Annual Women's Conference

Long Beach (myFOXa.com) - Former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, photographer Annie Leibovitz and Elizabeth Edwards are among the news-makers and opinion leaders scheduled to take part in The Women's Conference 2009 Tuesday at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Hosted by California first lady Maria Shriver and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, the event has grown each year, with the 2008 event attracting more than 14,000 women attending a variety of panel discussions and speeches on a range of topics.

This year's event will feature Albright taking part in a panel on "How A Woman's Nation Changes Everything," while Shriver will host a discussion titled "Grief, Healing and Resilience," featuring actress Susan Saint James and Elizabeth Edwards, wife of former senator and vice presidential candidate John Edwards.

Kidnapping victim Elizabeth Smart and her mother Lois will take part in a panel discussion on "Overcoming the Unimaginable." Actor and "new media" entrepreneur Ashton Kutcher will speak during a panel on "Changing the World Through the Web" and U.S. Airways pilot Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, who became a national hero when he safely landed a plane on the Hudson River, will be featured in a discussion on "Profiles of Inspiration."

Schwarzenegger, FDIC chairwoman Sheila Bair and Sir Richard Branson, founder and president of The Virgin Group, will take part in a panel discussion titled "Tough Leadership Decisions in Tough Times," moderated by Robin Roberts, co-anchor of ABC's "Good Morning America."

The Women's Conference was formerly called the California Governor and First Lady's Conference on Women. It began more than 20 years ago as a small government initiative for women business owners.

The conference will continue its tradition of honoring "the most remarkable women of the year" with the annual presentation of the Minerva Awards hosted by Shriver.

This year's Minerva Award winners are:

-- Dr. Kathy Hull, founder of the George Mark Children's House in San Leandro, the first freestanding residential pediatric palliative care center in the United States; Jane Goodall, primatologist and conservationist; Agnes Stevens, founder of School on Wheels, which provides tutoring and educational opportunities for homeless children and teens; and Helen Devore Waukazoo, co-founder of the Bay Area-based Friendship House, which provides residential substance abuse treatment for American Indians.

"They are women who have pursued their own path and true purpose and who passionately dedicate themselves to the service of others," Shriver said.

"Each of these remarkable women strive to make a difference every day and, by their example, inspire us to do the same."