Diana Ruiz and the Women’s Global Leadership Initiative are trying to empower women with a leadership lecture series all about empowering women starting September 28.
Ruiz founded the program in 2006 when she wanted to invoke change in a community in Croatia. In 2007, she went to Dubrovnik and met women who expressed great concerns about not advancing in society due to the lack of employment opportunities. They wanted change.
In 2008, the Women’s Global Leadership Initiative (WGLI) started rolling when she met a woman named Linda Lea who was teaching leadership to African women. The idea clicked and Ruiz felt it was her responsibility to empower women and give them the strength to uplift their communities.
In June 2008, she and her partner Ruthe Browning put together a model of the program and traveled to Croatia to serve the women there by finding what they wanted to do in their communities.
They gave the women tools to fix the problems they saw in education, health, treatment of the elderly and more. Passion for change filled the air and the organization has been flourishing ever since.
“The mission of Global Leadership Initiative is to promote a values based leadership program that unleashes the power of women to initiate change in their communities,” Ruiz said. Ruiz is a Sonoma County resident and University of San Francisco graduate who studied organizational behavior. “I am the founder of WGLI and it is my job to create something great for the community. “It is my job to create responsibility: talk to women of influence to get them to step up and support young women in the community,” she said. “I get the support needed for women; they need more than just scholarships. I facilitate the sharing of resources and knowledge.”
Ruiz encourages women to see problems and fix them within their community. “We are running so fast we don’t recognize what’s around us,” Ruiz said. WGLI is committed to allowing women to make connections with each other to make their community flourish. The program allows women to identify who they are, find their strengths, what they care about and how to take that into the world by helping their community.
The lectures are being held at SRJC’s Santa Rosa campus because the JC is a diverse community in itself with many different people striving to make a difference in the community. The lectures are open for all to attend and the theme of the lectures chosen based on a survey taken last year of what women in this community want to know more about.
Ruiz hopes women will to attend the lectures to make long-lasting and beneficial connections.
The lectures aren’t limited to just women, Ruiz said. “A majority of men support it because they’re involved with women in their lives, wives, daughters, nieces, etc…; and they love and support their want to be empowered. By women being empowered they go and help the community and in turn men are helped too.”
What’s next for the Woman’s Global Leadership Initiative? In the near future, Ruiz will introduce a blog titled “Voices of WGLI” that discuss themes specific to women. The blog will feature experts on various topics to allow readers to receive mentoring. Ruiz expressed a desire for a Women’s Global Leadership Initiative Club to be started on the Santa Rosa campus as a constant reminder of empowerment of women and the community.
WGLI is striving to go national with models like the one at SRJC. Ruiz would like to spread in universities all over the nation for everyone in the community to access.
Some testimonies of the women of the WGLI are Adrianna Paine who shared: “In going over my personal life story, I gained a clarity about how to turn those experiences into something positive. By the end of the [WGLI workshop] weekend, I had an excitement I hadn’t felt in months, if not years. Each woman’s journey that weekend was different but I know all of us left empowered.”
Another success story is Francesca. “I went into the [WGLI] workshop not quite knowing what to expect,” Francesca said. “I found a group of positive, intelligent women from many backgrounds, each seeking leadership guidance in their personal and professional endeavors. It was exactly the jump start I needed to help identify my natural leadership abilities and focus them toward a clear personal vision. WGLI is a safe and encouraging venue for women to discover both their vision and their voice.”