Author, actress Tate named keynote speaker CWL Event

Polo Reo Tate, a Lansing native, actress, author, and great-great- granddaughter of automotive pioneer Ransom E. Olds, is the keynote speaker at Olivet’s 2019 Cultivating Women Leaders (CWL) event March 22.

Tate was accepted into the U.S. Air Force Academy after high school, but experienced harassment, as well as physical, emotional and sexual abuse from her peers and superiors. Tate wrote about her experiences in her memoir, “Deep Dark Blue: A Memoir of Survival.”

Tate will be sharing her story, insight and inspiration the CWL event, which is an initiative of the Olivet Col- lege Women’s Leadership Institute. According to the college, CWL is designed to inform and equip young women to embrace their inner strength and realize their potential as responsible leaders.

After the Academy, Tate restarted her college education at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana, where she graduated with a bachelor’sdegree in lm, television and theater.

Today she lives in New York City working as a writer, actress, artist and comedian. She has performed at companies such as the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, Broadway Comedy Club, Reckless Theatre and Training Center, and the Peoples Improv Theater.

Registration is open for the CWL. The fee is $100 for the general public but free for current and prospective Olivet College students. For information, visit www.olivetcollege.edu/cwl .