01
Self-Awareness & Leadership Identity
Self-reflection, values, and strengths. Use AI tools to surface blind spots and build a personal leadership statement.
A Career Connectors program ยท Established in Arizona
Leadership built for women on the rise.
Where rising women leaders become AI-fluent, without losing the human edge. A seven-month leadership program for up-and-coming women in Arizona, pairing a six-session curriculum with one-to-one mentorship, a dedicated AI-literacy track, and a community of women lifting each other forward.
4.8/5
Overall impact rating
(2025 cohort)
(2025 cohort)
9.5/10
Likelihood to recommend
30
Seats in the 2027 cohort
6
Sessions, one Friday a month, January–June 2027
What you'll walk away with
Three things that compound long after graduation.
01
A real leadership toolkit
You leave with frameworks you can use on Monday morning, not theory: a personalized strengths inventory, a culture-index assessment of the team you lead today, a 3-minute leader pitch you've rehearsed in the room, a coaching plan for one direct report, and an AI-fluency roadmap built around the tools your employer already uses. Every session ends with one applied artifact, so by graduation you have a stack of work product you can show your CEO, your board, or your next hiring manager.
02
One-to-one mentorship
Each participant is paired with a seasoned executive mentor for the full seven months: monthly one-to-one sessions, real feedback on the leadership decisions in front of you right now, and a door-opener inside Arizona's top employers. Mentors are senior women leaders, board members, and executives drawn from the Career Connectors network, so you get someone who already sits in the room you're trying to enter, not a peer matching your career stage.
03
A community that compounds
You graduate into a cohort of up to thirty women you've sweated through six months of leadership work with, plus the broader Career Connectors alumnae network: nearly two decades of Arizona women leaders who already trust the program. That becomes your longest-running referral pool, your first call when you're weighing a new role, and the group most likely to recommend you for the next one. The cohort doesn't end at graduation. It compounds for the rest of your career.
Curriculum preview
Six sessions. Six skills built for the role you're ready for.
02
Communication & Executive Presence
Storytelling, feedback, and presence. AI-assisted message refinement and rehearsal, ending with a 3-minute leader pitch.
03
Strategic Thinking & Decision-Making
Frameworks, prioritization, and data-informed choices. Use AI for scenario modeling and produce a strategic case write-up.
04
Leading Teams & Coaching Others
Coaching, delegation, and psychological safety. Use AI as a coaching assistant and design a coaching plan for one direct report.
05
Influence, Negotiation & Navigating Politics
Stakeholder mapping, negotiation, and advocacy. Use AI to prep for negotiations with ethical guardrails.
06
Vision, Legacy & Career Mapping
Long-term vision, legacy, and mentorship. Build an AI-assisted career roadmap and deliver a capstone vision deck.
Plus a virtual orientation in December and graduation on June 11, 2027 with keynote from Doris Savron.
Why now
The next generation of women leaders won't be promoted into AI-fluent roles. They'll build them.
Inspired LeadHER 2027 adds a dedicated AI-literacy track, built in partnership with Doris Savron and informed by the Digital Education Council's AI Literacy Framework.
By the end of the program, every graduate has applied AI to a real leadership decision in her own organization, and can show it.
On AI + leadership
The voices shaping the 2027 curriculum.
Left to right: Linda Luman, Board Sponsor · Brenda Mariah, Keynote Speaker · Jessica Pierce, CEO.
“AI won't replace humans. But humans with AI will replace humans without AI.”Karim Lakhani, Harvard Business School · cited in Harvard Business Impact, "AI-First Leadership," 2025
“The skills senior leaders need most in the age of AI are spanning organizational boundaries, redesigning organizations, orchestrating team collaboration, coaching and developing talent, and leading by example.”Herminia Ibarra & Michael Jacobides · Harvard Business Review, October 2025
“Building AI literacy among women is essential to ensure full participation in an AI-driven world.”Women in AI · On the EU AI Act's literacy requirements, 2025
Voices from past cohorts
Stories from the women who've been through it.
Thank you to everyone who made the Inspired LeadHER program possible, and to those who contributed to the success of others. It's truly helped me step out of my comfort zone at work and become more confident in my ability to lead my team into the future.
One of my favorite aspects of the Inspired LeadHER program is the supportive community and collaborative spirit. The absence of competition has created a space where women can genuinely encourage and learn from one another. I'm excited to grow as a leader, expand my professional network, and continue investing in my personal and professional development. I'm incredibly grateful for this opportunity.
I'm truly grateful for the knowledge and growth I've experienced through Inspired LeadHER. As a wife, mother, and full-time professional, it's easy to put our own development on the back burner. This program creates a space for women to invest in themselves while gaining practical tools for both personal and professional success. The wisdom shared, the leadership development, and the meaningful connections with like-minded women have made this an incredibly empowering experience.
Graduation day 2025
The inaugural cohort celebrates with family, faculty, and partners.
Inspired LeadHER's first cohort under Career Connectors graduated in 2025 at the Achieve campus in Tempe, with certificates, a keynote from Doris Savron, and the whole community in the room.
