Contact Us Privacy Policy

©2026 Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay

MOTHER NATURE

For Love of the Land: Preserving, Protecting, and Honoring Our Home

Respect for nature and delight in the beauty of this setting informed every step in designing and building the Center. The land is essential to fulfilling our vision for this special place.

Welcome to the Center

As you enter the Center off Constance Boulevard, notice the Elm Leaf gates by Scathain, a Milwaukee-based design firm. Forged from stainless steel, the gates’ elm leaf motif symbolizes strength, resilience, endurance, community, and transition.

We limit parking at the Center to preserve the sense of quiet here, of being in another world. As you approach the buildings from the parking lot, pause at the stunning “Penumbra” gate. Created by Albert Paley, one of the U.S.’s most influential metal sculptors, “Penumbra” is about time and transitions, crossing thresholds, and embracing transformation.

Our goal in designing the Center landscape was to enhance the site while protecting existing natural resources, and to promote biodiversity while restoring the native plant communities.

Reclaiming the Land

Because it had gone untended for many years, our land was full of invasive plant species and dead or unhealthy trees when we became owners. The first thing we did was catalog the 800+ trees on site and cut back all the invasive plants. Doing so revealed the natural beauty of our hill.

Restoring Biodiversity

Our goal from Day One was not just to make our home pretty but healthy, too. Our landscape plan includes restoring the native plant communities that bring ecological balance to our site. Greater biodiversity means greater ecosystem resilience, plus it restores the natural habitat of the native insects, birds, and animals.

Reviving the Forest

Because unmanaged forests choke out healthy growth, they increase the risk of wildfires and contribute to climate change. We are managing our forest by replacing every tree removed during construction and adding more for net zero tree loss. Plus, we are planting a variety of trees to restore the original biodiversity here. 

Restored Woodland

Only 2% of our campus grounds is mowed turf; less than 20% is occupied by buildings and paving. The rest is restored woodland—vegetation, shrubs, perennials, and grasses.

Our Gardens and Grounds

There are six different zones in our landscape. Each has a unique role and character:

    1 – The Oak Savanna Knoll

    Oak savannas historically defined an ecological transition zone between the hardwood forests of the north and the central prairies to the south; they are very rare today. Knowing how special our Oak Savanna is, we worked to preserve this gift and its beauty.

    2 – The Woodland Clearing

    A stretch of lawn encircled by the driveway. By day, it’s a peaceful place to read, stretch, or converse with colleagues. By evening, it is our location for larger outdoor gatherings or lectures under a tent.

    3 – Basecamp

    Basecamp is our name for the commons area at the heart of campus between the Council building and the Lodge. We planted Basecamp with wildflowers, ferns, perennials, sedges, and shrubs that enjoy light shade.

    4 – The Terrace Garden

    Perched on the hillside just below the Lodge is the Terrace Garden–a peaceful spot to work, listen to music, or enjoy views of the lake. We used native Wisconsin Krukowski stone to build the terrace and its connecting walkways. The boulders here were left behind by the glaciers that covered this part of Wisconsin thousands of years ago.

    5 – The Hillside

    Our hill descends a steep 85’ from the top of campus to the lake. Avoiding erosion is important here, so we planted the hillside with flowering groundcovers, grasses, evergreens and beech trees to anchor the soil.

    6 – The Ravine and Boardwalk

    The ravine along our western border is one of our property’s most important features. We built a 986-foot boardwalk that gently and gradually traverses the ravine on a descent from hilltop to lake. Fully ADA compliant, the boardwalk gives visitors a beautiful “stroll through the woods” that changes with each season.

      • Oak trees

      • Shagbark hickory

      • May apple

      • jack-in-the-pulpit

      • asters

      • pagoda dogwood

      • nannyberry viburnum

      • Bluestem

      • Sedges

      • Canada wild Rye

      We hope women leaders who come to our center will feel the inspiration of this land. The land is a huge part of what we want to preserve and enhance.

      Portrait of Ann Drake
      Ann Drake

      President + Founder, Women’s Leadership Center at Williams Bay

      Tour the Campus

      Designed by globally renowned architect Jeanne Gang and the award-winning team at Studio Gang, the campus of the Women’s Leadership Center is a truly unique space. See what sustainability-conscious architecture and construction look like in a beautiful setting overlooking Geneva Lake.

      Book your tour now