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When Kirsten Elleby joined Syracuse University’s athletics department a year and a half ago as a deputy athletic director, she said her office’s location on South Campus made her feel somewhat isolated from other SU staff. Looking for community, she sought out the Women in Leadership Initiative to connect with women she wouldn’t have a chance to otherwise.

Elleby is part of the second cohort of SU’s Women in Leadership Initiative, which offers personalized, professional development for current SU faculty and staff. The fall cohort consists of 25 women who said they share a desire to explore career opportunities and improve skills by forming connections with other professionals, according to an SU news release.

“I’m looking forward to being able to collaborate with other leaders over other areas other than athletics,” Elleby said. “It will just make for a very powerful experience for not only myself but for many members of my cohort, and our future cohort members.”

The initiative received nearly 120 applications this year, which drove SU to add another cohort for later this fall. The second cohort is underway now, with the third set to begin closer to the end of the year, according to the release.

Participants for the third cohort, which SU will announce in October, were selected from the pool of applications SU received from the second cohort. This fall’s cohort is also open to non-binary people, according to the release.

Eliana Abu-Hamdi, associate dean for research in SU’s School of Architecture, is another member of the current WiL cohort. Abu-Hamdi said the initiative highlights that no matter where participants are in their career path, further growth is always possible.

“I made Associate Dean last year — you think, ‘Wow, that’s an accomplishment,’ but if you stop and really reflect, you realize you haven’t a clue and you’re bulldozing through life, and there’s so much more to learn,” Abu-Hamdi said.

Maithreyee Dubé, who leads enrollment services at the D’Aniello Institute for Veterans and Military Families, said her admiration for the women in the previous cohort was why she decided to apply.

Dubé said she hopes to continue to inspire and be inspired by her peers as she learns more about herself through the cohort.

Sara Garvey, director of corporate relations for the Martin J. Whitman School of Management, said she hopes to be able to offer advice to other women in the cohort based on her own career path. She’s set to attend her first meeting of the semester as a member of the second cohort on Friday.

While the cohort is focused towards women and non-binary people, Dubé said she’s confident the leadership guidance will have benefits across the university.

“I love the fact that it’s a combination of faculty and staff, because the synergy that the faculty and staff create is what really ultimately helps the academic environment at SU,” Dubé said.

Garvey also said the initiative will have a widespread impact for all women on campus by creating a supportive environment.

“We don’t need to reinvent the wheel all the time,” Garvey said. “We can lean on fellow women that are in leadership to learn a little bit about how they got to where they are. I think it will help us all grow.”

Published on September 12, 2023 at 11:41 pm

Contact Claire: cksamsta@syr.edu