Women across South Georgia are being offered a first-ever chance to participate in a women’s leadership initiative focused specifically on the needs, challenges and opportunities facing women in thirty-two counties throughout the region. With an emphasis on what is unique to female leadership, the program will provide women with a platform to discuss the challenges they face in business, non-profit management and in serving in elected and civic capacities in this part of the state. 

Planned by women for women, the South Georgia Women’s Leadership Initiative (SGWLI) is being launched in partnership with South GeorgiaLEADS as a sister program that offers women a space to speak freely, learn from peers and mentors across the region, and enhance their own leadership capacity to fulfill their hopes and desires for themselves as individuals, as well as push the region forward economically and civically by giving women an active voice and platform in South Georgia.

With Founding Sponsorship from the Georgia Power Company, SGWLI is now accepting applications for the 2023-2024 cohort. The program will launch in September in Albany-Dougherty County with the Opening Retreat being facilitated by Georgia Power and faculty from the University of Georgia’s J.W. Fanning Institute for Leadership Development. Sessions will rotate around the region, culminating in an Empowerment Celebration during the month of March in recognition of Women’s History Month.

With a lens towards female equity and empowerment, sessions will take place monthly and will cover the following subject matter:

• Women in Business and Entrepreneurship: Advancing Career and Capital

• Planning and Managing for Non-Profit Success: Elevating Impact and Outreach

• Healthcare and Mental Well-Being: Preparing for All Stages

• Education and Encore Careers: Embracing Your Passion

• Policy-Making and Holding Elected Office: How Women Can Influence Growth and Impact Change

Each class will feature a Lunch ‘n Learn session sponsored by Access to Capital for Entrepreneurs (ACE), a community development funding institute which specializes in providing capital to small to medium sized businesses and some nonprofits.

Cost to participate is $1,000, with a limited number of scholarships available upon request during the application process.

As a first of its kind leadership initiative for South Georgia, the program seeks to establish a stronger network of women who can work to elevate issues around economic and social equity for the region, but to also create a platform where women support women—helping them thrive in their own leadership journeys. 

Applications are available on Facebook at “South Georgia Women’s Leadership Initiative.” Completed applications are due by Friday, August 11^th, at 5pm and can be submitted electronically to Toni Reid, Chair of the SGWLI Planning & Steering Committee, at [email protected].

For more information about the South Georgia Women’s Leadership Initiative, please contact Toni Reid, Tifton Area Manager for Georgia Power and Chair of the SGWLI Planning & Steering Committee at (404) 831-4010 or at [email protected]. More information regarding SGWLI can also be found online on Facebook or Instagram.