Client Success Stories
Women's Program Advances Career Growth & Member Impact
Founded over a century ago, the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (GBCC) aims to shape the future of commerce and enhance quality of life for all. A key focus is achieving gender equity and elevating women in business. To support this, the Women’s Network offers top-tier academic programming for leaders in member organizations.
The Solution
For the past 15 years, GBCC has partnered with Simmons University to offer the Women’s Leadership Program (WLP), a comprehensive leadership development journey designed for professional women across various industries and at all career stages. This long-standing collaboration has enabled GBCC member companies to enroll high-potential performers in the program through a competitive application process, empowering them to enhance their leadership skills and drive meaningful change in their organizations.
The program runs annually and is strategically aligned with GBCC’s mission to provide academic programming that is grounded in practical content designed for immediate on-the-job application. This offering has become an integral part of the Chamber’s professional development strategy and now boasts over 1,500 graduates.
The 9-month learning journey, available in-person and virtually, focuses on the core leadership skills that women leaders need to accelerate their career advancement and prepare for the next stage of their growth while driving tangible impact at their organizations. Participants come together 1-2 times a month for expert-led, facilitated sessions designed to help them take a deep dive into each competency, with a focus on tools that will equip them to apply the learning to their roles.
A sampling of leadership competencies covered include leading teams, negotiating effectively, managing perceptions, strategic networking, and the opportunity for each individual to explore their individual charter through an insightful leadership assessment. They also complete individual action projects, designed to help them create demonstrable impact in their own organizations. Sample projects include everything from creating new internal training procedures to launching new products to producing new quality controls.
Participant Learning Journey | Competency Sessions
The program is also carefully designed to help participants expand their strategic network, with formal and informal opportunities for connecting with the cohort of women throughout the program. After completing the program requirements, which include 100% attendance at all Simmons sessions, completion of the individual action project, and active participation in class and networking receptions, participants graduate with the skills, experiences, and connections needed to lead businesses into the top tiers of success.
The Impact
Participants complete a self-assessment both before and after the program to rate their own progress on the leadership competencies, providing the GBCC with valuable data to benchmark the impact of the experience. Notably, 78% of participants feel prepared for the next phase of their career due to the WLP.
In addition, 67% of participants report that they are expert or highly skilled in identifying and flexing their leadership style, a 44% uptick since starting the program. And finally, 59% of participants report that they are expert or highly skilled in navigating identity-based expectations in the workplace.
WLP Creates Leadership Impact
78%
participants feel prepared
for the next phase of their career.
67%
participants report that they are expert
in identifying and flexing their leadership style.
59%
participants report that they are expert
in navigating identity-based expectations
in the workplace.
Participants are also asked to rate the program using a Net Promoter Score (NPS), a standard metric used to evaluate a participant’s likelihood to recommend the program to another colleague or friend. This metric increased by 14% year over year.
Plans to offer this program into the future are in place as the Chamber continues to prioritize gender parity and elevating women in the workplace as a core part of its strategy.
Since its inception 15 years ago, this program has evolved to meet the changing needs of women in the workforce, providing relevant content for today’s dynamic environment. Speak with an Institute Expert to learn more about bringing this offering into your organization.
Program Faculty
Program Faculty
Audra Bohannon
DEI as a Leadership Competency
Audra Bohannon
DEI as a Leadership Competency
As a thought leader in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion for over 35 years, Audra has helped individuals and organizations see the possibilities for a better tomorrow. Appreciating differences comes with challenges. Inclusion and equity provides strategic solutions to that challenge by creating cultures where everyone can do well. Audra has served in very focused roles such as trusted advisor, coach, facilitator, guide and, of course, thought leader. It is her deep dedication to those individuals and organizations who want to be better and do better, that keeps her passionate about this important work. It is her transformative power to engage hearts and minds that confirms her commitment to the “potential of all, not just a few.”
Background and Experience
Audra is a publisher and highly sought-after keynote speaker. Drawing on her life and career experiences to stimulate thoughtful conversation, she is fluent in topics related to the empowerment of people with a focus on diversity, equity, inclusion, and race matters. Whether engaging an industry audience or a global summit, her message that “all people have potential” touches emotional buttons to connect people and creates a lasting, often life-changing, impact.
Prior to founding Bohannon Advisory, Audra was a senior client partner at Korn Ferry. Audra also served as principal at Global Novations, senior vice president of Novations Group, and as partner and business architect of J. Howard & Associates, one of the leading consulting and training firms that established the diversity and inclusion industry.
Bryn Pane’e Burkhart
Intentional Networking
Bryn Pane’e Burkhart
Intentional Networking
As Founder & Principal of Bright Evolution Leadership Coaching & Career Management, Bryn Pane’e Burkhart empowers her clients to move forward in their lives and careers with clarity and confidence.
