Leadership Academy for Women (2027)

$1,350.00

Apply Now
Leadership Academy for Women (2027)

Leadership Academy for Women (2027)

Apply by Feb. 8, 2027, for a five-day, in-person leadership academy for experienced women and nonbinary managers ready to grow their influence and lead more strategically. Through hands-on training, coaching and peer discussions, you’ll strengthen your leadership skills, navigate complex challenges and build a trusted community of peers, May 3-7, 2027, at Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Florida.

May 3, 2027– May 7, 2027

Overview

  • Submit your application by Feb. 8, 2027.
  • Meet May 3-7, 2027, at Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Florida.
  • Designed for experienced women and nonbinary leaders with more than three years of formal management experience.
  • Learn directly from Poynter faculty Kate Cox and Fernanda Camarena.
  • Examine your leadership strengths and process feedback with support from a Poynter coach.
  • Practice what you learn through hands-on exercises, strategic conversations and coaching.
  • Tackle the complex challenges that come with greater leadership responsibility alongside managers with similar levels of
  • Build lasting relationships and join a network of more than 650 Leadership Academy for Women alumni.
Apply Now
SKU: 82701 Tags: , , , , ,

Learning Outcomes

In this program you will:

  • Strengthen your people management skills, from developing talent and building strong teams to managing performance.
  • Learn how to give and receive meaningful feedback and handle difficult conversations with bosses, peers and direct reports.
  • Build a practical approach to making difficult ethical decisions.
  • Learn how to advocate and negotiate effectively for yourself and your team.
  • Delegate more intentionally so your team can grow and you have more time to focus on strategic priorities.
  • Use Poynter’s framework to create a more sustainable approach to juggling work and life.
New
Leadership Academy for Women (2027)

$1,350.00

Apply Now

Overview

  • Submit your application by Feb. 8, 2027.
  • Meet May 3-7, 2027, at Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Florida.
  • Designed for experienced women and nonbinary leaders with more than three years of formal management experience.
  • Learn directly from Poynter faculty Kate Cox and Fernanda Camarena.
  • Examine your leadership strengths and process feedback with support from a Poynter coach.
  • Practice what you learn through hands-on exercises, strategic conversations and coaching.
  • Tackle the complex challenges that come with greater leadership responsibility alongside managers with similar levels of
  • Build lasting relationships and join a network of more than 650 Leadership Academy for Women alumni.

Training 5 or More People?
get consulting & coaching

Poynter’s Leadership Academy for Women is for experienced and senior managers ready to grow their influence and lead at a more strategic level. Designed for leaders with at least 3 years of experience, executive editors, managing editors, product leaders, audience strategists or other team leaders with direct reports, the Academy focuses on the complex challenges that come with greater responsibility, while creating space for candid conversations about navigating leadership as women and nonbinary people.

Apply if you’re an experienced manager ready to grow alongside a cohort of women

At Poynter’s campus in St. Petersburg, Florida, you’ll develop strategies for difficult conversations and negotiations, strengthen team dynamics, navigate ethical decisions and organizational change, and learn to advocate more effectively for yourself and others. You’ll also examine your leadership strengths, process feedback from bosses, peers and direct reports, and chart a career path based on your own definition of success.

Through hands-on activities, coaching and honest peer-to-peer conversations, you’ll learn alongside experienced leaders facing similar challenges. You’ll leave with practical strategies, greater clarity about how you want to lead and a trusted community that extends into a network of more than 650 Leadership Academy for Women alumni.

 

Why learn leadership with Poynter?

The Poynter Institute is a global nonprofit working to strengthen journalism to help address society’s most pressing problems. The world’s top journalists and emerging media leaders rely on the Institute to learn new skills, adopt best practices, better serve audiences, scale operations and foster trustworthy information.

Poynter’s leadership training draws on more than 50 years of experience strengthening leaders in media. Our faculty bring deep expertise in management, leadership, individual coaching, self-assessment frameworks, conflict management and more. Every program emphasizes practical, hands-on learning you can put to work immediately, along with intentional cohort building that creates space for meaningful connection and shared experience.

The Leadership Academy for Women is part of a broader Poynter leadership track, with programs for different stages and types of leadership in media. Whether you’re leading a project without formal authority, managing people for the first time or taking on greater organizational responsibility, there’s a program designed to help you grow.

