Power appears in many forms--including startling musical compositions that transcend all time and space.
Read more in Take The Lead on Power Up 2024
Dame Marina Arsenijevic, internationally acclaimed pianist and composer, overwhelmed the more than 100 guests with her talent in an original concert at the National Museum of Women in The Arts for the kickoff of Take The Lead’s Power Up Concert and Conference 2025 in Washington, D.C..
It was the perfect launch for the two-day event.
Read MoreYes, you can get what you want and also what you need at Take The Lead’s Power Up Conference 2025 on Women’s Equality Day in Washington, D.C. on August 26.
Register here for the Power Up Conference 2025.
Your attendance and participation on the highly interactive day of panels, networking, award-winning speakers, a SHEposium of products and services, book signing by best-selling authors and exercises built into the curriculum to solidify your position as a leader, entrepreneur and expert is both necessary and rewarding.
Read MoreIssue 2856— August 19, 2025
I once read that "You Are Not Alone" is the all-time most opened newsletter headline. At first I thought that was kind of pathetic. Then I realized it is exactly how I want to feel right now.
Unlike the famous Greta Garbo plea for solitude, I don't want to be alone.
I'd especially love to see your shining face at the Power Up Concert and Conference on August 26 in Washington DC.
The conference theme is “Courage to Lead,” and the first essential element of courage is simply showing up.
Sticking with your mission.
Not being deterred by chaos or disruption. In fact, taking the energy of chaos and disruption and using it to create a new way forward is the best way we can use this moment.
But it won’t work nearly as well if we do it alone.
That’s why you’re invited to come together with like minded women and men who support gender equality.
Read MoreWhat does it take to transform challenge into change?
For two outstanding leaders and Take The Lead Power Tool Champions, their stories of advocacy and excellence changed not only their lives, but the lives of so many others as well as systems that now support them.
At the Power Up 2025 Conference on Women’s Equality Day August 26, Dr. Winter Okoth, PhD., ScM, infectious disease scientist, is honored with the Trailblazer Award; and Kathy Jefferson, children’s disability advocate, is honored with The Change Catalyst Award. Both embody the drive and selflessness of entrepreneurs directing effective change.
Read MoreWASHINGTON, Aug. 12, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Take The Lead is proud to announce the return of its flagship event, the Power Up Conference 2025, taking place August 25–26, 2025 at the National Housing Center in Washington, D.C. This year's theme, "Courage to Lead," will act as a rally for leaders ready to rise, disrupt, and drive change in a world that demands bold vision and action.
The two-day experience kicks off on August 25 with an unforgettable VIP Dinner and Private Concert featuring internationally acclaimed pianist Dame Marina Arsenijevic. This exclusive evening of elegance and inspiration sets the tone for what promises to be the most powerful Power Up yet.
On August 26, the main conference will bring together a powerhouse lineup of speakers, thought leaders, and trailblazers who are redefining leadership across industries. Attendees will gain cutting-edge insights, forge high-impact connections, and leave with actionable strategies to lead with clarity, confidence, and courage. As part of the program, Take The Lead will also honor David Smith and Brad Johnson—renowned co-authors of "Good Guys: How Men Can Be Better Allies for Women in the Workplace" and champions of inclusive leadership—for their outstanding contributions to advancing gender equity in leadership.
Read MoreIssue 2855— August 12, 2025
Hello there.
I’m super excited that in just two weeks, many of us will be together at the Power Up Conference. *
I have a question for you, though. What does the conference theme, “Courage to Lead,” mean to you? I’ve been thinking and writing a lot about what it means to me, but I’m curious to know what it means to you.
Email your answer to me at takethelead@taketheleadwomen.com or DM me @GloriaFeldt on Instagram Threads, Facebook, or LinkedIn. You might be quoted on the stage or social media.
Read MoreYes, women hold up more than half of the sky. And male allies can collaborate efficiently and fairly for everyone to benefit under the full sky.
David Smith, PhD, and W. Brad Johnson, PhD, co-authors, co-founders of Workplace Allies since 2018, and co-winners of this year’s Alex Barbanell Leading Man Award from Take The Lead, have spent their professional lives focusing on gender parity in the workplace. And their personal lives have had much to do with their collaborative mindsets.
Read MoreIssue 2854— August 4, 2025
ChatGPT, when asked to help write a piece about women and confidence asserted that women “naturally have less confidence than men.”
REALLY? Naturally?
My 2 1/2-year-old great granddaughter has tons of confidence. She is loud. She takes up space. She runs fast and love things that go fast. She takes risks. That’s because nobody has yet told her she shouldn’t be confident.
Read MoreThe daughter of Haitian immigrants, Michelle Genece Patterson, grew up on Blueberry Hill Lane in Sudbury, Mass., a suburb of Boston that she describes as “idyllic, but very much a dissonance culturally and experientially as we were the only family of color.”
Her father was a native of LaGonave, an island of Haiti, where there was no electricity or running water, and her mother was from Port Au Prince. It was their tenacity in moving from Haiti to New York City to Boston, that was a “key pivotal turning point for me,” Patterson says.
The speech class Aly Palmer took her junior year at the University of Maryland where she was studying liberal arts, shifted her life completely.
The award-winning singer, songwriter, producer, performer, artist, activist, philanthropist and founder known globally for her work in the musical trio, BETTY, says, “That feeling of being on stage, feeling something important was happening, is when my entire life changed.”
Read MoreIssue 2853— July 21, 2025
Each year on August 26, we observe Women’s Equality Day—a date that commemorates the certification of the 19th Amendment in 1920, which granted [some] women the constitutional right to vote in the United States.
The name sounds triumphant, the reality is far more complicated. If we’re being honest, it should really be called Women’s INequality Day—a sobering reminder of how far we still have to go.
Read MoreIt’s red carpet season known for awards and applause given to so many deserving winners across entertainment and business arenas.
At Take The Lead, it is also time to celebrate the Power Tool Champions, those entrepreneurs and individuals who will be honored at the Power Up 2025 Concert & Conference with the theme of Courage To Lead. The awards will be given on Women’s Equality Day in Washington, D.C. to deserving entrepreneurs, founders and creators making real change in their lives and the world.
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