We are all works-in-progress, and Bryn’s philosophy is that we should seek to evolve and grow in ways that leverage our natural strengths and gives us a sense of purpose. She guides her clients to be intentional about their leadership strategy and to be authentic to who they are – helping them evolve into the next, better version of themselves.
Background and Experience
Bryn also serves as an Executive Coach at Landit, a personalized career platform created to increase the success and engagement of women and diverse groups in the workplace. She is an Executive Coach for IRelaunch, an organization focused on helping people return to work after a career break. In addition, she is a recommended coach at MIT and the MIT Sloan School of Management, Columbia Business School and Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Bryn holds a B.A. in Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and an Ed.M from Harvard University’s Graduate School of Education. She completed her Certified Professional Co-Active Coach (CPCC) training through the Co-Active Training Institute and is a PCC with the International Coaching Federation. She is certified in Gallup Clifton Strengths, MBTI, and Positive Intelligence.
Bryn recently relocated from Boston to Honolulu with her husband, two sons, and sweet mini goldendoodle. As part-Native Hawaiian, she is thrilled to return home to live near her ohana and immerse herself in the aloha spirit.
Kerry Seitz
Orientation, Leader Identity I, Intentional Networking
Kerry Seitz
Orientation, Leader Identity I, Intentional Networking
Kerry Seitz heads the development of Women’s Leadership programming at Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership. She brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to produce innovative, research-based learning journeys that foster gender parity in organizational leadership worldwide. As a member of the Institute’s leadership team, Kerry is deeply committed to establishing the Institute as a global authority on the intersection of leadership, equity, and inclusion. A Certified Career Coach, Kerry began her work in leadership development as Principal of her own coaching business where she worked predominantly with women relaunching and redefining their career journey.
Outside of work, Kerry enjoys running, yoga, and spending time with her husband, three sons, and (female!) Labrador Retriever.
Professional Experience
Prior to joining Simmons, Kerry was Vice President of Learning and Development at Landit, a career development tech startup aimed at democratizing career success. Prior to that role, Kerry was the Director of Advancing Women and Inclusive Leadership solutions and Executive Director of the Women in Leadership Institute at Linkage, a global leadership consulting firm.
Kerry spent the first ten years of her career in the mental health field. She has served as a clinician at the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children; a researcher at the Wellesley Centers for Women at Wellesley College; a coalition and program manager for the Support to End Exploitation Now coalition at the Children’s Advocacy Center of Suffolk County; and an adjunct faculty member in the criminal justice department at the University of Massachusetts Lowell.
Mary Shapiro
Leader Identity, part I & II Managing Perceptions & Leading Teams
Mary Shapiro
Leader Identity, part I & II Managing Perceptions & Leading Teams
For more than 25 years, Mary has served as an Organization Behavior faculty at Simmons University. She is also an executive trainer and a consultant to public and private companies.
She teaches in Simmons’ M.B.A., undergraduate and corporate programs, where specializes in three areas: team building and leadership, influential communication across diverse stakeholders, and strategic career management.
Throughout her career, Mary has consulted with Fortune 500 companies, private institutions, and nonprofits to create vision, mission, and strategic plans; launch teams with operational infrastructure and project plans, and intervene in teams in crises. She also works with numerous boards of directors in strategic planning and She continues to create and deliver an inventory of leadership development seminars.
Professional Experience
Mary joined the Simmons MBA. faculty in 1993. In 2014, she was appointed to the inaugural endowed position of the Kagen Trust Professorship for Leadership Development where she steered the University in developing a leadership platform to be infused throughout the undergraduate program. She developed “The Communication Styles Diagnostic,” an online tool that has been used by thousands of managers to improve their effectiveness with individuals and teams.
Research & Publications
Mary researches and publishes in the areas of women and their careers, and organizations, and their use of male allies as gender-equity initiatives. Her most recent publication is “The HBS Guide to Leading Teams” (Harvard Business School Press, 2014). She has also co-authored two books, Your Job Interview: An Easy, Smart Guide to Interview Success (Silver Lining Books, 2003); and Take Charge of Your Career (Barnes and Noble Publishing Inc., 2004), which extend an understanding of interviewing and career strategies to include the nuances of gender and many dimensions of diversity.
Darlene Slaughter
DEI as a Leadership Competency
Darlene Slaughter
DEI as a Leadership Competency
Darlene is a visionary with a passion to remove barriers and provide equal opportunities for all. At the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), Darlene is leading a culture of engagement, innovation, accountability, trust, diversity and inclusion.
