365 Media Foundation, the nonprofit organization that operates Madison365, FoxValley365 and the Wisconsin Leadership Summit, announced today that the state’s premier professional development event for people of color, scheduled to take place October 5-6 in Madison, will become a week-long, online event running October 5-9, due to the ongoing pandemic.
“We’re actually excited about the possibilities this change presents,” said 365 Media CEO Henry Sanders. “Just over the past two years this event has become something people really look forward to, so the thought of cancelling never crossed our mind. But we do have to keep our people safe and healthy. We’ve had several virtual town hall events and the response has been incredible, so I’m excited about doing our signature event this way.”
Sanders noted that the change will allow the event to be spread out over a week, so no one will have to choose which sessions to attend. Additionally, anyone can participate without incurring travel expenses.
Organizers hope to capitalize on the success of a number of virtual town hall events, such as the Racial Justice Summit held June 5.
The price of registration will also drop significantly — full registration will cost $79, with a government and nonprofit rate of $49 and a student rate of $20.
Registration will open on August 1. More information will be available at http://www.wisconsinleadershipsummit.com.
The first WLS in 2018 drew about 320 to Ho Chunk Gaming in Wisconsin Dells, and the second in 2019 had nearly 600 in attendance at Overture Center for the Arts in Madison.
