2025 Women's Leadership Institute

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.

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.

Speaker: Tracie Catlett

Advocate for yourself while building trusting relationships in your school community. Learn strategies for communicating achievements effectively, negotiating with confidence, and cultivating an authentic leadership presence. Through role-play scenarios and group discussions, we will develop techniques to navigate challenging conversations, showcase your contributions, and create value-aligned outcomes.

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.

Susanne Carpenter helps leaders unlock their potential, elevate performance, and lead with impact. As principal and founder of Carpenter Leadership Consulting, she brings extensive leadership experience to her executive coaching and consulting practice. Drawing from her own leadership journey, Susanne builds confidence and effectiveness in others, empowering them to achieve meaningful success.

Before founding her firm, Susanne held leadership roles at Walnut Hill School for the Arts, Nashoba Brooks School, and Worcester Academy. These experiences provide a strong foundation for her work, helping leaders navigate complexity and drive organizational growth.

Susanne holds a Bachelor’s degree from Wheaton College and is a graduate of Westover School, where she serves as Treasurer of the Board of Trustees. She is an Associate Certified Coach, a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach, and a Certified Team Coach. 

Dr. Tracie Catlett is in her sixth year as head of school at Greensboro Day School (GDS), a PK-12 day school located in Greensboro, NC, with nearly 1000 students. Her education career spans over 29 years and includes 18 years in independent schools and 11 years in public schools. Tracie believes relationships are key to leading successfully, and integrity, compassion, active listening, awareness, and courage are key characteristics of her leadership. She has invested deeply in improving employee compensation and benefits, student and employee well-being, and the school’s commitment to inclusion and belonging.

Under her leadership GDS has experienced record enrollment and fundraising growth, acquired key real estate assets, and opened the school's first preschool facility. She successfully led the school through the adoption of two strategic plans and two campaigns totaling $30MM and is in the midst of building a new 49,000 sf Center for Student Life, Entrepreneurship, & Innovation. Tracie serves on the board of directors for United Way of Greensboro, NCAIS, GreenHill Center for North Carolina Art, MISBO, and the advisory board for Authentic Connections.

Website

Kristy Lundstrom leads the Mount Vernon School organization, which includes the Atlanta Campus, Mount Vernon School Online, and Mount Vernon Ventures, a research and design consultancy. With 30 years of experience across the United States and Europe, Kristy is an innovative educator celebrated for her applied leadership and emotional intelligence.

At Mount Vernon, Kristy drives a dynamic learning ecosystem that empowers students to explore, design, and lead real-world change. Her strategic vision integrates personalized, purpose-driven education with cutting-edge research and global collaboration, positioning Mount Vernon as a leader in 21st-century education.

Before joining Mount Vernon, Kristy held prominent leadership roles, including executive director of Viktor Rydberg Schools in Stockholm, Sweden, and head of school for the Scandinavian School of Brussels. Guided by her personal motto, “Kids Go First,” Kristy is a steadfast advocate for students, a mentor to faculty, and a visionary shaping the future of education through bold innovation.