I recently attended an intro session for a non-profit organization called How Women Lead. If you’re a woman with serious experience and even bigger ambitions…whether that’s a board seat, a career pivot, more visible leadership, or simply finding your people, this organization is worth knowing about. Here’s a breakdown of who they are, who they’re built for, what they offer and how to get involved.
I first heard about How Women Lead through a former colleague, a senior leader I worked with at Intel who is affiliated with the organization. Her endorsement was enough to peak my interest in learning more and it was easy to opt into one of the learning sessions with the Founder and CEO, Julie Castro Abrams.
If you’re an experienced woman professional in the later chapters of your career, whether you’re eyeing a board seat, considering a pivot, ready to build more visible leadership, or simply looking for your people, this organization is worth knowing about. Here’s a breakdown of who they are, who they’re built for, and how to get involved.
Who It’s For
How Women Lead serves senior and executive-level women who are ready to expand their influence beyond their current role. The community skews toward women who are:
- Actively pursuing or considering a corporate board seat
- Looking to build external visibility alongside (or instead of) internal advancement
- Interested in values-aligned investing or philanthropic giving
- Navigating a career transition, including women leaving federal government
- Introverted or self-promotion-averse, and looking for a structured, supported path to visibility
One thing that came through clearly in the intro session: this isn’t a networking-for-networking’s-sake organization. The programming is purposeful, and the community is intentionally curated.
What They Offer
Inner Circle Membership is the entry point. Members receive 25% off all programs and events, access to a searchable directory with direct contact info, quarterly virtual gatherings, and input into programming decisions. The current community is about 150 members and the recommended investment to participate was $500/year donation.
Board Readiness is one of their flagship focus areas. Monthly best practices sessions run year-round, and the signature event called Get on Board Week (September 14), brings together roughly 200 corporate directors across hybrid hubs in Atlanta, DC, Chicago, New York, San Francisco/Silicon Valley, Denver, Dallas, and Minneapolis. There’s also a six-session Corporate Board Readiness Course starting October 2, covering how to identify the right board type for you, build your value proposition, map your network, and develop an outreach strategy.
Brand Visibility programs help women clarify and amplify their professional presence. Think LinkedIn positioning, thought leadership, and podcast strategy. This track is relevant for women making a significant career pivot. There’s a free overview session if you want to explore it first.
Leadership Retreats offer immersive peer experiences with affinity-based tracks for Black women, Latinas, Asian women, and LGBTQ women. Destinations include Santa Fe, San Juan (Puerto Rico), and San Miguel de Allende, Mexico, with weekend retreat options as well.
Fed Women Forward is a dedicated program for women leaving federal government, now in its third cohort and facilitated by high-profile former federal leaders.
Investing & Venture education ranges from a 30-minute Venture 101 intro to deeper programming on ESG, values-based investing, and women-run VC funds. Their venture funds have a $25K minimum (retirement funds eligible), and they’re building toward a $1B fund-of-funds vehicle.
Philanthropy / Giving Circle ($1,000/year) pools contributions from 50–100 women into unrestricted $10K grants to social impact organizations. A Global Advisor Program, one hour per month for six months advising a nonprofit or social impact leader which offers a low-stakes, high-meaning way to start.
How to Get Involved
Getting started is pretty straightforward: simply visit their website and sign up for an intro session with their CEO. From there, the organization offers a follow-up conversation to address any specific questions, and you can explore before committing (attending a brand visibility overview session or a Venture 101 call are both low-stakes ways to get a feel for the programming and the community).
For women who aren’t sure where to begin, the advice shared in the session resonated with me: start with the Global Advisor role or a nonprofit board. It’s one hour a month, it’s meaningful work, and it gets you in the room with the right people.
I’m still assessing my own next steps with How Women Lead but the clarity of their mission, the quality of the programming, and the intentionality of the community made a strong impression and I thought it was worth sharing in the meantime.
Thanks for reading and sharing! xx
