Women’s Leadership Breakfast Showcases How to “Lead Confidently”

Hannah Overton

On April 30, Junior League of Washington (JLW) members, community members, colleagues, and friends gathered virtually to attend the 2021 Women’s Leadership Breakfast (WLB). Unlike in previous years, WLB attendees did not gather for breakfast at The Hamilton in downtown Washington, DC, but rather huddled in their home offices, kitchens, and spare bedrooms. Despite the separate locations, participants were drawn together to learn from a dynamic fireside chat, complete training exercises, and hear from a celebrated keynote speaker.

WLB is one of the largest annual JLW events that serves as a fundraiser and educational opportunity for members and the broader Washington, DC community. “We are able to raise funds to continue the League’s philanthropic work in the community through an event that promotes women and the great work they are doing,” says Catherine “Cady” Clapp, WLB Co-Chair, on the importance of the event. According to Clapp, “In addition to hearing from speakers in leadership roles, we provide a specific training opportunity during the breakfast for participants to hone a key leadership skill.”

This year’s WLB programming included several components, with participants first listening in to a Fireside Chat with Gina Shaefer, owner and operator of 13 ACE Hardware stores, and Carla Hayden, the 14th Librarian of Congress, moderated by award-winning journalist and WUSA9 weeknight anchor Lesli Foster.

Afterward, Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts, a Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business, conducted a training exercise on leading diverse teams.

This year’s virtual WLB concluded with keynote speaker Susan Goldberg, Editor-in-Chief of National Geographic. Under her leadership, National Geographic has been honored with nine National Magazine Awards, including four awards in 2020 and the top prize for General Excellence in 2019. Goldberg spoke to the importance of determination: “Being resilient means we keep trying. We say yes to things that scare us. We don’t give up — we show up.”

In previous years, WLB has been limited to 350 people due to physical space constraints, and focused solely on its flagship event. However, the transition to a virtual event came with some exciting opportunities, including farther geographic reach and the three part Speaker Series. The series, which occurred in the months leading up to WLB, featured local business women and how they had to pivot in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“We were able to expand our audience to anywhere across the U.S. and even outside of the U.S. for non-resident members. Many people also enjoyed the Speaker Series taking place in the evening because their job does not allow them to attend daytime events without having to take off work,” Clapp said. Further, Clapp explained that “The tickets were less expensive than our normal in-person event, but each person still received a giftcard to purchase breakfast that they can use either the morning of the event or at another time. The benefit of the event being virtual is that we are now able to have people from all over the country attend and benefit from hearing our speakers advice on how to lead confidently.”

Susan Goldberg credits her success to one key attribute: resiliency. The WLB panel highlighted the importance of confidence and individuality.