An 8-Week Leadership Course
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IGNITE YOUR POTENTIAL
You should attend if you are interested in leadership development. Emerging leaders and senior leaders are strongly encouraged to participate if you are interested in:
Strategic Growth
Power Networking
Connect with senior leaders and peers from diverse backgrounds.
Master Your Influence
Gain the confidence to speak up assertively, negotiate for your advancement, and command a presence.
Certification
Earn a Certificate of Completion to validate your skills.
Personal Branding
Define your leadership identity and strategically increase your visibility in the industry.
Exclusive Access
Gain early access to the Mentorship Certification Program and an exclusive meetup at NAWIC’s 71st Annual Conference in Reno, NV.
My investment in the NAWIC Leadership Academy has already paid dividends. In part, this is due to the intensity provided by the 8-week program to encourage personal growth and insights into leadership styles, communication and personal brand through expert-led sessions and thought-provoking panels with inspiring people. The sessions and homework assignments worked in tandem to provide structure for completing my personal leadership roadmap that identifies my goals and defines my objectives clearly and tracks them with purpose.
I’ve gained valuable technical experience—but the NAWIC Leadership Academy has helped me grow in a different, equally important way. It has strengthened my leadership awareness and challenged me to recognize the broader impact I have within my organization, regardless of my title. This program encourages you to stretch your wings, push beyond perceived boundaries, and lead with greater confidence and intention.
Leadership Academy has changed the way I view my leadership and my future development. Every week I received actionable strategies and educational nuggets that I could put into practice immediately. I have no doubts that what I learned in this course will help me reach my career goals.
Program Structure
Format: 8-week virtual live broadcast, including self-reflection and homework
Time Commitment: ~2-3 hours per week
Cohort Details
Start Date: Sep 16, 2026
End Date: Nov 4, 2026
Time: 3-4:30 PM ET | 2-3:30 PM CT | 12-1:30 PM PT
Meeting Dates:
Sep: 16, 23, 30
Oct: 7, 14, 21, 28
Nov: 4
Registration for the current cohort is now closed. Complete the form below to be notified when registration opens for the next cohort.
Success is Contagious
NAWIC members* – Refer someone who completes a paid registration for the NAWIC Leadership Academy, and you’ll receive a 5% referral bonus for every verified registration. *Exclusive to current active NAWIC members.
THE CURRICULUM
PROGRAM ROADMAP
Interactive weekly sessions featuring Q&A, guest speakers, collaboration, and real-world application.
Kick off with self-awareness and strategic career planning. Participants build a Career Leadership Roadmap baseline, learn the difference between transformational and transactional leadership, and set concrete 3/6/12 month goals informed by a 360° self-assessment. Practical examples and panel insights show how to convert early-career turning points into momentum.
Learn how to articulate your unique value and increase visibility within industry and on-site. This module covers a brand framework, LinkedIn optimization and practical onsite tactics, with real-world examples from association leaders and influencers.
Facilitated by Mollie Elkman
Learn to map influence, identify allies and cultivate sponsors who open opportunities. This session provides outreach templates, prioritization tactics and real sponsor perspectives on what convinces them to back emerging leaders.
Facilitated by Amrita Bhalla
Master assertive speaking, active listening and message adaptation for crews, clients and executives. Participants practice influence frameworks and role-play real situations, learning bias-aware amplification and messaging layers that drive results.
Facilitated by Valeria Wright
Focus on EQ-driven leadership: building trust, delegating effectively, creating accountability rituals and de-escalating conflict. Through role-plays and leader stories, participants learn tools to improve team performance and resilience.
Facilitated by Madeleine MacRae
Develop practical decision-making skills for complex, uncertain contexts. We introduce decision frameworks (OODA, cost/benefit, risk tolerance), tie decisions to project critical paths, and practice scenario-based tradeoff analysis with leader panels sharing real consequences.
Turn your Career Leadership Roadmap (CLR) evidence into leadership-ready conversations that win resources, promotions, and support for your team. In this fast-paced week, you’ll learn to frame ROI-backed asks that align to operational and financial priorities, create a one-page advocacy pitch, and practice persuasive 90‑second leadership conversations. Walk away with a polished pitch, a leader-ready snapshot of your impact, and a plan to secure the support your team needs.
