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Many people ask me about my husband, Peter Lacis. They marvel, “Who is this mysterious man who is behind the scenes of the Erin Weed and Girls Fight Back? How does he put up with her?” It’s a fascinating question indeed, since our home and office are packed with non-stop action. I will tell you that between Peter and Michelle (our Events Coordinator), they really hold down the fort when I’m off galavanting around the nation. You’d assume this would be a hard dynamic in a marriage, but it really works for us. And the thing is, we both have our respective places when it comes to being on stage. I kick ass and he rocks out. Peter was recently featured in Premier Guitar Magazine, and you can click on the video to see Pete rock! I’m a lucky girl…

Yesterday was an interesting day. And I learned that many Tennessee automobile owners turn into driver’s ed students the minute snow appears. I woke up at 5am so I’d have plenty of time to drive 45 minutes to Nashville to catch my flight to Ohio. On the road by 5:30am, I figured I had tons of time. But after getting on the main highway to the airport, I realized I might have a problem. Two and a half hours later, I wasn’t even halfway to the airport. The road was just a parking lot, seemingly due to all the car accidents that we’re happening. But as a Chicago girl, frankly I couldn’t conceive how this half inch of snow could cause such a debacle. I sat in my car as my flight took off, and realized it was time for plan B. Now this is an important moment, when you realize you’ve missed your flight and you calculate that alternative plans to get to your next destination are not awesome. But it’s important to catch yourself in pre-meltdown mode and make decisions about how the drama will affect your day. So as tears sprung to my eyes, I decided to make a choice. I was simply going to enjoy a glorious drive 7 hours north to Oxford Ohio! And that I did, mostly in silence as there weren’t any good radio stations. It was actually kinda nice, to have uninturrupted hours of silence. I got to Oxford at 3:30 pm…after driving since 5:30 am…and I felt remarkably good. It’s sheer testament that powerful, conscious decisions can create your reality. I spoke at one of my favorite schools, Miami of Ohio. I have been here twice before, and the peer educators absolutely rock like Spock. I gave the Stayin’ Alive on Spring Break program and enjoyed dinner afterwards with the event organizers. It was great to be back in lovely Oxford, but after 11 days straight on the road, it’s time to fly back to Denver and hit the slopes.

I have spent the past two days here in lovely Clarksville. It’s been oddly cold and snowy here in Tennessee, a far departure from hot Arizona! Let me tell you, packing for the wide variety of climates on this two week stint of travel has been quite a challenge. Monday night I spoke to a big crowd of student athletes about how to stay safe on spring break. Then tonight I gave the Girls Fight Back program to a gaggle of female athletes and sorority members. Both were very spirited and awesome crowds, who especially loved the physical self-defense stuff. A huge thanks goes to Lindsay Mazer (pictured with me at left) for organizing all the events. A huge success! Tomorrow I fly to Ohio, so now I must bid my new TN friends farewell…I’ve certainly spent a lot of time in this state so far! (That’s a good thing – but I still haven’t had a chance to get out to Graceland and get me a sparkly Elvis costume…)

I founded Girls Fight Back as a direct response to the 2001 murder of my sorority sister, Shannon McNamara. And while that was the initial eye-opening event, GFB was actually founded for so many more women. A friend of mine named Nick Albu, 28, was a friend of Shannon’s from high school. From the beginning, Nick has been a huge support of GFB. Recently he and I have been working on some exciting things that will work towards a big goal: That no girl goes to college without knowing how to defend herself. This will take time, but we’re crafting a pretty cool plan. Back in 2001, Nick thought that what happened to Shannon is a once in a lifetime loss. But three years ago, his sister Katie was murdered in Phoenix, AZ. She was spending a quiet night at home with her son when she heard a fire alarm go off, and a bunch of commotion outside. So she went out the front door to investigate, and was met by a man in a rage and armed with a knife. He stabbed her 30 times. In a few days, the jury decides if this man will receive the death penalty. I just wanted to publicly say that all we do at Girls Fight Back is for every victim, survivor and family member trying to cope with a violent loss of a loved one. Much love and support to all who know this pain.  To read an article all about Katie in today’s Daily Herald, click here.

