Needham's Aly Raisman Among Speakers At MA Women's Conference

The Fourteenth annual Massachusetts Conference for Women was opened on December 5th by speakers including Elizabeth Gilbert, Franchesca Ramsey, and Needham's Aly Raisman.

Raisman spoke with Fortune's Ellen McGirt about how the media covered the sexual abuse she suffered as a member of the USA Gymnastics Team under doctor Larry Nassar. “I don’t have any control over how the media covers my story, and I feel like a lot of people don’t realize that [while] I came forward publicly in November 2017, I don’t think people realize that I had reported it in 2015,” Boston.com quoted Raisman as saying. “I might do an interview, and then they might only take one or two quotes from it, so that’s been a little bit tricky.” The Needham native came to the public eye as the captain and member of the US Olympic Gymnastic team's2012 Fierce Five and 2016's Final Five. She has won three gold medals, two silver medals, and one bronze medal.

Other speakers on the fifth included Eat, Pray, Love author Elizabeth Gilbert and Well, That Escalated Quickly author and activist Franchesca "Chescaleigh" Ramsey.

The next day, Human rights attorney Amal Clooney addressed the need for more accountability through our legal systems to prevent abuse of women.

“It is true that the #MeToo movement has changed the rules at work,” said Clooney. “We are living through a moment of reckoning – and a rebalancing of power. But there’s a long way from ‘me too’ to ‘never again’. So #MeToo should…mean not only that women can come forward and talk, but also that those in power are listening; and that where there has been a crime there will be accountability.”

Jesmyn Ward, a MacArthur “Genius” and two-time National Book Award winner, emphasized the value of persistence for obtaining success. “Hold on to your dream tightly and do everything you can to realize it, within reason, even if it appears there is no promise on the horizon,” she said.

Other keynote speakers included Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker; Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh; Shawn Achor, bestselling author and one of world’s leading experts on the relationship between happiness and success; and Maysoon Zayid, an actress, comedienne and disability advocate.

The nonpartisan, nonprofit event is part of the largest network of women’s conferences in the country. The events attract an estimated 40,000 women a year in Texas, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and California. Themed “The Power of Us: Amplify Your Voice,” they offer access to some of the most successful women in America and more than 100 experts who share practical skills and strategies related to business, philanthropy, health, finance, media and professional development.

BOSTON, MA - DECEMBER 05: Captain of the gold medal-winning US Olympic women's gymnastics teams in 2012 and 2016 Aly Raisman speaks on stage during 2018 Massachusetts Conference For Women - Opening Night at Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on December 5, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Marla Aufmuth/WireImage )