Close the program by building ROI-backed asks, practicing negotiation and planning for adoption and resilience. Participants present capstone action plans and receive panel feedback to refine their one-page ask and implementation approach.
Facilitators
Meet the Fall Facilitators
Jillian Penkin
President
Week One
Jillian Penkin is a construction industry leader, consultant, speaker, and advocate with more than 15 years of experience spanning project management, business development, sales leadership, and client relations. Throughout her career, she has built a reputation for fostering strong relationships, driving strategic growth, and leading with a service-first approach. In 2024, Jillian launched Penkin Consulting, where she leverages her industry expertise and passion for leadership development to support organizations and professionals across the construction sector.
Mollie Elkman
Owner, Founder, & Author
Week Two
Mollie Elkman is a founder, author, and business leader who is passionate about driving growth across the building and construction industry. She is the owner and chief visionary officer of Group Two, the full-service marketing partner that has been trusted by the country’s most successful builders for over 50 years. With a complete range of creative and technical capabilities, the Group Two team brings each unique builder’s brand to life and helps them connect with new home buyers. With a deep understanding of marketing and a forward-thinking approach, Mollie and Group Two continue to lead the industry.
Mollie is also a passionate advocate for strengthening and future-proofing the building and construction industry. She is the author of The House That She Built, the bestselling children’s book, and the founder of the She Built Foundation. Both work to inspire a new generation of builders and to ensure the industry can continue to thrive. She is a sought-after speaker who has spoken to thousands of business owners, builders, and sales and marketing professionals across the country — as well as countless children and educators.
Amrita Bhalla
Managing Director & Founder
Week Three
Amrita Bhalla is a global HR executive and leadership advisor with more than two decades of experience building high-performing teams and sustainable cultures. She is the Founder and Managing Director of A.B. Consulting (est. 2015), which provides strategic HR solutions, workforce development, and leadership excellence to clients across the Caribbean and beyond.
A.B. Consulting partners with governments, tourism boards, hotels, and resorts in Bermuda, the Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Anguilla, Grenada and other markets to design talent strategies that support sustainable tourism growth. Amrita’s sector expertise centers on hospitality, tourism, and economic development, shaped by senior HR roles with global luxury brands including Four Seasons, Oberoi, and Belmond. Her international career across Canada, Bermuda, the UK, Thailand, and India informs a practical, culturally attuned approach to workforce strategy.
A committed advocate for leadership, governance, and professional development, Amrita serves on multiple boards including the Caribbean Hotel and Tourism Association Education Fund (CHTAEF). She is an Allied Member of the Caribbean Tourism Organization and an advisory board member for Women in Tourism and Hospitality Canada. She mentors emerging entrepreneurs through partnerships with Futurpreneur Canada, Ignite Bermuda, and Enterprise Cayman.
Amrita holds a Master of Industrial Relations and a BA (Hons) from Queen’s University, Canada. A sought-after speaker and facilitator, she delivers keynotes and workshops on leadership development, women in business, AI, and the future of work in hospitality and tourism.
Valeria Wright
Project Director & Founder
Week Four
Valeria Wright is a Construction Project Director with over 20 years of capital program leadership experience, including large-scale aviation and infrastructure projects, and the founder of the Take Credit Thursday™ movement — a professional visibility framework helping women in construction document their wins, articulate their impact, and advance with intention. She is a sought-after speaker, podcaster, and entrepreneur whose work sits at the intersection of construction excellence and personal empowerment. As author of Take Credit Thursday: Weekly Achievement & Progress Journal, Valeria brings the same strategic discipline she applies to multimillion-dollar projects to the way professional women build and own their careers.
