W2W Leadership Initiative Updates

W2W Recap: The latest on WILMA’s Women to Watch Leadership Initiative and its mission to help develop more women leaders in our area

LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE: The 2023 WILMA’s Leadership Institute class kicked off its year with an orientation at Double Run Farm in Brunswick County. The day included sessions on peer mentorship, team communication assessments from The Forté Institute, and Q&As with former class members. Part of the day also was spent with TeachingHorse facilitators, who led the class through leadership exercises with the help of their four-legged colleagues (shown above). Learn more about the forty-eight women in this year’s cohort at wilmamag.com/women-to-watch/wilmas-leadership-institute.

GET ON BOARD: UNCW’s Quality Enhancement for Nonprofit Organizations (QENO) hosted our latest board training session and talked about how to plug into area boards of directors as well as the basics about serving as a committee or board member with organizations.

FUTURE LEADERS: Members of our Future Leaders – a group of area eleventh-grade teens – and their mentors participated in the Wilmington Chamber of Commerce’s Work on Wilmington day of community service last month. The team helped clean up and lay pavers at the Stanley Rehder Carnivorous Plant Garden. Thanks to mentor and WILMA Institute alum Leah DeMasters for organizing the outing.

IN THE LOOP: Keep up to date with these and other Leadership Initiative programs as well as application announcements by going to WILMAmag.com or signing up for the WILMA Leadership email at WILMAmag.com/email-newsletter.

W2W Up next: How to connect with WILMA’s leadership programs

• LEADERSHIP ACCELERATOR: WILMA’s annual leadership conference returns to the Wilmington Convention Center on July 13 with a panel keynote lunch, workshops, and networking. Info: W2WLeadership.com
• MENTORING: As a part of WILMA’s mentoring program, up-and-coming women in the community are matched with mentors to assist with their leadership development. Applications will open in August to those who have participated in a W2W program in the past year, and the mentorship will run from October 2023 to September 2024.
• ALUM NETWORKING: The first of two events this year exclusively for Leadership Institute and Awards finalists takes place soon. Keep an eye out for event details.
• WOMEN TO WATCH AWARDS: This year’s awards event is September 8 at the Wilmington Convention Center. Winners in the categories of Arts, Business, Education, Health, Nonprofit/Volunteer, Public Sector, and Rising Star will be announced. Learn about the finalists in the fall issue of WILMA.

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