NACCE Launches Leading Ladies Initiative

Entrepreneurs design in their sleep. They are bold, brave, and innovate amidst challenging environments and with pennies to spare. They drive hard for dreams they are passionate about, and they have limited ego when they must name their failures.  All of these competencies allow entrepreneurs to be forward-thinking economic drivers.  As most of America recognizes the immediate need to reassess their professional paths post-COVID, now more than ever, America needs to embrace and double-down on the entrepreneurial spirit to create financial stability.

I’ve been a proud NACCE Board Member for the past seven years and can reaffirm NACCE’s member network is comprised of thousands of entrepreneurial thinkers – leaders who seek to embed the entrepreneurial spirit into their daily work at community colleges and in their communities across the nation.

NACCE has grown and transitioned significantly in the past five years. As a direct result of entrepreneurial thinking, it has become better funded than ever before, fully staffed with an immensely talented team, and able to pivot in visionary ways. Increased organizational capacity means that we are ready to dig into some of the big ideas previously unattainable. Minority women’s entrepreneurship work has been one of those big ideas, and I am proud to announce and chair NACCE’s “Leading Ladies” Initiative. 

NACCE’s Leading Ladies Initiative was launched in April of 2020 when the NACCE Board of Directors established the Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Council, a subcommittee that will work to vet and identify promising or best practices to support minority women pursuing entrepreneurship or careers in connection with their local community colleges. With universal support from the board, the Council is designed not only to champion entrepreneurs, but to support the advancement of women’s leadership roles serving higher education and related organizations.

Immediately following the Council’s inaugural meeting, NACCE began to vet the concept with funders and will in short order be sharing NACCE-designed or NACCE-supported assets to assist these minority women early in their careers, mid-career, and seasoned employees. The work will serve as a springboard for a new suite of resources currently in the works, and which will be socialized in the coming months. It is a pleasure to serve NACCE as a board member, and I am honored to have this opportunity to elevate and connect more women to economically vibrant futures.

Interested in getting involved? Have a story or an idea to share?

Reach out to Amy Bouvier at bouvier@nacce.com.