

INFORMATION
For more information, scholarship application, or questions, please contact Melissa Hiatt at 605-305-9924 or mhiatt@embe.org.
Our goal through EmBe’s Women’s Leadership Program is to help women deeply understand themselves and the positive impact they can have on others and the world.
“A leader is anyone who recognizes the potential in people and process and has the courage to develop that potential.” – Brené Brown
Leadership has nothing to do with how many people report to you or how big of a budget you manage. Leadership is about recognizing potential in yourself first, then others and then in the organizations and communities you live and work in. Under this definition of leadership, each and every woman fits. This program is for you.

The Women’s Leadership Program began in 2012 and expanded to a three-tiered approach in 2023.
- Leading Me: Owning My Leadership Story
- Leading With: Understanding My Impact on Others
- Leading Wise: Resourcing my Wisdom for the Greater Good
You don’t have to do leadership and life alone. Wherever you are on your leadership journey, you are invited to participate with other women who want to grow, learn, and expand their leadership impact.
This immersive program welcomes all women seeking development opportunities in their personal and professional lives. Come and be a part of the EmBe Women’s Leadership Program. You belong. You matter.
Leading Me: Owning My Leadership Story
Leading Me has been developed by using the expertise and skills of community leaders to challenge participants to grow in their understanding of strengths-based leadership, effective communication, claiming one’s own leadership authority, challenging the inner critic, and the impact of bias on leadership. Through the program, each participant will receive a personal mentor and will develop a Leadership Creativity Project that empowers them to integrate their learning through the program to help them meet their personal and professional goals.
PARTICIPANTS WILL
- Explore their leadership story as they look back on their life
- Gain tools to write their leadership story for the future.
- Expand their understanding of leadership
- Develop a network of professional women
Spring 2025 Cohort Schedule*
Coming Soon
*Dates are subject to change due to the needs of the presenter.
Class Size: 25
Application Fee: $50
Cost: $1500
Leading With: Understanding My Impact on Others
Leading With: Understanding My Impact on Others is a 6-month leadership program using Systems Theory to help participants understand how they interact with others, recognize behaviors that hinder their leadership, and stay true to their values as leaders. By the end of the program, participants gain practical tools for influential and authentic leadership, empowering them to lead effectively in their professional roles.
PARTICIPANTS WILL
- Examine power and anxiety in their family systems through the use of a genogram
- Evaluate patterns of behavior in their leadership and determine if they are helpful or need to be changed.
- Wrestle with what they can and cannot control in leadership and life.
Fall 2025 Cohort Schedule
- Application Deadline – Monday, November 10, 2025
- Retreat: Family Genograms – Friday, November 21, 2025, 8:30 am–4:30 pm
- Session 1: Exploring Group Cultures – Friday, December 12, 2025, 8:30 am–12:30 pm
- Session 2: Exploring Strengths – Friday, January 9, 2026, 8:30 am–12:30 pm
- Session 3: Anxiety in the System – Friday, February 13, 2026, 8:30 am–12:30 pm
- Session 4: Healthy Leadership – Friday, March 13, 2026, 8:30 am–12:30 pm
- Session 5: Healthy Teams – Friday, April 10, 2026, 8:30 am–12:30 pm
- Session 6: Graduation – Friday, May 8, 2025, 8:30 am–2:00 pm
Class Size: 15
Application Fee: $50
Cost: $1750
Leading Wise: Resourcing My Wisdom for the Greater Good
- Guiding Question: Where do my passions meet the world’s needs?
- Goals: To create connecting points where women support one another throughout their leadership.
There will be connecting points throughout the year for women to gather and support one another. These include:
-
- The Bold Table
- Being a Mentor
- Level Up Lunches
- Wisdom Circles
- Volunteering at Dress for Success
- Tribute to Women Leadership Retreat, and more
- Group Coaching with Certified Life Coaches
BECOME A MENTOR
If you have a passion for the development of others and want to invest in a woman in our community intentionally, we invite you to apply to become a mentor in the Women’s Leadership Program. This is a 5-month commitment with an expectation of 4 – 6 meetings during that time.











