Lead Now – Women Transforming Leadership

Women Transforming Leadership is a highly engaging series of eight monthly 3-hour sessions with national or international presenters focused on women framing and tackling some of the most compelling issues of our times.  Listen, ask good questions in the Q&A, connect and explore topics in breakout rooms. Be ready to engage. 

Dates and Speakers – typically 9am – 12pm unless noted

  1. November 19, 2020, 1-4pm, Kate Ebner, Founding Director, Institute for Transformational Leadership, Georgetown University; CEO, Founder & Coach of The Nebo Company. After more than two decades of working within organizations as a leader, coach and adviser, Kate knows from firsthand experience how to anticipate and lead into the future, even in complex, unprecedented times. Join the conversation.
  2. December 17, 2020, 9am-12pm, Roz Savage, ocean rower, speaker, author, sustainability advocate, and thought leader on the big existential questions of the 21st century. As individuals, organizations, and global citizens, who are we? Where are we going? What will be our legacy?
  3. January 21, 2021, 9am-12pm, Mozella Perry Ademiluyi, Mountain Peak Strategies. Rise to the Challenge with Mozella Perry Ademiluyi. Mountains are the perfect metaphor for life, representing the peaks and valleys, the summits and rigors of the journey. Summiting Mount Kilimanjaro at 19,340 feet gave Mozella an EXTREME real-world experience of ‘failure and success,’ taught her how to “Rise to the Challenge,” and help others do the same. On January 21, 2021, as we celebrate the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. across the country, Mozella will be our guide through a conversation focused on rising to the challenges of ending systemic racism.
  4. February 11, 2021, 9am – 12pm, Carrie Arnold, author of Silenced and Sidelined: How women leaders find their voices and break barriers is the Principal for The Willow Group. Carrie also serves as the program director for the evidence based coaching program at Fielding Graduate University. “Everyone is capable of being a silencer, and it is not always a male to female dynamic. This session engages both men and women on the importance of using a purposeful and effective voice, recovering from silencing experiences. The session also provides strategies on what it means to be an ally of each gender.”
  5. March 18, 2021 – Tribal Health and Leadership. Keynote speaker is Lisa Sockabasin of Wabanaki Public Health and Wellness, joined by Kimberly Crichton Executive Director of the Maine Women’s Fund.
  6. April 15, 2021– 9am – 12pm, Tara Jenkins, Founder of Conscious Revolution, and Elizabeth Ross Homstrom, Founder and CEO of Mindful Employer, will present Conscious Capitalism – How women leaders are uniquely aligned to grow this movement to the next level. Conscious Capitalism and the Benefit Economy have been growing over the past 10 years, accelerated substantially by what happened in our world in 2020. These movements have dramatically changed the definition of business success and women are uniquely positioned to lead in these unprecedented times. Join us to learn about how the Benefit Economy, Conscious Capitalism and feminine leadership are combining to elevate humanity through business.
  7. May 20, 2021 – 1:00pm – 4:00pm, Women Transforming Leadership in Cities; led by a team from the Morris J. Wosk Centre for Dialogue, Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, CA, and women on the frontlines in communities. The City of Vancouver has been ranked as one of the greenest cities in the world, a youthful city, and a city of Reconciliation that has adopted the UN Declaration for the Rights of Indigenous People. Women have played a pivotal role in governing and transforming Vancouver by fostering collaborative action, educating and holding space for youth voices and action and redefining what it means to be a city on unceded indigenous land. In this session on Women Transforming Leadership, meet some of the women who have transformed the City of Vancouver and see how they are building enduring change by advancing racial equity, justice and civic resilience.
  8. June 17, 2021– 9am – 12pm, Janine Fondon: From Inequity to Inclusion: The Path to Truth-telling Through the Transparency of History. In this time of change, transition and transparency, let us revisit the path from inequity to inclusion by learning more about truth-telling in a world of fake news, distorted facts and untold history. The session will examine a range of topics from the tragedy of George Floyd, the struggle of women of color to make change, violence against Asians, the future of white privilege, and Juneteenth. Let’s explore the truths you know, the questions you have  and ways to stay “woke’ and ‘conscious.’  How do we move from codeswitching and coded language to building safe places of belonging? How do we address systemic racism in a divided society? What does the history in our region teach us about who we are? How can we become change agents with resilience who create solutions that matter to all? The session engages people from all walks of life and age groups.

Individual Tickets – Pick and Choose Your Speakers

Register Now
  • Alumni & Members: $60
  • Public: $70
  • HS / College Student: $20
  • Scholarships – Register to Apply

COVID 19 Considerations:
~ MDF will use the Governor’s guidelines to ensure the safe delivery of our programs. This includes masks, distancing, testing, vaccinations, date changes, virtual sessions if necessary, cancellations, and other strategies as guidance related to COVID19 is adjusted to match pandemic indicators.
~ If you sign up and pay for a session, series or cohort and must withdraw because of COVID19’s impact on you, your family, or your business, you can choose to pay it forward to future programs or request a pro-rated refund for missed programming.


Speaker Recommendations or Questions? Contact Jan Kearce


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