Participants will clarify their core values, deepen their understanding of who they are as leaders, and imagine the impact they want to have in their organizations, communities, and lives. They will explore how their identity, experiences, aspirations, and sense of purpose shape the way they lead and the possibilities they can help create.

Through reflection, visioning, shared experiences, and peer dialogue, participants will also begin building relationships with one another and creating the foundation for a strong learning community. They will consider how their individual leadership journeys connect to the broader mission of YWCA Dayton and begin translating their aspirations into a leadership and impact plan that will evolve throughout the Academy.

Leadership development often focuses on closing gaps and fixing weaknesses. This session takes a different approach by helping participants identify the talents they naturally bring and understand how those talents can become strengths when they are intentionally developed, practiced, and applied.

Using the CliftonStrengths assessment and Strengths Based Leadership as a shared foundation, participants will explore their top talents, how those talents show up in the way they lead and work with others, and where they may have opportunities to use them more intentionally.

The session will also introduce a shared strengths-based language participants can use throughout the Academy to support self-awareness, reflection, and leadership growth. Participants will leave with a clearer understanding of what they do best, how to invest in those talents, and how leading from strength can help them increase their effectiveness and impact.

Participants will explore models of leadership, their personal leadership styles, and how leadership is demonstrated across different environments and challenges. This session challenges traditional leadership narratives and invites participants to embrace liberatory models that center equity, inclusion, courage, and adaptability. We will explore leadership from the inside out, examining mindset, skillset, and the importance of authenticity when navigating complex systems. Participants will define their unique leadership approach and learn how to lead with courage, presence, and conviction. 

Leadership isn't just about vision and influence; it's also about understanding the resources that make impact possible. In this session, participants will explore why financial savvy is a core leadership competency, especially for women leading in organizations and communities. We'll demystify the numbers by breaking down cash flow statements, accruals and deferrals, and balance sheets into clear, actionable insights. Participants will learn how to apply financial knowledge in board roles, leadership positions, and decision-making tables where resources are stewarded. Finally, we'll look at money as a leadership strategy, not just something to manage, but something to leverage in service of sustainability and growth. 

Participants will explore how identity, power, and systemic dynamics shape lived experience, opportunity, and leadership. Through reflection, dialogue, and practical examples, they will build a shared understanding of how race, gender, economic status, and other dimensions of identity can influence organizations and communities.

The session will also help participants connect awareness to action by examining how  exclusion can show up in everyday leadership decisions and interactions. Participants will practice noticing these dynamics, asking better questions, and considering how they can use their voice, influence, and decision-making authority to foster greater belonging in the spaces where they lead.

Serving on a nonprofit board is one-way leaders can use their experience, voice, and influence to strengthen organizations and communities. This session will explore what effective board leadership looks like in practice, from understanding governance responsibilities and organizational stewardship to navigating relationships, accountability, and decision-making.

A panel of YWCA Dayton and other nonprofit board leaders will share their experiences, lessons learned, and perspectives on what it means to lead in service to a mission. Participants will gain a clearer understanding of the role of nonprofit boards, what organizations need from board members, and how board service can be part of a broader commitment to civic leadership and community impact.

In this session, participants will learn the practices, mindsets, and habits that allow them to persist in the face of adversity while staying true to themselves and protecting their well-being. Drawing on narrative, neuroscience, and emotional intelligence, we'll explore what it really means to sustain leadership and yourself when the work is hard, isolating, or slow. Together, we'll reframe grit as more than just pushing through, it's clarity of purpose, honoring boundaries, leaning on community, and the ability to return to joy. We'll surface tools for resilience that not only help leaders endure, but also allow them to flourish, even in challenging seasons. Each participant will leave with practices that honor her lived experience while offering new pathways to joy, balance, and strength. 

Participants will reflect on their journey, share key insights from their year leadership plans, and celebrate their growth as justice-centered leaders. They will articulate their next steps and honor the support systems that sustain their leadership. The final session of the Sojourner Leadership and Justice Academy is both a moment of reflection and a launch into action. Participants will revisit the intentions they set at the start of the program and assess how their understanding of leadership, justice, and self has deepened over the course of the Academy. This session creates space for each Sojourner to name the commitments, honor their journey and those who helped make it possible. The session will culminate in a joyful celebration with light refreshments, where each participant may invite a member of their personal support network, a mentor, friend, family member, manager or colleague who has championed their development.