2025 Women's Leadership Institute
The Elyton Hotel
1928 1st Avenue NorthBirmingham, AL 35203
Join fellow independent school women leaders for a transformative two-day leadership intensive designed to help you maximize your impact while staying true to your authentic leadership style.
Through interactive workshops, expert-led sessions, and meaningful connections with peers, you'll develop practical strategies to advance your career and strengthen your leadership presence.
Day one features dynamic sessions on leveraging your natural strengths, mastering the delicate balance of authority and empathy, and developing confident negotiation skills.
Day two brings together accomplished leaders for an insightful panel discussion on mastering feedback, followed by guided self-reflection to help you integrate your learnings into daily practice.
The program combines structured learning with ample opportunity for networking and peer connection through shared meals and an evening reception. Whether you're an emerging or established leader, this intensive will equip you with practical tools to enhance your leadership effectiveness while building meaningful connections with other women leaders in independent schools.
Registration
|
SAIS Member |
School: Non-Member |
|
|
Through Feb 7 |
$675 |
$809 |
|
Feb 8-March 28 |
$775 |
$909 |
|
After March 28 |
$875 |
$1,009 |
Wednesday, April 9, 2025
8:00-9:00 AM – Nourish & Connect: Breakfast & Registration
Speaker: Susanne Carpenter
As women leaders, you’re constantly balancing the demands of leading others, solving problems, and driving meaningful change—often while putting your own growth on the back burner. What if, instead, you could harness your natural strengths to lead with greater ease, clarity, and confidence? Using the Gallup Clifton Strengths framework, you will uncover your unique talents and learn how to leverage them to tackle challenges, inspire others, and achieve your goals. Through guided activities, self-reflection, and thought-provoking discussions, you’ll gain
- Insights into your strengths and how they shape your thoughts, behaviors, and interactions.
- Practical tools to help you harness your strengths to make a greater impact.
- Connections with like-minded peers who share your commitment to growth and leadership.
Whether navigating a career transition, aspiring to a leadership role, or simply seeking clarity on how to improve as a leader, this session offers a safe space for reflection and actionable takeaways. You’ll leave feeling energized, equipped, and ready to lead from a place of authenticity and impact.
12:00-1:00 PM – Recharge: Lunch
Speaker: Marcia Spiller
In this interactive workshop, attendees will explore the critical balance between demonstrating competence and fostering kindness in their leadership roles. Through real-world scenarios and group discussions, women leaders will examine how to maintain high standards while building supportive relationships, navigate difficult conversations, and develop strategies for leading with authentic strength and compassion.
2:00-2:30 PM – Break
2:30-3:30 PM – Build Trust, Build Credit
3:30-4:00 PM – Break
Speaker: Kristy Lundstrom
In this dynamic session, participants will explore how to effectively navigate competing demands and seemingly contradictory leadership challenges. Through practical exercises and group discussion, women leaders will learn frameworks for managing tensions between tradition and innovation, flexibility and structure, and individual needs versus institutional priorities. Participants will develop strategies to make purposeful decisions while honoring multiple perspectives and stakeholder needs in their school communities.
5:00-6:00 PM – Celebrate: Reception
Thursday, April 10, 2025
8:00-9:00 AM – Fuel Up: Breakfast
9:00-10:30 AM – Stories of Growth: Women Leaders on Feedback and Development
Speaker: Susanne Carpenter
Leadership is as much about leading yourself as it is about leading others. Together, we’ll explore how self-reflection can be a powerful tool for personal growth, strategic decision-making, and inspiring others. This session will provide actionable strategies to help you carve out intentional moments to reflect, assess, and align your leadership approach with your values and goals.
During this session, you will,
- Explore reflection techniques that fit into a busy schedule.
- Discover how to use self-reflection to navigate challenges and build resilience.
- Create a personalized self-reflection practice that fosters confidence, clarity, and strategic thinking.
You’ll gain deeper self-awareness and take charge of your leadership journey with renewed focus and intention. Because self-reflection is about investing in your greatest leadership asset: yourself.
12:00 PM – Adjourn
Event Policies & Acknowledgments
- For questions about event registration or special accommodations, contact learn@sais.org.
- For questions about speakers and sessions, contact elizabeth@sais.org.