AWL Alumni Spotlight

Describe the six months you spent in the Bloombase experience for Advanced Women Leaders.
I joined the AWL experience during a pivotal time in my career. I had just stepped out of people leadership into an individual contributor role. AWL gave me a safe place to reflect, learn, and grow with a diverse group of female leaders. As a member of cohort 1, it was a special time to co-create the experience with Sheri.

Describe the benefits of the AWL experience.
AWL allowed me to see myself in others. I valued hearing the stories of other women, the challenges, and the successes. The AWL experience was different from most others in that it lasted long enough to build capabilities to carry beyond AWL. We had a highly diverse group of women with a wide range of experience. The AWL experience allowed each woman to have a unique experience and share a similar journey at the same time.

Describe the benefits of being a part of the post AWL community.
Before I ever finished the AWL experience, I was looking forward to the next experience. The AWL Alumni community currently keeps me connected. I appreciate being able to immediately relate to others and share our stories. Needless to say, I’m holding out for AWL 2.0 and I hope to see you all there!

What did you get out of the Executive Coaching sessions?
I found a place to explore and find myself and my leadership style. The conversations were honest, curious, encouraging, and yes, sometimes uncomfortable. Those moments inspired a new mindset.

What would you say to someone else considering this experience?
You deserve this. Whatever you have done before is fine. Enter an experience that focuses on the 360 degrees of you as a whole person. Meet amazing women and learn that you are not alone. Leave stronger than you could have ever imagined and know that you have a family of incredible women surrounding you.

What was it about AWL that made you feel you had an ROI from the experience?
Honestly, I think it is yet to come. I like change and with each position, I have learned more about myself, my leadership style, and my motivation. The AWL Alumni community has huge potential so I look forward to seeing how this community grows.

My favorite way to spend an afternoon by myself is... doing little projects around the house. If the weather is nice, you can find me working in the yard, biking, or walking my dog. If the weather is cold, you might find me baking or shopping.

One of my favorite role models is… come on now, RBG is hands down the most amazing influential woman. She embodied greatness as a life-partner and champion of her husband’s success, she was a caring mother, and I can’t even find words to summarize the many great things she accomplished in her professional career. She was eloquent, precise, tenacious, and did it all poised with grace.

Something that makes my life ridiculously fun is... working from home, I spend my days with a video-bombing, bear-like, snoring English Bulldog puppy.

How I would like to impact the world right now is… I would like to be a role model for diverse and inclusive leadership. I want people to feel valued and respected when they interact with me. I also want to have a higher awareness of my unconscious biases.

The values/behaviors that are most important to me are... authenticity and accountability. A “we” over “me” approach - acting for the greater good of the team.