Women in Leadership Program

Enhance your leadership and influence skills to create the change you need to succeed.

Counts toward the Management Development Certificate
Counts toward the Certificate in Leadership & Management

Upcoming Dates

Program Dates

Format

Time Commitment

Program Fee

19-23 Oct 2025

In-Person, Charlottesville, VA

5 days

$10,500.00

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Overview

Women are called on to lead in organizations and society more than ever, but they face unique challenges along the way. This program will show you how to create opportunities to leverage strengths and lead confidently at all levels.

Expand your knowledge of strategy, negotiation, communication and leadership
Manage conflict and drive change
Build and strengthen critical networks and partnerships
Anticipate future industry trends and predict their impact on your company's success

Intended For

Senior Management, Executive

Focus

Leadership

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Blend your instincts and experience with accelerating techniques from the most powerful women in business.

Strengthen your ability to build influence and inspire others through focus on corporate culture, communication, conflict management, leveraging differences, crisis leadership and decision-making under pressure.
Assess and address your unique challenges and opportunities through simulations, workshops, a network assessment exercise and one-on-one professional and personal coaching.
Identify your leadership strengths and practice applying them across your current and future organizational responsibilities.
Learn to actively manage your professional development and secure managerial support for innovative ideas and strategic opportunities.
Participate in mindfulness activities to help you maintain peak performance in and out of the office.

Schedule & Topics
The program begins at 3pm the first day. The remaining days generally run from 9am-6pm, wrapping up by lunchtime on the final day. Featured activities & session topics include:

Clifton Strengths Assessment & Analysis

Organizational Design

Gender & Negotiation

Positive Deviance

Leveraging Your Best Self
Impact & Outcomes
Maximize the effectiveness of your most powerful capabilities in uncertain as well as structured environments.

Manage change, negotiate successfully, strengthen networks and lead your organization to greater profits.

Develop a fully articulated voice and vision for personal and organizational development that includes a holistic approach to mindfulness and personal resilience.

Build and strengthen your critical network of allies and partnerships.
Participant Profile

Designed for executives and professionals with management responsibilities, especially those leading teams, direct reports and product lines and verticals. Past leaders who improved their effectiveness and vision include corporate presidents and vice presidents, directors, senior HR managers and scientists, independent consultants and many more.

The Women in Leadership Program is open to all participants regardless of gender. The University of Virginia Darden School Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

In order to be awarded full credit hours, you must be present for the entirety of the program.
Continuing Professional Education (CPE) Sponsorship
UVA Darden Executive Education offers continuing education credits as part of our commitment to encourage lifelong learning.

Instructional Delivery: Group Live

CPE Credits: 32.0

Field of Study: Personal Development

Program Level: Intermediate

There are no prerequisites for participation, though executives and professionals with management responsibilities are encouraged to attend. Advanced preparation includes:

Case study readings

Clifton Strengths Assessment & Analysis

Reflected Best-Self Exercise

The selected case studies, assessments, and exercises will be sent prior to the program for all participants to read and prepare for discussion on the first day of the program.

Refund/Cancelation/Concern Resolution Policy:

All cancellations and transfers must be received in writing. Submit your request via email to Darden_ExEd@darden.virginia.edu with the name of the program, followed by "cancellation" or "transfer" in the subject line. Cancellation or transfer fees may apply. Visit our Registration & FAQ page for full details on transfers and cancellations.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, please contact us at 1-434-924-3000 or Darden_ExEd@darden.virginia.edu to resolve your issue.

UVA Darden School Foundation - Executive Education is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Concerns regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.
Location & Accommodations

Spring 2025

Location

UVA Darden DC Metro
1100 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia

Materials and some meals are included in your program fee.

Lodging

Accommodations are not included in the program fee and should be arranged by the participant. Recommended accommodations include:

Hyatt Centric Arlington
1325 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, 22209
Tel: +1-703-525-1234

Le Méridien Arlington
1121 North 19th Street, Arlington, VA 22209
Telephone: +1-703-351-9170

Fall 2025

Location

Darden School of Business
100 Darden Blvd.
Charlottesville, Virginia

Materials and some meals are also included in your program fee.

Accommodations

Lodging will be provided at our on-Grounds hotel for participants of this program as part of your program fee. If you register within 30 days of the program start date, accommodations at The Forum Hotel cannot be guaranteed. Alternate lodging would be provided. We encourage you to register early to reserve your spot!

The Forum Hotel
Kimpton Charlottesville
UVA Darden
540 Massie Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Enjoy access to all the hotel’s perks during your stay, including morning coffee and tea service, on-site fitness center, Birch & Bloom steakhouse, The Good Sport craft beer bar and large outdoor terrace.

Anchored by the beautiful Tahja Arboretum and LaCross Botanical Gardens with outdoor learning and reflection spaces, as well as state-of-the-art indoor classroom and event spaces, The Forum Hotel is the new home for Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programming.

The program begins at 3pm the first day. The remaining days generally run from 9am-6pm, wrapping up by lunchtime on the final day. Featured activities & session topics include:

Clifton Strengths Assessment & Analysis
Organizational Design
Gender & Negotiation
Positive Deviance
Leveraging Your Best Self

Maximize the effectiveness of your most powerful capabilities in uncertain as well as structured environments.
Manage change, negotiate successfully, strengthen networks and lead your organization to greater profits.
Develop a fully articulated voice and vision for personal and organizational development that includes a holistic approach to mindfulness and personal resilience.
Build and strengthen your critical network of allies and partnerships.