Darlene’s work in diversity and inclusion has received many awards and honors, including SAVOY’s 2012 Top 100 Influential Women in Corporate America, Profiles in Diversity Journal’s list of Women Worth Watching, Black Enterprise’s Top Executives in Diversity, and Heart & Soul’s Women of Substance in Finance. She has also graced the cover of Inclusion Magazine.
Professional Experience
Darlene has been appointed as the first Chief Diversity Officer for WMATA and is responsible for supporting and creating a culture of inclusion and belonging with all employees in the authority. She works closely with leaders and teams to support equity initiatives that impact communities and ridership within the metro area of Maryland, DC, and Virginia.
Prior to joining WMATA, Darlene served as the Chief Diversity, Inclusion and Engagement Officer at the March of Dimes and designed a program to increase board diversity across the network. As the Chief Diversity Officer for United Way Worldwide and Fannie Mae, her efforts expedited and advanced diversity and inclusion strategies, built external partnerships, and facilitated community initiatives throughout the footprints of both organizations. She also served as the Principal Consultant and Chair of Linkage’s Institute for Leading Diversity and Inclusion where she trained corporate leaders on developing and leading D&I initiatives in the workplace.
Elisa van Dam
Negotiating Conditions for Success
Elisa van Dam
Negotiating Conditions for Success
Elisa van Dam brings a wealth of experience in gender equity and inclusion to her role as head of the Allyship and Inclusion practice area. Elisa works with organizations and individual leaders to increase their understanding and practice of inclusive leadership behaviors. In collaboration with other Institute Fellows, she creates and delivers research-based content and programming, based on our proprietary framework that demystifies the Work of the Inclusive Leader™. She is also responsible for developing and delivering engaging learning experiences for women leaders, including leading the development of the Arrive and Thrive Certificate Program for Women, launching in May 2023.
She recently published The Inclusive Leader’s Playbook: The Work of the Inclusive Leader with co-author Susan MacKenty Brady.
Elisa also maintains a private coaching practice, working with women on how to successfully navigate maternity leave.
Elisa lives in the Boston area with her choreographer husband, their young adult son, and a willful rescue cat.
Professional Experience
Prior to joining Simmons, Elisa was the Director of the Information Technology Programs at the Boston University Corporate Education Center. In this role, she oversaw design, marketing, sales, and operations for their IT training business, featuring open enrollment and custom education programs, as well as certificate programs. She also has extensive experience in the corporate conference arena. Most recently, she was the Vice President, Content and Learning for a global corporate event management company.
Publications
Elisa is a co-author on several Simmons University publications, including:
- The Importance of Belonging in the Workplace (Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, February 2022)
- The Importance of Authenticity in the Workplace (Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, July 2021)
- The Inclusive Leader’s Playbook: The Work of the Inclusive Leader (Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, June 2021)
- Five Influential Factors: Women’s Pathways to Leadership (Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, September 2020)
- Professional Women and Confidence: A New Understanding of the “Gap” (Center for Gender in Organizations, October 2017)
- Women’s Experiences with “Male Allies” (Center for Gender in Organizations, November 2018).
Suzanne Wilkins
DEI as a Leadership Competency, Negotiating Conditions for Success
Suzanne Wilkins
DEI as a Leadership Competency, Negotiating Conditions for Success
Suzanne Wilkins is a coach and consultant with over twenty-five years of experience working with organizations and individuals to develop leaders in health care, higher education, retail, financial services and the nonprofit sector. She is also a sought-after conference presenter on leadership development and personal transformation.
Suzanne coaches leaders to enhance their own performance and to create inclusive environments in which organizational goals can be achieved. As a registered drama therapist, Suzanne uses traditional coaching approaches and invites her clients to utilize embodied techniques and tools from the arts to develop critical insights into the myths, meanings, metaphors and memes that drive each leader’s behavior and effectiveness.
As a consultant, she helps organizations develop and fully leverage the talents of their valued employees through coaching, creation, and facilitation of long-term developmental experiences, training, and building inclusive environments.
A playwright and actress, Suzanne performs “Undiscovered” a one-act play on a woman’s journey through mid-life.
Professional Experience
In her former role as Director of Program Services at The Partnership, a Boston-based firm specializing in talent development for professionals of color, Suzanne led the organization’s flagship leadership development programs and guided the firm through a six-month transition period as Interim President and CEO. She has served on several nonprofit boards.
Public Speaking
Suzanne has presented at the Linkage Women in Leadership Institute, the North American Drama Therapy Association and the Association for Group Psychology and Psychotherapy conferences, and keynoted at the American School Counselors Association. A coach through the Harvard Business School Executive Education programs, Wilkins has been on the faculty of Cambridge College, a guest lecturer at Babson College and Bentley University and The Institute for Nonprofit Management & Leadership.
*Faculty varies by cohort based on availability.
