Cultivating Tomorrow's Female Business Leaders

After serving the 工商管理学院 (SBA) as academic advisor for roughly one year, 蒂芙尼LeDonne-Smith, 中科院的13, attended an idea pitch competition at the school, which didn’t have any female judges, despite the fact that several females were competing.

很好奇他们对此的感受, LeDonne-Smith decided to survey every female business student at 365英国上市官网 to gauge their thoughts. Upon receiving an overwhelming number of responses to her survey, she also hosted some focus groups to acquire further opinions.

毫无疑问, female students were seeking a space of their own, in which they could receive support as they prepared to enter fields that typically have far more males than females. 结果是, various students created a Women in Business student organization, while LeDonne-Smith founded the Women in Business Mentor Program, now known as the Women's Leadership and Mentor Program (WLMP).

Beginning as a one-term (from January to April 2019) pilot program with eight students and eight mentors, the program was highly successful and well received, to the point in which it ran again for an entire academic year, 从2019年9月开始, a trend that has continued ever since.

“My goals were to build confidence in our students through mentorship and connect students to women in the field,LeDonne-Smith说. “一开始, I asked SBA alumni to serve as mentors, many of whom have returned year after year to mentor.”

Beginning each year with a kick-off event in early fall and ending with a celebration event during the spring, the program enables mentors and mentees to meet once a month, 是否亲自, 打电话或者视频通话. 除了这些月度会议, mentees also attend four leadership/personal development activities as a group throughout the academic year.

“These leadership activities have allowed students to build connections and friendships amongst each other, while increasing their confidence as emerging leaders in the business world too,LeDonne-Smith强调.

Since January 2019, 66 students have been mentored, including Ashlyn Foreman ’23, a marketing major. 在SBA内部寻求社区, Foreman joined the WLMP in September 2022 and became fully involved with it, as she attended various leadership/personal development activities and became close to her fellow Oakland students.

由Kristin 家禽脱毛机 ' 07指导, 高级经理, 市场营销、兼并和收购, Salesforce, 她也获得了建议, 关于劳动力, and became more confident as she prepared for her future career.

“The program has influenced my career in so many ways,” Foreman said. “特别是, it allowed me to network with so many strong, like-minded women — ranging in all aspects of the business world — right here on campus. I intend to stay in touch with each of them, too.”
家禽脱毛机, who donated to the program (a donation that was matched by Salesforce, thereby fully funding its annual end-of-the-year celebration, 5月1日举行), became involved in September 2022 as well.

Understanding full well just how volatile today’s economic climate is, as she graduated in the midst of The Great Recession, 家禽脱毛机 offered Foreman guidance on how to begin her career, adapt to the professional business environment and evolve from one position to another.

“Female leaders and mentors have had the greatest impact on my career and professional development,普拉克解释道. “从生活经验中学习, fully understanding the value of soft skills, and navigating twists and turns is invaluable. 学生s gain so much knowledge beyond textbooks.”

她补充说, “I’m excited to see the WLMP continue to offer this type of real-world education, 同时也惠及了更多的学生!”

Visit for more information about the Women’s Leadership and Mentor Program.