Leadership Programs

Annual Women's Leadership Conference

Women's Leadership Conference


The Women’s Leadership Conference is an inspirational experience that has energized our community for the last 32 years and is one of the longest-running in Arizona! Presentations have ranged from How to Interview, to How to Lead Like a Boss, from Mapping Your Financial Future to Youth Leaders in Social Justice panels. Conference attendees have heard from young women in leadership discussing revolutionary ideas and ways of working, elders reminding us of our collective roles in ensuring that we leave this planet better than we found it, and everyone in between. It is held annually in the Spring. 


For more information about getting involved with the conference, connect with our Marketing & Development team!

Leadership Programming

Women’s Leadership Conference and Academy


Held virtually on our online platform, Mighty Networks, in the Fall of each year. WLA is a geared towards female identified professionals. The program is a 6-weeks long and is facilitated by staff with the addition of community and partner guest experts. The goal of WLA is to offer 3-hour deep dive workshops, 1 hour reflections, workbooks and opportunity for dialogue. The goals of the program are to provide upskilling opportunities around leadership competencies, development of a cohort/community of learners’ experience for the participants, and to foster whole person learning opportunities for professionals.


For more information about getting involved with the conference, connect with Isabel Georgelos at igeorgelos@ywcatucson.org

Rise Up

“I didn’t even know that I had rights. To be bold and transformative, you have to be included, respected, skilled, involved, connected... you always have to be like ‘I can do it’. If they can do it, why not me?”  Clarine, Solomon Islands 

Leadership for Young Women


Rise UP honors the importance of SAFE SPACES for young women as they learn about the Sustainable Development Goals, International Declaration of Human Rights, and the critical importance of service projects in their own communities. The project will be piloted in Spring of 2022. 


The original 2018 guide was inspired by the young women of Solomon Islands whose groundbreaking work to reach communities of young women who had previously had no opportunity to ‘Rise Up’. The original guide would not have been possible without the ideas and contributions from the Young Women’s Peer Review group including: Vanessa, Daniela, Sophia, Sushila, Nirmala, Clarine, Naomi, Esther, Natalie, Kiri and Erica. 


Special acknowledgements for their work on the original guide also go to former World YWCA team members : Gladys, Rebeka, Hendrica, Rita, Daniela, Linnea and Juli for their particular efforts and insights. Special thanks to Daniela Varano for the guide’s visual concept and to Elisabeth Nash as consultant leading the original guide creation process.

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