Women Leaders from Around the World Come to Santa Clara University; 15 Women from the U.S., South Africa, Uganda, Indonesia and Uzbekistan Come to Silicon Valley

Business Wire, July 25, 2005

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Daring to shape the future of their organizations, communities, and the world, women innovators from around the world come to Santa Clara University to participate in Women Leaders for the World, a twelve day residential leadership program. The goal of the program is to provide participants with new leadership skills, project coaching, and mentoring, while fostering a global network of support for women.

Starting Sunday, July 24, 15 women from around the world, in business, non-profits, government, civil society organizations, and academia, will come to SCU. The program (July 24 to August 4) will help them develop a project that they can implement back home. Women Leaders for the World is made possible by the Global Women's Leadership Center (GWLC) at SCU, and sponsored by the Leavey School of Business and the School of Engineering.

The projects range from building an IT structure to support Mexican border women's well-being; to bringing African and Nepalese women financial self-sufficiency; to supporting environmental projects in Indonesia and South Africa; to encouraging women to enter politics in Uganda.

Living and learning together, participants develop know-how in the areas of global leadership, project development, and designing projects for people and communities. The program combines classroom sessions, visits to Silicon Valley organizations, personal coaching, mentor relationships, and pre/post work on supporting their individual projects.

"The Global Women's Leadership Center is guided by leadership principles of competence, conscience, and compassion," said Linda Alepin, GWLC's Executive Director. "We are dedicated to providing them with support to find success."

Some of the women who will participate in this year's Women Leaders for the World Program are:

--Annette Mukabera: The Honorable Mukabera has distinguished herself by her focus on HIV/AIDS.

--Nigora Akinova: Originally from Uzbekistan where she was a financial management and accounting professor at the University of World Economy and Diplomacy in Tashkent.

--Alma Cota de Yanez: Executive Director of Fundacion del Empresariado Sonorense A.C. (FESAC), a community foundation serving the City of Nogales in Mexico.

--Meg North Taylor: As a senior industry relations professional at a large communications technology, North Taylor has long harbored a broader vision: to provide "self-sufficiency in a box" for women in the world's poorest villages.

About the Global Women's Leadership Center

The Global Women's Leadership Center (GWLC), sponsored by Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business and the School of Engineering, offers women's leadership programs, including Women Leaders for the World, Leadership Forums -- Women Together Leading the World, and Global Women At the Well, forums for exploration and dialogues for those who dare. The GWLC is a volunteer organization. For more information visit www.gwlc.org.

About Santa Clara University

Santa Clara University, a comprehensive Jesuit, Catholic university located in California's Silicon Valley, offers its 8,213 students rigorous undergraduate curricula in arts and sciences, business, and engineering, plus master's and law degrees. Distinguished nationally by the fourth-highest graduation rate among all U.S. masters' universities, California's oldest higher-education institution demonstrates faith-inspired values of ethics and social justice. More information is online at www.scu.edu.