Yesterday was a really inspiring day. I was brought to U of A by my good friend from college, Gary Ballinger. Gary is the Greek Affairs Director on campus, and they planned a full day event for Greek new members about Spring Break Safety. It was sponsored by the family of former U of A student, Hunter White, who died on spring break in Mexico. I met Hunter’s mom & dad, as well as his brother & sister (Whitney & Will) who are now speaking about safe spring break. I gave the Stayin’ Alive on Spring Break program to 1,000 co-eds and it was quite a good time. Things got especially interesting when the fire alarm went off in the middle of my program. Good times! So the entire crowd filtered out of the student union and we had to wait for fire trucks to arrive. The event organizers felt really bad, but I was actually able to tell them this has happened to me before. And if you’re a speaker and can’t handle these little mishaps…well then you shouldn’t be speaking to college students! I shot a bunch of video of this event, and each month I’ll try and post a montage of my videos in the GFB e-newsletter. Yesterday night I went to El Charro with Gary and the crew. Apparently this is the birthplace of the chimichanga, and I had a chicken one. Quite tasty indeed! I will miss the warm weather here, that’s for sure.

My college sorority, Alpha Phi, has published some of my fave Spring Break Safety Tips in an article on their website – click here to read it.

This weekend at MGCA has been a total blast.  It’s always very exciting for me as a speaker to meet new people and throw down with old friends at these occasions several times per year.  Pictured at left are a bunch of speakers on different topics.  From left to right: Courtney Barstad (Director of Programs at CAMPUSPEAK), Jessica Pettitt (diversity and gender issues speaker), Raphael Saeler (drug abuse speaker), Amy Butler (Director of Lectures at CAMPUSPEAK), me, Becca Tieder & Kelly Addington (sexual assault speakers), Bil Leipold & Joe Bertolino (gay issues speakers).  They are so lovely, and let me tell you, a dinner with a bunch of professional speakers never has a silent moment!

We just arrived at the Mid-American Greek Council Association today…and so did our brand new conference exhibit. I’m in love.  This is a great annual conference…one that I have attended since I was a sorority president in 1999.  It brings over 1,000 Greek leaders from midwestern colleges to the conference to learn about issues and to network.  Expect more photos and video from the weekend soon.

Yesterday I flew from Philly to Nashville, then drove about 2 hours to Cookeville.  Realized I had forgotten my Mac remote control, which is rather crucial for a presentation using the new Keynote software.  (This is what Al Gore’s presentation in “An Inconvenient Truth” was designed with, and I adore it!  It’s so pretty.  So I hit the Apple Store in Nashville, which was fabulous.  I love that Apple Store, I tell you.  In the evening, I spoke to 100+ students all about how to stay safe on spring break.  Only trouble was that I was having a hard time finding the right building on campus to speak in, despite the fact the venue had a bell tower in it.  They all looked pretty similar nonetheless, and I was running a few minutes late.  Panicking I said out loud, “Where the hell is this building?”  In the exact moment following, a beautiful LOUD bell rang out from the building I was standing in front of.  It’s in these moments that I know my angel is following me around, and throwin’ me a bone when I need some help.  At left, see me with the organizers of the event.  Thanks everyone!

Yesterday I began my spring tour by doing the program at Moravian College. Upon flying into Philadelphia, it was 60 degrees, but by the time I got to Bethlehem, PA that night, it was totally freezing. That tricky Pennsylvania! I had a great time talking to a bunch of RA’s and other students about what they can do to be safe on spring break…and how to educate others in the process. A big thanks to Jen who organized the event. (at left)

If you’re into the new internet phenomenon Twitter, follow me as I’m about to embark on the most action-packed tour to date. www.twitter.com/erinweed In case you’re wondering what the heck twitter is…it brings instant gratification for social networking world to a brand new level. As I’m out and about on my travels, I will be giving regular updates of the good, the bad and the wickedly random events that take place…and by subscribing to follow me, you’ll get all my updates as soon as they happen.

The “Say NO to Violence against Women” campaign counts on each of us to speak out by signing up. Now, the United Nations Foundation is counting too. It has issued a challenge: for each of the first 100,000 signatures to the campaign, the UN Foundation will donate $1 to the UN Trust Fund to End Violence against Women. We need everyone’s help to get 100,000 people to sign on to the UNIFEM campaign so that $100,000 will be contributed to the Trust Fund for local initiatives working to prevent human trafficking, assisting survivors of domestic violence or helping implement laws against rape. So let’s do this thing!  Sign the petition at: www.saynotoviolence.org.

