Check out this video to see highlights from the virtual U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Women’s Leadership Summit, which took place on April 19–20, 2022. See if you can spot a cameo by the EnCompass Vice President of Learning and Leadership Development, Kathy Callahan!
In April, the EnCompass team organized and facilitated a virtual Agency-wide Women’s Leadership Summit for USAID to commemorate Women’s History Month. The two-day virtual conference, hosted by the Office of Human Capital and Talent Management, Center for Professional Development, amplified the contributions and impact of women leading within USAID and across public and private sector partner organizations. The Summit also supported participants in identifying and enhancing their personal leadership development. More than 890 participants from across the Agency, representing 60 countries, participated in the Summit.
A first-of-its-kind, the Summit was designed to (1) foster learning related to the contributions and impact of women leading at all levels, (2) highlight the importance of equity and inclusion in leadership, and (3) empower participants to apply leadership behaviors in actionable steps.
Over the course of the two days, participants took part in interactive conversations with Agency leaders, as well as leaders from the public and private sector. EnCompass facilitated three topical learning sessions from which participants could choose based on their interests. The topics covered in the learning sessions were avoiding burnout, identifying mentors and career advocates, and leading from strengths. Participants were also invited to interact with their peers in virtual thematic networking rooms and reflect on their own learning in facilitated action-learning sessions. Participants were invited back for a follow-on Summit Reflective Practice session in August to explore how they are applying what they learned from the Summit.
USAID Administrator Samantha Power and Deputy Administrator Paloma Adams-Allen spoke at the event, among other dignitaries. In her remarks, Administrator Power encouraged the participants by saying, “Today and every day, see yourself as a leader. Inspire, listen, and innovate, no matter your role. Help us, and hold us accountable, as we expand our definition of leadership.”
When asked for feedback on the Summit, participants indicated they most appreciated the inspirational speakers, rich participation, new connections, and virtual format that allowed people from all around the world to participate. As one participant said, “This event was…truly transformational. The speakers were on point, the participation was rich, the platform worked well. Hoping we do it every year!”
As always, we are so proud of our USAID Training and Facilitation Services team and their contributions to advancing engagement and learning throughout the Agency.
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