Why are some leaders more successful at driving—and surviving—innovation? Three Chicago area women executives explored this topic and how they’re staying abreast of fast-moving change in a lively panel discussion called “Winning the Future: Components of Leadership Vision” on May 7, 2026. The event—hosted by Lisa Madigan and Kirkland & Ellis LLP in downtown Chicago—was...
May 19, 2026
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Bravery doesn’t always look bold. Sometimes it looks like a teenage girl showing up powerfully by sharing where she doesn’t feel brave or powerful – yet. On April 27 and 28, representatives of the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay met with female students at Big Foot High School and Williams Bay High School for...
May 11, 2026
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A collective of women leaders from Chicago area organizations got a “dress rehearsal tour.” Their opinion: It’s show time. It still looks like a construction site, with visitors wearing hardhats and navigating around mud puddles to get inside the buildings. Plastic sheeting still wraps the door handles and some of the windows. But in a...
April 23, 2026
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It’s a beautiful irony: The more we give, the more we get. That’s why “Give to Gain” is the theme of International Women’s Day this March 8, 2026.It takes a lot to sustain momentum towards advancing women’s leadership in areaswhere we’ve been underrepresented historically. To that end, we all need help, whichcan take many forms:...
March 8, 2026
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It’s almost time! Years of dreaming, planning, and building are paying off: Construction of the Women’s Leadership Center is approaching completion. To celebrate, our entire team recently visited campus together. It was really a moment: While every member of the team has played an important part in bringing this dream to life and many of...
February 12, 2026
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The end is in sight. Most of the heavy work of constructing buildings, installing infrastructure, and laying down hardscaping (the paths, walkways, and driveways) has been done. A year ago, our teams had to battle winter’s cold as they worked inside structures without walls or complete roofs. Today, the crews get to enjoy warm, dry...
February 3, 2026
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We love our new offices at 36 W. Geneva Street. We’ve now opened an administrative office for the Women’s Leadership Center in downtown Williams Bay. It will be our base for operations in tandem with the full campus on Constance Boulevard — close to everything so we can hold meetings, host small gatherings, and stay...
January 17, 2026
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It is one of the most difficult, dangerous, and hard-to-manage artforms there is: molten glass. Yet in the hands of a master, it remains one of the most beautiful and ancient means of artistic expression that exists. Something about glass art feels so right in our new space. It’s made of naturally occurring organic material...
January 10, 2026
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We’re pleased to share an important milestone for AWESOME (Achieving Women’s Excellence in Supply Chain Operations, Management, and Education). As of January 1, 2026, AWESOME is part of the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay (WLC). In 2013, Ann Drake founded AWESOME to advance and transform the future of supply chain leadership by bringing together...
January 5, 2026
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Scientista is a global non-profit that amplifies, empowers, and connects “women leading with science” – a mission deeply aligned with our own. The Scientista Podcast, hosted by behavioral scientist Dr. Sweta Chakraborty and former Assistant Secretary of State Monica Medina, spotlights candid conversations with changemakers and thought leaders from around the world. A new episode...
December 9, 2025
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Every year, we bring together the talented young women from across the country who’ve received scholarships made possible by our founder, Ann Drake. This year’s gathering in late October of almost 50 Drake Scholars represented the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, members of Kappa Alpha Theta Sorority, and...
October 31, 2025
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Two influential organizations—Women Corporate Directors (WCD)-Chicago Chapter and the Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay (WLC)—collaborated to produce a groundbreaking new report: Confronting the Elephant in the Board(Room). The report debuted at the WCD Global Institute & Visionary Awards, held in Chicago on October 5–7, 2025, and is available for download here. Universally, Board leaders...
October 20, 2025
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