COUNTYWIDE : Jillian to Be Speaker at Women’s Seminar

Actress Ann Jillian, whose battle with breast cancer was dramatized in a television movie, will be a keynote speaker at the second annual Orange County Women’s Conference on Monday and Tuesday at the Irvine Marriott hotel.

The conference, aimed at professional women, will feature 80 speakers whowill conduct 65 seminars in four mainareas: balancing personal and professional lives, career advancement, entrepreneurship, and health and wellness.

“In my mind, it is a kind of self-help conference,” said Dr. Anna L. McFarlin, president of Irvine Valley College and conference chairwoman. “It’s a broad program with something for everybody.”

The two-day seminar is organized by Irvine Valley College and the Irvine Chamber of Commerce. Participation is expected to exceed last year’s attendance of 300, said George McCrory, college spokesman.

Linda Alvarez, KNBC-TV newscaster, will be the second keynote speaker. Dr. Pat Allen, a stand-up comedian and psychotherapist and author of the book, “Conversational Rape,” will also speak.

Workshops range from “What to Do if Your Company Is Downsizing” to “Getting Elected to Office and/or Getting a Political Appointment,” to “Is Your Biological Clock Really Ticking?”

Sandra Young, partner in Womens Focus, a career counseling group, said her group is very involved in helping to organize the conference.

“We believe in supporting women,” she said. Womens Focus has donated a staff member to help organize the conference because women still face economic discrimination, she said.

Women make 70 cents for every dollar a man makes, Young said. “If we’re going to raise it we have to know how,” she said.

Young said women are now starting businesses at three times the rate of men, “and are doing very well.” By the year 2000, half of all businesses are expected to be owned by women, she said.

“Women who are hitting the glass ceiling are getting out and using their skills where they are appreciated,” Young said.

Men are invited and encouraged to attend the conference, organizers said.

Advance registration for two days is $195, which includes a banquet.