RTI International to Host Students at WomenNC’s 11^th Local to Global Forum Before Heading to New York

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C. — RTI International, a nonprofit research institute, will be hosting WomenNC’s 11^th Annual Local to Global Forum on March 4. The event, which is a collaborative effort between RTI’s Global Gender Center (GGC) and WomenNC — an accredited nonprofit with the United Nations (UN) — will showcase the nine months of work N.C. college students have completed on gender-related issues women and LGBT+ individuals experience across the state, with a special emphasis on communities in Durham. These students are from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, North Carolina State University, North Carolina Central University and Duke University.

The collaboration, led by Wendee Wechsberg, PhD, Director of RTI’s GGC, and Maria Murray Riemann, PhD, Director of WomenNC, provides N.C. college students with an opportunity to complete an original research project, receive training relative to the research process and present their findings to local and global communities.

Throughout the program, students are paired with mentors, or “FEMtors,” from RTI ‘s GGC to assist with the research process and provide insight and leadership on a variety of topics. The FEMtors also provide feedback and guidance to the scholars by reviewing the presentations and papers they create.

After presenting at RTI, the scholars will take their findings to the UN’s ‘Commission on the Status of Women’ session for UN Women on March 9 in New York.  In collaboration with the Durham County Women’s Commission, Durham Mayor’s Council for Women and the Wake County Commission for Women, the scholar’s reports will also be used to educate local N.C. government officials and advocate for policy changes and budget allocation.

 Attendees at this event will include:

• Sandra Dubose, performer and motivational speaker


• Elaine Marshall, North Carolina Secretary of State


• Cynthia Ball, North Carolina Representative


• Jessica Holmes, Wake County Commissioner

Please use this link to RSVP.