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In celebration of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2023 the Women in Leadership Initiative brought Gloria Somolekae G’94, H’22 back to campus for an in-person keynote talk titled “DigitALL: Innovation and Technology for Gender Equality: Challenges and Prospects.” This presentation provided a global focus on technology and education, with an emphasis on how women and girls across the globe can be empowered in the digital age.

To commemorate this visit, Dr. Somolekae wrote an autobiographical essay detailing her career path since earning her Ph.D. in public administration from the Maxwell School. As a barrier-breaking academic in her home country of Botswana and a dedicated public servant, Somolekae has been a leader in women’s rights, democracy and development throughout southern Africa. Somolekae was the first citizen of Botswana to earn a Ph.D. in public administration, and the first woman in the Department of Political and Administrative Studies at the University of Botswana. In 2022, Somolekae was recognized with an Honorary Degree from Syracuse University.

As we continue to experience an increasingly digital world where work practices are changing at a blistering pace, internationally recognized leading authority, speaker and advisor on 21st-century teamwork, collaboration and innovation Erica Dhawan shares strategies to unlock the collective power of teams, build a culture of trust across any distance and create authentic engagement to ensure competitiveness.

The Women in Leadership Initiative was pleased to bring Ms. Dhawan to the University in February 2023 for a talk on body language in the digital era. Author of "Digital Body Language,"  Erica share her strategies for building team spirit in this video.

Daphne Jones, author of "Win When They Say You Won't" describes her process for achieving professional goals. Drawing on her extensive background in software development and implementation, the EDIT (Envision, Design, Iterate, Transform) steps are based on the common steps used by software developers who successfully create and implement new versions of software, devices and more. If software and other valuable products can improve continually using a methodology, then it can also be applied to our own career growth.

Daphne Jones shares how the right mindset and toolset can help you overcome naysayers, racists, sexists or anyone who doubts your potential . She shares ways to treat these issues as a business problem rather than getting caught in the trap of responding only emotionally or without a strategy. 

Coach Felisha Legette-Jack spoke in the JMA Wireless Dome in September 2022 about equality, empowerment, and the impact basketball had on her as a young Black woman. Read more about her talk in this article.