Celebrating Five Years of Advancing Women’s Leadership and Economic Empowerment: Los Angeles, California

“Mentorship is a gift.” Read Amina’s blog from GAP Chicago

I can’t wait for the week to begin. Some of the mentees’ nonprofits tackle issues as varied as cervical cancer screening programs in Suriname and support services for families impacted by deportation and incarceration in California. Another mentee joining us runs a trucking and construction vehicle company in Mexico, and yet another started a digital marketing agency in Guatemala and is ready to scale up.

Don’t miss the global forum November 9, Women Driving Social and Economic Progress

Featuring Anne Finucane, vice chairman, Bank of America, in conversation with Maria Shriver, journalist, author and activist; and Melanne Verveer, co-founder, Seneca Women, and executive director, Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, with Tory Burch, CEO and chief creative officer, Tory Burch LLC and president of the Tory Burch Foundation. Follow #WomenLead, watch the live stream and join the dialogue on women’s entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.

The unique GAP mentorship model is best-in-class. Our trainers are globally recognized experts committed to advancing women’s leadership. Our support team here at Vital Voices and with our partners at Bank of America is second to none. But even after 15 GAP trips, the week before kick-off always fills me with a sense of excitement and giddy anticipation.

I think about what inspires me most about the program: the looks of puzzlement, trepidation and awe on the faces of the mentees as they share with us their “Why me? Why did you pick me?”

Zoë Dean-Smith (R) with GAP Chicago participants

thoughts; the individual breakthroughs to seeing past vexing business challenges; the thrill of the moment when the mentees realize why they were matched with their particular Global Ambassadors; the eureka moments when a complete organizational overhaul is called for, or perhaps when a mentee or a Global Ambassador sees the next step in her own career journey beyond her succession plan.

Perhaps most inspiring to me are the lasting friendships created among women from diverse experiences and geographies, bonded by a shared goal to give back. They will take what they learn through GAP, improve their businesses and organizations, and in turn, expand opportunity for all in their communities and the world beyond.