a new era of peace with the church as she has realized how meaningful the gospel is for her kids (and for herself).  Becca previously enjoyed traveling, hiking, cycling, eating adult foods at interesting restaurants, and living in a clean house.

Registration information
Please note that space is limited and fills fast. If you would like to come but the retreat is full, please email [email protected] to be placed on a waitlist. If you registered for a space and find that you cannot attend after all, please e-mail [email protected] as soon as possible and we will do our best to connect you with someone on our waitlist, but we cannot make any guarantees and we cannot issue refunds after Saturday July 20th, 2019.

Due to the safety policies of the conference center, only non-mobile nursing infants are allowed. If your baby will be over 6 months old or able to crawl by September, please leave them at home.

Cost*
Semi-Private room: Standard $325 / Subsidized $300
Two beds, attached bath, hotel style in the St John’s Lodge, linens provided

Adult-friendly cabins: Standard $285 / Subsidized $260
4 twin beds per cabin, shared bath, linens provided

Dormitory cabin: $220 Standard / $195 Subsidized
10-12 beds per cabin, wooden bunk beds, shared bath, bring your own bedding and towel

See here for more details.

*Statement from the Exponent II Board Regarding Retreat Pricing

We will finalize room arrangements in semi-private and adult-friendly cabins after registration closes. We will try our best to accommodate your requests.

Your registration confirmation email will also include a link to a shared Google Doc to allow for people who need rides and bedding to make arrangements with those willing to provide those services. Be sure to enter a correct email address to get retreat updates!

We work hard to make the retreat as low cost as possible. If cost is preventing you from joining us, please email [email protected] about the availability of a scholarship.

More information can be found on the Exponent II website here.

Questions? Email [email protected].