Teresa Carmody is a writer who was born in Western Michigan in 1973. She moved to Olympia, Washington when she was 18, where she eventually attended the The Evergreen State College, concentrating in cultural anthropology, Thai studies, and feminisms. She attended the first Ladyfest 2000 meeting in 1999; at the time, she was working as a grant writer and women's advocate at Safeplace. With Ladyfest budget co-coordinators Carrie Brownstein and Kanako Wynkoop, Carmody worked on the financial and legal aspects of the festival—securing fiscal sponsorship from a 501(c)3 organization and establishing systems for raising and processing funds.

In 2005, Carmody co-founded (with Vanessa Place and Pam Ore) Les Figues Press, a nonprofit, literary publisher of poetry, prose, visual art, conceptual writing and translation. Carmody holds an MFA in creative writing from Antioch University, Los Angeles, and is pursuing a Ph.D. in English/Creative Writing at the University of Denver. She is the author of the collection Requiem, and several chapbooks, including I Can Feel, Eye Hole Adore, and Your Spiritual Suit of Armor by Katherine Anne.

Ladyfest 2000 was a non-profit, community-based event organized by and for women to showcase, celebrate and encourage the artistic, organizational and political work and talents of women. Taking place in Olympia, Washington from August 1 to August 6, 2000, Ladyfest featured performances by bands, spoken word artists, and writers, as well as workshops, panels, art shows and dance parties.

The inspiration for Ladyfest arose in part when some former members of the feminist Riot Grrrl movement were interviewed for Seattle's Experience Music Project's Riot Grrrl Retrospective oral history project in 1999. Looking back at their participation in Riot Grrrl, and in light of the sexual assaults that had happened at the 1999 Woodstock festival, they were motivated to create a festival that created a safe and inspirational space for women's performance and activism.

Ladyfest was organized and run entirely by volunteers. Initial meetings began in fall 1999. By the third meeting in January 2000, around 35 prospective organizers attended, and committees on Budget, Volunteer coordinating, Booking, Merchandise, Workshops, Visual Art, Performance, Documentation and Web Site Creation had been formed. The festival drew over 2,000 attendees, and included performances by Bratmobile, Sleater-Kinney, The Gossip and Cat Power. Workshops were given on auto mechanics, letterpress, gardening, and dismantling racism. Other events included a fashion show, a drag show, art openings, and a sewing circle. Ladyfest was a woman-run event, but all were welcome to attend. Events listed as "ladies only" were open to all women, including women who identified as men, and ladies who were born gentlemen. Since 2000, over 100 Ladyfest festivals inspired by Ladyfest 2000 have taken place worldwide, including in Australia, France, Indonesia, South Africa, and Switzerland. The meeting minutes have been archived at the Ladyfest website (http://www.ladyfest.org/planning/index.html#1230).