Women’s empowerment, economic development, and entrepreneurship lead the agenda for the first of four 2017 Diplomacy Begins Here Summits, set for June 15 in Kansas City. Global Ties KC and its community partners will welcome attendees at the Kauffman Foundation Conference Center for sessions focused on communication and leadership management as well as mobilizing women leaders in the workplace. Kansas City is home to companies across a wide range of key sectors with a prominent female presence. The summit will highlight these female CEOs, Directors, and Executives to a diverse audience, including young entrepreneurs and businesswomen, in order to emphasize the importance of strong female leaders at various career stages.
Summits in Albuquerque and Santa Fe, NM (August 3), Austin, TX (September 19) and Portland, OR (November 30) will round out the year’s sessions—click through for themes. New this year, summits in New Mexico and Portland will include a Learning Lab (on August 4 and December 1, respectively), which will focus on professional and practical development within the Network. These programs will be peer-developed and peer-led, and will emphasize bolstering IVLP programming capacity and take a deep-dive into core topics impacting small nonprofit organizations. Potential areas of focus may include diversifying revenue portfolios, maximizing effective use of ORDIV, creating more consistent local program books, and strengthening board of directors’ leadership or federal grants compliance. Content for this add-on leadership meeting will be developed in close coordination among Global Ties U.S., our Network members, and the Office of International Visitors. Be on the lookout for 2017 Summit details, and see you in Kansas City!
by Mari Kurashima, Intern, Global Ties U.S.