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state of women & Girls Breakfast

march 26, 2026 | 9:30 AM - 11:00 Am

Join Washington Area Women’s Foundation State of Women and Girls Breakfast, where influential leaders and community changemakers come together to examine the most pressing issues shaping the lives of women and girls across our region and nationwide. This dynamic conversation will not only reflect on where we are today, but also spark meaningful dialogue about where we go next and how we move forward together.

The panel will be moderated by Michelle Rice, President of TV One, and will feature an inspiring lineup of voices including Doni Crawford, Washington, DC At-Large Council Member; Rebecca Epstein, Executive Director of the Center on Gender Justice and Opportunity at Georgetown Law; and Jennifer Iverson, Executive Director of Child Resource Connect.

Enjoy a light breakfast while engaging in a conversation centered on collaboration, solutions, and lasting change.

Seats are limited. RSVP by Monday, March 23 to be part of this impactful experience.

RSVP TODAY

Speaker bios

Michelle L. Rice was named President of TV One and CLEO TV in October 2020. Previously, Rice served as General Manager since 2017. She continues to have oversight of all business, operational and creative aspects for both networks.

Rice shepherded the development and launch of TV One’s new sister network, CLEO TV, an aspirational lifestyle and entertainment TV network serving Millennial and Gen X women of color that launched in January 2019. Since its launch, Rice has successfully leveraged relationships to expand distribution of CLEO TV on AT&T, Charter, Comcast, and Verizon’s platforms. Under her leadership, TV One solidified its first vMVPD distribution deal with Philo TV and has continued to grow its distribution footprint.  She continues to play a pivotal role in working with strategic partners to create linear and digital content campaigns in response to a myriad of political and social issues that profoundly impact communities of color.

Rice was previously Executive Vice President of Content Distribution and Marketing for TV One. In that role, she developed distribution strategies and handled national accounts negotiations with major multichannel video programming distributors (MPVDs) to increase and maximize TV One’s content distribution opportunities on mobile, linear and non-linear distribution platforms.  She also handled domestic and international program sales and distribution for the network.

Before joining TV One, Rice had stints at iNDemand, NBC Cable Network and Black Entertainment Television (BET), where she started her career through the Walter Kaitz Fellowship program in 1993.

A graduate of Temple University and the University of Southern California, Rice was honored by her alma mater with the Lew Klein Alumni in Media Award. Additionally, Temple University’s Lew Klein College of Media and Communication appointed her to its board in 2021. A recipient of numerous awards, Rice has been named to CableFAX’s Top 100 in Cable, Top Minorities in Cable and Top Women in Cable. She’s also been recognized as a NAMIC Emerging Leader, Broadcasting & Cable’s “Next Wave of Leaders,” “40 under 40” by Multichannel News, and one of Multichannel News’ Wonder Women. Rice was also a finalist in CableFAX’s Sales Executive of the Year Awards in 2012 and led the team, which was awarded CableFAX’s Sales Team of the Year for mid-sized cable networks. Rice has been featured in publications such as “Black Enterprise,” “Variety,” “Deadline,” “TV Week” and “The Root.” She was highlighted as a trailblazer in “CableFAX’s” Black History Month Special Report and in 2020, Rice was recognized by the Washington Business Journal’s with the Minority Business Leadership Award. Most recently, Rice was inducted into the Class of 2022 Cable TV Pioneers, the most prestigious award honoring and uplifting leaders in the cable TV industry.

Rice is actively involved on the Boards of several local civic, community and charitable organizations, including Easterseals, Calvary Women’s Services and United Way of the Nation’s Capital. Additionally, she is a member and staunch supporter of both the Washington Area Women Foundation and International Women’s Forum. She currently resides in Maryland with her family.

Doni Crawford is a newly appointed Councilmember for the District of Columbia, sworn in on January 20, 2026. She brings over a decade of experience in public policy, economic development, and racial equity to her role on the Council.

Donnie came to the District with a simple belief: that government—done right—can help people build better lives. And when working people are struggling, government can’t wait. It has to act. That belief has guided her work every day. 

As Director of the Council’s Business and Economic Development Committee, she led budget oversight and legislative initiatives to strengthen small businesses, commercial corridors, and equitable economic opportunities. Donnie worked on policies that shaped whether residents could start and sustain businesses, find good jobs, and build wealth in their communities. She also played a key role in the negotiations of the Robert F. Kennedy campus stadium deal, and she pushed to strengthen community benefits, local hiring requirements, and accountability. 

When the pandemic hit, thousands of DC workers in the informal cash economy found themselves ineligible for unemployment benefits. Donnie helped lead a coalition that fought for them before the Council, and together they secured $41 million in relief for excluded workers. 

Her previous roles include Legislative Director and Senior Policy Advisor in the Office of At-Large Councilmember Kenyan R. McDuffie, where she spearheaded landmark legislation addressing racial and economic inequities. She also shaped fiscal and equity policy at the DC Fiscal Policy Institute and drove community revitalization strategies at Neighborhood Allies in Pittsburgh, PA.

Doni holds a Master of Public and International Affairs from the University of Pittsburgh’s Graduate School of Public and International Affairs and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Hispanic Languages and Literatures from the University of Pittsburgh. Her work has been featured in major outlets including Time Magazine, CNN, and The Washington Post. Outside of her professional life, Doni loves to read, is an avid tennis player, enjoys traveling, and cherishes spending time with her family.

Rebecca Epstein is the Executive Director of the Center on Gender Justice & Opportunity at Georgetown Law. She has authored many reports on improving public systems’ responses to marginalized girls, including Girlhood Interrupted, the groundbreaking research report that identified adultification as a form of bias against Black girls; and Criminalized Survivors, on the prosecution of sexually abused girls.

Rebecca has spoken as an expert at conferences across the country and has received wide recognition for her work. She has served as a member of the Steering Committee of the Girls @ the Margin National Alliance, a co-leader of the National Girls Initiative, and an advisor to Brown University’s Pembroke Center for Teaching and Research on
Women.

Previously, Rebecca was a senior trial attorney in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice; a staff attorney at Public Justice; and policy counsel at the National Partnership on Women and Families.

Rebecca graduated with honors from Brown University and received her J.D. from New York University School of Law. She clerked for Judge Raymond A. Jackson in the Eastern District of Virginia, and is a member of the DC, NY, and Supreme Court bars.

Jennifer Iverson is a community-centered, mission-driven leader who believes early childhood systems should work beautifully and boldly for all families. As Executive Director of Child Resource Connect, she guides a $5 million human services organization serving five Maryland counties and leading forty staff in advancing equitable access to early childhood supports.

Since joining CRC in 2001, Jennifer has helped grow the organization from a single-county resource hub into a regional connector for families, providers, and policymakers. Under her leadership, Family Connects Prince George’s was launched in 2021, offering universal access to nurse home visits for new mothers and caregivers after childbirth. CRC’s service footprint has expanded across multiple counties, reaching early childhood educators and strengthening infant and early childhood mental health supports. Her leadership blends strategic vision with authentic partnership, challenging traditional silos and building coalitions that turn shared values into coordinated action. 

Jennifer holds a Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate from Georgetown University Center for Public and Nonprofit Leadership and a B.A. in Sociology from Westmont College. She currently serves on regional and state early childhood leadership bodies, championing collaborative solutions that strengthen children, families, and the communities that hold them.

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