Designed for executives and professionals with management responsibilities, especially those leading teams, direct reports and product lines and verticals. Past leaders who improved their effectiveness and vision include corporate presidents and vice presidents, directors, senior HR managers and scientists, independent consultants and many more.

The Women in Leadership Program is open to all participants regardless of gender. The University of Virginia Darden School Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of age, color, disability, gender identity or expression, marital status, national or ethnic origin, pregnancy (including childbirth and related conditions), race, religion, sex, sexual orientation or veteran status.

In order to be awarded full credit hours, you must be present for the entirety of the program.

UVA Darden Executive Education offers continuing education credits as part of our commitment to encourage lifelong learning.

Instructional Delivery: Group Live
CPE Credits: 32.0
Field of Study: Personal Development
Program Level: Intermediate

There are no prerequisites for participation, though executives and professionals with management responsibilities are encouraged to attend. Advanced preparation includes:

Case study readings
Clifton Strengths Assessment & Analysis
Reflected Best-Self Exercise

The selected case studies, assessments, and exercises will be sent prior to the program for all participants to read and prepare for discussion on the first day of the program.

Refund/Cancelation/Concern Resolution Policy:

All cancellations and transfers must be received in writing. Submit your request via email to Darden_ExEd@darden.virginia.edu with the name of the program, followed by "cancellation" or "transfer" in the subject line. Cancellation or transfer fees may apply. Visit our Registration & FAQ page for full details on transfers and cancellations.

If you have any questions, concerns or complaints, please contact us at 1-434-924-3000 or Darden_ExEd@darden.virginia.edu to resolve your issue.

UVA Darden School Foundation - Executive Education is registered with the National Association of State Boards of Accountancy (NASBA) as a sponsor of continuing professional education on the National Registry of CPE Sponsors. State boards of accountancy have final authority on the acceptance of individual courses for CPE credit. Concerns regarding registered sponsors may be submitted to the National Registry of CPE Sponsors through its website: www.nasbaregistry.org.

Spring 2025

Location

UVA Darden DC Metro
1100 Wilson Boulevard
Arlington, Virginia

Materials and some meals are included in your program fee.

Lodging

Accommodations are not included in the program fee and should be arranged by the participant. Recommended accommodations include:

Hyatt Centric Arlington
1325 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, 22209
Tel: +1-703-525-1234

Le Méridien Arlington
1121 North 19th Street, Arlington, VA 22209
Telephone: +1-703-351-9170

Fall 2025

Location

Darden School of Business
100 Darden Blvd.
Charlottesville, Virginia

Materials and some meals are also included in your program fee.

Accommodations

The Forum Hotel Kimpton Arboretum & Gardens

Lodging will be provided at our on-Grounds hotel for participants of this program as part of your program fee. If you register within 30 days of the program start date, accommodations at The Forum Hotel cannot be guaranteed. Alternate lodging would be provided. We encourage you to register early to reserve your spot!

The Forum Hotel
Kimpton Charlottesville
UVA Darden
540 Massie Rd.
Charlottesville, VA 22903

Enjoy access to all the hotel’s perks during your stay, including morning coffee and tea service, on-site fitness center, Birch & Bloom steakhouse, The Good Sport craft beer bar and large outdoor terrace.

Anchored by the beautiful Tahja Arboretum and LaCross Botanical Gardens with outdoor learning and reflection spaces, as well as state-of-the-art indoor classroom and event spaces, The Forum Hotel is the new home for Executive Education & Lifelong Learning programming.

Hear from faculty and participants on what makes Darden's Women in Leadership Program unique and impactful.

Earn Your Certificate

Women in Leadership counts as one program toward a noncredit Darden Certificate in Leadership & Management. Complete this program and three additional programs within a four-year period to earn your certificate.

Perfect combination of business and personal skills-development needed to successfully lead. I was inspired by the interesting and thought-provoking case studies, and the other amazing leaders in the class with whom I bonded.

Stephanie Vatalaro

SVP of Marketing and Communications, Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation

Faculty

Laura Morgan Roberts

Frank M. Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration

Laura Morgan Roberts

Frank M. Sands Associate Professor of Business Administration

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Roberts is an expert in diversity, authenticity and leadership development. Her research and consulting focuses on the science of maximizing human potential in diverse organizations and communities.

Full Bio

Allison Elias

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Allison Elias

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Communication

Elias teaches communication and negotiation, with particular expertise in storytelling, careers, and conflict. Her research investigates historical and contemporary issues of gender and diversity in occupations and organizations, with a focus on the influence of social movements on corporate practices.

Full Bio

Toni Irving

Frank M. Sands Sr. Professor of Practice

Toni Irving

Frank M. Sands Sr. Professor of Practice

Strategy, Ethics & Entrepreneurship

Irving has decades of experience across multiple interconnected disciplines, including finance, health care, academia, consulting, government, philanthropy and nonprofit management. At Darden, she teaches, writes and consults on topics ranging from leadership, organizational behavior, nonprofit management, cross-sector partnerships, social impact, corporate responsibility and business ethics.

Full Bio

Ayana Younge

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Ayana Younge

Assistant Professor of Business Administration

Leadership and Organizational Behavior

Younge's research lies at the intersection of emotions, social hierarchy, and interpersonal processes. She explores how positive emotions (e.g., gratitude) influence relational perceptions and behaviors within organizations. She also studies how an organization’s social hierarchical context may play a role in shaping emotion perception within interpersonal relationships.

Full Bio

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