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    A Comprehensive Leadership Program for Female Entrepreneurs Across the State of Texas

    Established in 2020, the Women Entrepreneurs Leadership Forum was created to bridge the gap between female founders and corporate enterprises through philanthropic engagement and collaboration.  Through an exclusive partnership with TWU Center for Women Entrepreneurs, this 12-week program connects Texas based, Woman owned businesses with leading corporations to work collaboratively on projects to include: research, project management and data analysis concerning topics that impact female entrepreneurs most.  This program provides selected participants an opportunity to work along side C-Suite level Executives to ideate and deliver on tangible opportunities within the organization.  

    To date, we have graduated over 60 female Entrepreneurs through our program, connecting them with major organizations to include the Small Business Administration (SBA), Business Community Lenders of Texas (BCL), BNSF Railway and Toyota.  Our partnering organizations also include multiple local government offices such as the City of North Richland Hills, the City of Dallas, and the the City of Austin, as well as financial institutions, Veteran focused enterprises, tech-focused companies and much more.

    Program Objectives

    • To address the opportunity gap between female founders and corporate executives.
    •  Provide philanthropic experiences focused on relevant industry topic.
    •  Connect female founders to other founders across the state to share in business best practices.
    •  Offer the opportunity for program participants to work on company specific projects to add to their company portfolio
    •  To promote cross colaboration and inclusion among female founders within the state of Texas
    •  Deliver a platform of professional development for female founders looking to increase their civic engagement

    2025 Program Participants

    2026 Program Dates

    May 14, 2026                    Program Announcement

    June 18, 2026                    Information Session (Virtual)

    July 2, 2026                       Applications Open

    July 16, 2026                     Information Session (Virtual)

    July 31, 2026                     Applications Close

    August 1-7, 2026               Application Review Period

    August 10, 2026                Participant Announcement

    August 20, 2026                Program Orientation

    August 27, 2026                Program Start (Session 1)

    October 15, 2026              Virtual Leadership Roundtable

    November 19, 2026           Program Graduation


      Past Participants

      Program Celebration Galleries

      Program Partners

      Program Sponsors

      Program Team

      Program Manager

      Jessica Hayden

      Program Facilitator

      Darlisa Diltz

      Program Admin

      Orlanna Gooden

       Previous Virtual Leadership Roundtable Panel Discussion Replay