Madeleine MacRae
President & Founder/CEO
Week Five
Madeleine MacRae is an accomplished executive and serial entrepreneur. With over 20 years of experience leading, guiding, and growing businesses of all sizes, Madeleine understands how to unleash the capacity of people to achieve more than they may have ever imagined possible. Madeleine has empowered individuals and organizations to go deeper and stretch more than they would have on their own. She is passionate about helping individuals, teams and organizations reach their true potential and become all they are capable of being. And her multiple businesses specialize in doing exactly that. Madeleine has touched the lives of over 30,000 with her down-to-earth style that makes even the most intimidating topics feel well within reach. Her ability to blend cutting-edge information with fiery inspiration drives audiences – both live and virtually – to stand up and act towards their growth and business objectives without losing sight of who they truly are and what they desire the most.
Lenetra King
Leadership Strategist, Author, & CEO
Week Six
Lenetra King is a leadership strategist, author, and CEO of The WME Group | Watch Me EXCEL®, a Fort Worth, Texas based leadership development and organizational effectiveness firm. She and her team of coaches and consultants serve healthcare and professional services firms through executive coaching, leader onboarding, and training programs that build trust, engagement, and accountability. To date, the firm has developed more than 31,000 leaders and team members through more than 8,800 hours of coaching and training.
Lenetra brings a different industry lens to the construction space, shaped by more than 15 years as a hospital C-suite executive. In those roles, she led large, multidisciplinary teams, oversaw major construction projects, and drove turnaround initiatives that produced millions in savings across multiple hospitals. That experience gave her a firsthand understanding of the pressures and realities faced by leaders in highly complex environments.
A sought-after speaker on workplace culture, influence, and executive alignment, Lenetra has presented for organizations including The Advanced Leadership Institute, the Women’s Leadership Symposium, Women In Healthcare, and the South Asian Bar Association Leadership Institute, and her insights have been featured by AP News, NBC, and The CW. Hosts have invited her back for repeat engagements, drawn to the way she pairs candid stories from her own journey with practical principles audiences can put to work right away.
Her published work includes Unwritten Insights: A Career Playbook for Leaders of Color, and her new book on power dynamics at work launches in November 2026. For additional information on service offerings or training/speaking engagements, please visit www.watchmeexcel.com.
Stefanie Adams
Speaker, Author, Facilitator & CEO
Week Seven
The ultimate Corporate Cheerleader known for her work as a leadership consultant, speaker, former elected official, and author of “CheerLEADERship: Strategies to Build and Support Human-Centric Workplaces for the Future”, Stefanie specializes in the key area’s today’s leaders find most challenging: building and leading high-impact teams, developing first time and frontline managers, implementing human-centric leadership, and engaging multigenerational workforces.
Stefanie’s insights have been featured in HR Executive, Leader to Leader, and WILMA; she has been a guest on numerous national podcasts including “Bringing the Human Back to Human Resources” and “Lead the People”. As a speaker, she is a high energy force that helps audiences break through challenges, build thriving teams, spark innovation, and transform workplace obstacles into opportunities. To learn more about services and speaking topics, check out stefanieadamsspeaks.com.
Carol Longacre
Owner, Leadership Facilitator, & Advocate
Week Eight
Carol Longacre is a business owner, leadership facilitator, and longtime advocate for the people who build, lead, and serve in the skilled trades. As a co-owner of Longacre Construction, a family-owned remodeling company in Lewisville, Texas, Carol brings more than three decades of real-world experience navigating leadership, communication, company culture, family-business dynamics, and organizational change.
Carol is a John Maxwell Certified Coach, Speaker, and Trainer, as well as a certified DISC behavioral analysis trainer. Throughout her career, she has worked with contractors, business owners, trade associations, and emerging leaders across the home-services and construction industries.
Known for her candid, practical, and highly interactive teaching style, Carol helps people better understand themselves, communicate more effectively, and lead with greater confidence and intention. She believes leadership is not defined by a title—it is demonstrated through influence, accountability, curiosity, and the courage to keep growing.
Ready to Ignite Your Potential?
Member = $2100
Non-Member = $2500
Registration for the current cohort is now closed. Complete the form to be notified when registration opens for the next cohort.
Registration for the current cohort is now closed. Complete the form below to be notified when registration opens for the next cohort.
