Women's History Month Lecture with Senator Stephanie Chang

Name: Women's History Month Lecture with Senator Stephanie Chang
Start: 2026-03-16T15:30:00-04:00
Location: Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts

Schedule

Mon, 16 Mar, 2026 at 03:30 pm

UTC-04:00

Location

Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts | Holland, MI

HOLLAND, MI – Michigan Senator Stephanie Chang, the first Asian American woman elected to the Michigan legislature, will present a lecture on “Identity, Activism and Advancing Change for Women and Girls,” during Hope College’s annual Women’s History Month Lecture. The lecture will be held on Monday, March 16, at 3:30 p.m. in the recital hall of the Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts. The public is invited and admission is free.
Hope College is honored to host Senator Stephanie Chang for a compelling lecture that will focus on how Women of Color play a unique role in activism, leadership, and community change. How does identity shape the ongoing work to impact issues facing women and girls? Senator Stephanie Chang will talk about her own journey as an organizer turned public servant and mom, as well as how we can address problems like gender violence and the impact of immigration enforcement on women and families, self and community care, and explore ways communities have and can continue to care for each other in the current moment. Attendees will have the opportunity to reflect on their own relationships to community and care and consider strategies to engage in and sustain solidarity efforts.
Doors will open at 3:15 p.m. and there will also be a Q&A panel discussion following the presentation.
About Senator Stephanie Chang:
Opportunity, access, equity, justice and service are the core values driving Senator Stephanie Chang, the first Asian American woman elected to the Michigan legislature. She worked as a community organizer in Detroit for nearly a decade before serving two terms in the Michigan House of Representatives and then as the Democratic Floor Leader for her first term in the Senate. She is currently serving her second term in the Michigan Senate and is the Senate Democratic Policy and Steering Chair.
Sen. Chang has built a strong track record of getting things done. In the state legislature, she has led on air quality and environmental justice, criminal justice reforms, affordable, safe drinking water, and immigrants’ rights issues. She has passed bipartisan legislation on a range of issues including sexual assault education and prevention, an address confidentiality program for survivors of domestic violence, the COVID-19 water shutoff moratorium, female genital mutilation, nitrous oxide “whip-its”, reentry services for wrongfully convicted individuals who were exonerated, improving Michigan’s maritime economy, support of community crisis response to mental health emergencies, and establishing Fred Korematsu Day of Civil Liberties and the Constitution. She is proud to have helped secure a historic community benefits agreement for Southwest Detroit residents near the Gordie Howe International Bridge and is active in her district advocating for the community’s needs. She cofounded the Asian Pacific American Legislative Caucus in Michigan and served as the chair of the Progressive Women’s Caucus in 2017-18.
She served as state director for NextGen Climate Michigan, alumni engagement and evaluation coordinator for the Center for Progressive Leadership in Michigan, deputy director for the Campaign for Justice and as an organizer for Michigan United/One United Michigan. She also worked as a community engagement coordinator for the James and Grace Lee Boggs School and assistant to Grace Lee Boggs, an activist, writer, and speaker. The senator is a co-founder of Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote-Michigan and Rising Voices; she also serves on the board of the Southwest Detroit Community Justice Center.
Chang earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and master’s degrees in public policy and social work from the University of Michigan. She lives in Detroit with her husband, Sean Gray, and two young daughters.
To inquire about accessibility or what accommodations may be needed to fully participate in the event, please email [email protected]. Updates related to events are posted when available at hope.edu/calendar in the individual listings.
The Jack H. Miller Center for Musical Arts is located at 221 Columbia Ave., between Ninth and 10th streets.