Normally on Valentine’s Day I would post something light, cute and funny. I find it hard to do that today, as shots rang out at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb. NIU is a stop on my spring tour, and my staff has been working with a member of Panhellenic Council to plan the event. I wrote her a note today, after hearing what had happened. What’s there really to do, besides tell someone you care and are keeping the entire campus community in your thoughts and prayers. I am just about to leave the office, and I heard back from her. She says her friend was killed, and her mom is coming to pick her up. It reminded me of the day of the Virginia Tech shooting. I had spoken at VA Tech just a few months before that mass murder, and I facebooked all my friends during that day to check in. It’s just heartbreaking that students have to be concerned about getting shot in the head while listening to a professor’s lecture. Sadly, I know what it feels like to lose a friend to cowardly homicide…and there really aren’t words. I just hope they don’t plaster this killer’s face and name all over the place. The best punishment is to not give any recognition at all. All of us at Girls Fight Back are sending some warm thoughts and peace to all affected by this tragedy.

WHAT: 7th Annual Girls Fight Back for ShanMac Fundraiser
WHEN: Friday, March 7th 2008 from 8 pm – 12 midnight
WHERE: Slugger’s Bar – 3450 N Clark St, Chicago, IL 60657
COST: $30 per person for open bar

This annual event is held in memory of Shannon McNamara, who was a 21-year-old college student murdered at Eastern Illinois University in 2001. Shortly after this tragedy, Shannon’s college friend (Erin Weed) formed an organization called Girls Fight Back. GFB educates young women about personal safety and self-defense through live seminars, books and the educational website www.girlsfightback.org. Every March since Shannon’s murder, hundreds of people attend this fundraiser to raise money for violence prevention programs in Chicago’s high schools in hopes of preventing more tragedies. This year the incredible band, The Charleston Sound Machine, will be performing all night. Check them out at: www.csmband.com. Hope to see you there!

Check out this movie that some of my activist friends are in…coming in Spring ‘08.

On today’s show I had two incredible guests. First up was Jill Connor Browne, bestselling author and the founder of the “Sweet Potato Queen” movement. Next was Giulia Rozzi, a writer and comic from New York City. Remember you can listen to the broadcast on AM 760 every Sunday, but there has been a time change. Starting on February 17, the show will be on air from 4:30 – 5 pm EST. Why the shorter show, you ask? Simply put, hosting a radio show is a LOT of work. And this week I looked at my schedule for the Spring Tour, and darn near peed my pants. I’m going to be traveling non-stop, and I am trying to take active steps to maintain my sanity during the tour. So AM 760 has agreed to a shorter show, but it will still have the same great humor and content you are used to. Thanks for understanding.  Click here to listen to the podcast.

One of my girlfriends from college came to visit me in Colorado this weekend. Her name is Stacy and she’s the co-owner of Chicago’s coolest high-end bridal boutique called White Chicago. She’s always very cute and fashionable, whereas I tend to be a tad more lazy when it comes to personal style. So imagine my surprise when I came downstairs after getting primped for the day, only to collide with Stacy wearing the SAME shirt! Clearly, we are two loyal Target shoppers. As you can see from the first photo documenting this awkward moment, neither of us were happy. But then we decided it was funny, so we tossed back our heads and laughed. (which was caught in the second photo) Both pictures were taken by paprazzi, in case you were wondering.

I can honestly say, it’s been refreshing to see and feel the excitement in the air over the decision of who will be our next leader.  It’s also nice to see a race and not think to yourself, “I wonder which one is least likely to get us all nuked.”  No, this time around there are some good candidates, all running some hard races to Pennsylvania Avenue.  And to think that two of the bigger players are bi-racial and female, respectively?  That’s pretty damn exciting.  At left, you’ll see a new play on the “If they mated” game, originally started on the Conan O’Brien Show.  But this time the game is called, “If they simultaneously swapped gender AND race.”  The person on the right kinda looks like Val Kilmer, no?

This weekend I had the opportunity to hit the slopes with my good friend, Allison Howard.  You probably have never heard of her before, because she is the gal BEHIND the cameras on some of television’s big reality show hits.  She was visiting from New York City, and we had a great opportunity to chat about my upcoming documentary.  Great skiing and brainstorming with a real video guru!

On today’s show I had two incredible guests.  First up was Angela Rose, sexual assault survivor, activist and founder of PAVE.  Next was William Sledd, the fabulous creator of the YouTube sensation, “Ask a Gay Man.”

Click here to listen to the podcast. 

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