The leadership track:

  • Lead With Influence: Lead projects and influence others without formal authority; no formal management experience required
  • Essential Skills for New Managers: Build the fundamentals of managing people; 0-3 years of management experience
  • Poynter Leadership Academy: Strengthen your skills as an experienced or senior leader; 3+ years of leadership/management experience
  • Leadership Academy for Women: Advanced leadership development centered on the experiences of women; 3+ years of leadership/management experience

Questions?

Here are some frequently asked questions. If you need more assistance, email us at info@poynter.org.

The application deadline for the program is Feb. 8, 2027.

Accepted participants will be notified early March, 2027.

This in-person-only program takes place May 3-7, 2027, in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the Poynter Institute. Sessions will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern time most days. Lunch, refreshments and snacks are provided during the program.

Accepted applicants must plan to arrive on site no later than the start date and time and should expect to dedicate uninterrupted time to the program for its duration.

Below is a tentative schedule, subject to change:

Day 1 | Getting to Know Each Other + Learning About Your Management Style
Meet your cohort and begin exploring how you show up as a leader. You’ll examine your leadership style, dig into your Gallup CliftonStrengths results and start identifying the strengths and habits that shape how you manage.

Day 2 | Managing How We Communicate
Learn how others experience your leadership through Poynter’s ViewPoynt 360-degree feedback tool and small-group coaching. You’ll also build practical management tools, explore new research on Americans’ changing relationship with news and examine a manager’s responsibilities when First Amendment rights are under attack.

Day 3 | Managing the People — and Yourself
Strengthen your ability to navigate the human side of management. You’ll practice difficult but fair conversations, work through real workplace scenarios, learn strategies for leading through change and explore a more sustainable approach to work and life.

Day 4 | Building Next-Level Skills
Expand your leadership toolkit with practical strategies for ethical decision-making, negotiation and managing up. You’ll also begin developing a personal development plan that connects what you’ve learned throughout the week to your own leadership goals.

Day 5 | Bringing Everything Together + Taking It Back Home
Bring the week’s lessons together through a strategy and delegation workshop, then share your personal development plan with your cohort. You’ll leave with clear next steps for applying what you’ve learned when you return to your organization.

Who should apply? 

This is one of Poynter’s most competitive programs. It is designed for those who directly manage people and have more than three years of formal people-management experience. 

English-speaking women and nonbinary people from all over the world are encouraged to apply. 

Cost

Tuition is $1,350 and covers five days of teaching from prominent faculty, networking and most meals. Participants receive a facilitated 360-degree review.

Participants (or their employers) are responsible for tuition and travel costs (here’s advice about asking your boss for support).

Poynter negotiates a competitive rate with a trusted hotel within walking distance from campus, which is $145/night May 3-7. This includes a daily Chef’s Choice breakfast and free shuttle to and from Poynter each day of the program. We strongly recommend each participant stay at the preferred hotel to streamline communications, transportation and networking opportunities.

Application process

There is a single application for all Poynter Leadership Programs. You’ll indicate your preferred Academy and our reviewers will carefully consider your experience and goals to determine the best fit for your professional development. If your preferred Academy is at capacity, you may join the waitlist. Waitlisted applicants will be admitted if a spot becomes available.

While you’ll indicate your preferred Academy in the application, our reviewers may recommend a different program that better aligns with your current experience and career goals. For example, newer managers may be recommended for an Essential Skills cohort rather than the Leadership Academy. This flexibility ensures you receive the most valuable learning experience.

In the application, please be prepared to answer questions about your professional experience, areas of interest and basic demographic information. For all of our in-person leadership programs, we also require a reference letter. 

The deadline to apply is Feb. 8, 2027.

Instructors

  • Fernanda Camarena
    Faculty
    Fernanda Camarena is an award-winning journalist with more than 20 years of experience in the media industry. As a full-time faculty member at Poynter Institute,...
    Read More
  • Kate Cox
    Senior Strategic Partnerships Manager and Faculty; Director of Leadership Academy for Women in Media
    Kate Cox has consulted, trained and coached news organizations across the globe to cultivate strong practices of leadership, strengthen ethics and craft, and build digital-first...
    Read More

Related Products