With years of designing and building virtually complete—not to mention even more years of dreaming and planning by Ann Drake—the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay marked the milestone with a celebratory tour and meeting of the Center’s advisory board and key leaders on June 2, 2026.
The gathering took place under cloudless blue skies on a perfect summer day, as if nature itself was celebrating new seasons and beginnings.
As part of the celebration, docents led the advisory board and staff on full tours of the campus, modeling the experience visitors will have when Center opens tours to the public in late June. Some of the docents who’ve been training for this role since mid-winter—Mary Jo Hoag, Jim Killian, and Cathy Koch—did a strong job presenting a complex story that weaves together geology, architecture, art, political history, economic history, sustainable design, and more in just 90 minutes.
Following the tour, the celebration continued with lunch in the Council building café. Outside, construction workers hurried to finish every aspect of campus, including the boardwalk that will wind down through a wooded ravine to the shores of Geneva Lake. A meeting of the advisory board followed lunch, with lots of praise, questions, and dialogue.
“We really looked at everything that’s been done and what’s to come,” said Donna de St. Aubin, advisory board member, “which included sharing what was amazing but also discussing where to be prepared going forward.”
The day ended with dinner in the Lodge. As evening approached, a handful of board members found chairs on the terrace to talk and admire the view. Gradually, two more members joined them; then a few more. Eventually, the entire group had pulled up chairs to talk together.
“It was just so perfect in terms of what the Center is supposed to do and be,” de St. Aubin laughed. “And it just happened naturally. It tells me the Center is already working; it’s doing just what it was designed to do—beautifully.”