This Saturday was Unalaska’s annual women’s conference, sponsored by the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic. About 115 women registered for the event -- about three times as many as last year, says clinic director Eileen Scott.

Scott says the organizers are already talking about programming for next year. This weekend, volunteers taught classes on meditation, aromatherapy, and family planning.

"This year, we kind of started with young families and how to start a family," says Scott. "So maybe we want to talk about 50-and-older women’s health issues and concerns. That would be a good turnout."

Visit the top of the page for an interview with the keynote speaker, Barbara Belknap. Belknap is an equal pay advocate and the former director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. She started at ASMI as a secretary in 1989, and rose through the ranks to lead the institute. Belknap quit her director job in 2002 after she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.