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CORVALLIS - Barbara Coombs Lee, an Oregon attorney who helped craft the state's physician-assisted suicide law, will be the keynote speaker for Oregon State University's 16th annual Women's Leadership Conference on Saturday, Feb. 19.

The conference is directed toward female university students, but is open to the public. Registration is $12 and the registration deadline is Feb. 11. For information, contact OSU's Memorial Union Program Council at 541-737-6872.

Conference check-in starts at 9:30 a.m. on Feb. 19 in the MU Concourse, adjacent to the Main Lounge.

The event includes a daylong agenda of breakout sessions and panel discussions focusing on the conference theme, "Courage to Lead."

Keynote speaker Coombs Lee has served as president of Compassion in Dying, a Portland patient advocacy group for physician-assisted suicide.

Coombs Lee was a nurse and physician assistant for 20 years before beginning a career in law and health policy. She has served as a private attorney and as counsel to the Oregon State Senate, as well as a chief petitioner for Oregon's Death with Dignity Act.

She received her undergraduate and nursing educations at Vassar College and Cornell University. She received training in medicine at the University of Washington and a law degree from Northwestern School of Law, Lewis & Clark College. She has also testified several times before the U.S. Congress on end-of-life issues.