June 12, 2020
A stunning sadness has overtaken our souls. The state of our country, the reality of its troubled history on race, and the cry of a man to his mother in life’s final moments underscore the fundamental injustice of systemic racism.

The recent killing of George Floyd has stirred the emotions of many people and it has given us pause to look at our own need to acknowledge our collective national history in a way we’ve not done prior to this recent incident.

Recently I had a conversation with one of my friends. We share a similar background of a big family, scarce resources, and a home on the wrong side of the tracks . We talked about how growing up we desired to create a better life than what we had known as children.

We traveled similar roads into adulthood.  As we continued our professional journey, it was tough for both of us. But more difficult for her. While we shared talent, skill, and ability, we did not share the same skin color which shaped our opportunities and our long-term trajectories.

While the journey for all women is difficult, the lived experience of our peers and the hard edge of research has shown us that it is even that much more difficult for women of color. Limited opportunity due to conscious or unconscious bias in hiring; a lack of mentorship and advocacy for their promotion and less access to the relationships that can advance their careers and businesses disproportionately constrain the health and economic vitality of black women. This is a reality that must be addressed.

The Women’s Network Leadership Institute will lead inclusively, welcoming all women to engage in professional development and programming. We have much work to do together to move the needle on economic parity and are committed to that work. If you would like to join us in this effort, please reach out to jconrad@greaterakronchamber.org  with your thoughts and ideas. Your voice in this effort is vital.

Jan Conrad
Executive Director, Women's Network Leadership Institute
WNLI Curriculum Opportunities
Negotiating With Strength
Roxanne Kaufman Elliott, The Leadership Challenge 

Effective and successful negotiation is a combination of art and science. The art of negotiation comes from within. It is self-leadership. It is knowing our strengths and values. Is knowing what we (really) want and knowing what they (really) want. It is having the self-confidence and a vision to communicate, collaborate and coordinate a positive outcome for all involved. It is putting our personal brand front and center with strength, savvy and poise, while being thoughtful, understanding, present, persuasive and engaged.

The Negotiating with Strength program has been specifically designed for the Women’s Network Leadership Institute. The program consists of four, 3-hour sessions. Each of the sessions build upon the previous sessions and each are highly interactive with a combination of engaging exercises, discussions, video, small group activities and breakouts, self-assessments, case studies, practice sets, brainstorming and more. The movie “Secretariat” is used as a baseline reference point in the art and science of effective negotiation, as is the alignment to the Clifton Strengths Finder Assessment.  

Member fee: $699
Non-Member fee: $850

Opening Session: July 21 - 8:00 - 11:00 am
Workshops meet monthly from 8:00 - 11:00 am on the following dates:
July 21 | July 28 | Aug 11 | Aug 18
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