Sacred Hearts Academy hosted a pre-APEC conference panel featuring four accomplished women leaders: Ambassador Lauren Kahea Moriarty, Dr. Denise Eby Konan, Dr. Nancy Davis Lewis and Ms. Adrian Yi who focused on their experiences in economics and foreign relations.

Students in grades 7-12 and representatives from 16 other schools came to hear the women speak about roles of women in APEC.

Moriarty talked about her experiences as a U.S. diplomat, including working in Vietnam to approve visas for those who wanted to go the United States. She also mentioned that she and her husband were one of the first 10 couples in U.S. history to be working as ambassadors at the same time.

Yi shared about her life as a young woman in the economic world and how the women on the panel were trailblazers for her.

Konan related her experiences as the first woman professor in economics at the University of Hawaii while Lewis shared her global experiences and how they benefited her, especially in APEC. She and Yi also talked about opportunities for young people to get involved in leadership and entry into government.

Moriarty, Konan and Lewis were making their mark in economics and the foreign service at a time when few women participated in economics or diplomacy at all.

The conference gave Academy students incentives to think about APEC and how women are involved in leadership roles. “They challenged us to take on leadership roles,” junior Kristen Nishimoto said. “As a woman, it takes a lot of confidence and effort to step up. Now I am interested in finding leadership roles in the community.”