Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen Announce United State of Women Summit

Valerie Jarrett and Tina Tchen, who both led the Obama administration's White House Council on Women and Girls, are coming together to put on the second United State of Women Summit. The Summit will take place in LA on May 4th and 5th, and is aimed at bringing together organizations and advocates to talk about issues affecting women and girls, such as the gender pay gap, campus sexual assault, and accessibility to childcare and healthcare. The speaker lineup is shaping up, and so far includes: #MeToo Founder Tarana Burke; Actress Kelly Marie Tran; Commentator Symone Sanders; Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO of the National Women’s Law Center; Ai-jen Poo, Executive Director, National Domestic Workers Alliance & Co-Director; Activist Brittany Packnett; Black Girls Rock Founder Beverly Bond; Activist Mónica Ramírez with Alianza Nacional de Campesinas; and former Teen Vogue Editor-in-Chief Elaine Welteroth, among many others. Organizers have not yet disclosed whether Michelle Obama will be involved this year. "I'm passionate about continuing the work that we dedicated ourselves to when President Obama was in the White House," Jarrett said. "I'm optimistic, and that optimism is based on ordinary people doing extraordinary things." Tchen weighed in, saying, "We do our work as women and activists in silos and that's not how women live their lives." Often, she added, they're juggling aging parents, getting mammograms, finding childcare and earning a living. "That's how your average woman is struggling with her issues in her life and can't figure out the alphabet soup of policies that are coming our of Washington and elsewhere," Tchen continued. That's why the Summit -- and organization at large -- aims to educate women on the issues and marry challenges with tangible action. See all the speakers here.