On Thursday, November 13, at 7 p.m. at the Plaza Branch, 4801 Main St., a panel consisting of women from pre-Baby Boomers to Generation Y will participate in Women, Girls, Ladies: A Panel on Intergenerational Feminism Honoring Ruth Margolin, Founding Director of the UMKC Women’s Center.

Margolin served as the Women’s Center’s first director, holding the position from 1971-1998. Since its inception, the Center has evolved into an organization that advocates, educates, and provides support services for the achievement of women’s equity both on campus and in the community.

The panel, consisting of Kristal Brent Zook, Gloria Feldt, Courtney E. Martin, and Maria Teresa Petersen, will discuss the changes and common goals within the women’s movement, addressing topics such as power, work, sex, motherhood, and pop culture.

Zook is an author and award-winning journalist whose work has appeared in Essence, The Washington Post, Vibe, Savoy, and The Nation. Feldt, an author and commentator, is the former CEO of Planned Parenthood Federation of America who was named to Vanity Fair’s Top 200 Women Leaders, Legends, and Trailblazers list. Martin is an adjunct professor of Women’s Studies at Hunter College. Her book, Perfect Girls, Starving Daughters: The Frightening New Normalcy of Hating Your Body was called a “hard cover punch in the gut” by Arianna Huffington. Petersen is the founding executive director of Voto Latino, a youth organization engaging the next generation of Americans in civic participation, and is a frequent guest political analyst on MSNBC, CNBC, NPR, CNN Español, and Fox News.

This event is co-sponsored by the UMKC Women’s Center, the Ruth Margolin Leadership Endowment, the Sol Margolin Education Fund, and the Gerard B. and Patricia Y. Rivette Endowment and the Kansas City Public Library.