WLI was founded in 2006 by five undergraduates at Yale who felt the University required an official organization that would prioritize discussion on women's leadership among the various student activities at Yale. In the first year of its inception, WLI attracted more than 200 students to the first Women in Leadership Conference and hosted speakers Arianna Huffington (Founder of Huffington Post), Mary Robinson (former President of Ireland), Chief Justice Margaret Marshall, and Maureen Chiquet (CEO of Chanel). Since 2006, WLI has expanded its operations and reach to attract more than 400 students, speakers, and alumni from NYC to Florida in its annual conference. In its short but remarkable history of eight years, WLI has also established a variety of programs for women at Yale, including bi-annual Job Shadowing Days, the Leading Ladies Gala that celebrates more than 200 female student leaders at Yale, a mentorship network that spans four professional schools at Yale, and career-building workshops, to name a few. Through these opportunities, WLI members have interacted with prominent women leaders in their industries including Janet Robinson (first woman CEO of The New York Times company), Anne-Marie Slaughter (author of "Why Women Still Can't Have It All"), Robin Chase (Founder of ZipCar), Paula Moreno (Minister of Culture of Colombia), Michelle Peluso (CEO of Gilt Groupe), Rosa DeLauro (US Congresswoman from Connecticut), as well as Arianna Huffington, Mary Robinson, Margaret Marshall, and Maureen Chiquet as stated above. WLI is overseen by an Executive Board of two dozen women and a dozen committee members. The President and Vice Presidents oversee the high-level strategy and direction of the organization, spur cross-departmental initiatives across WLI's seven departments, and oversee the creation of new programs and refinement of existing ones. The rest of the WLI Executive Board consists of seven different departments that each manage a critical component of the organization's activities and operations. The 2021-2022 WLI Co-Presidents are Anusha Sarathy and Julia Bialek. The organization's expansion and growth stem from the continuous efforts of our members who believe in passing on the initiative as new women arrive at the University. By leveraging their devotion and the momentum of their impact at Yale, WLI seeks to inspire individuals to create their own initiative from our shared fundamental vision.
