Our Mission
The Women’s Nonprofit Leadership Initiative (WNLI) works to significantly increase the percentage of diverse women on the governing boards of nonprofit healthcare and higher education institutions (meds and eds) and to expand women’s influence and formal leadership on these boards.
Our goal is for governing boards to reflect the gender, racial, and other diversity of their stakeholders. We believe board diversity enhances institutional performance and is necessary for achieving true institutional diversity, equity and inclusion.
On September 19, 2023, WNLI lost one of our key members – JoAnne Epps, President of Temple University. Learn more about JoAnne’s contributions to WNLI and her impact on our members.
Stand Behind Nonprofit Board Diversity
Join a growing list of those who stand behind diversity as a crucial enabler of good governance for large public-serving nonprofits. More than 140 prominent leaders from across the U. S. – the Coalition for Nonprofit Board Diversity Disclosure – signed and submitted an Open Letter to the IRS in June, 2023. These leaders believe access to accurate information about a board’s demographics, its composition and makeup, is required for the public’s ability to hold these institutions accountable to the people they serve. We invite all interested organizations and individuals to add your signatures to the Letter.
Meet the Members
The WNLI is made up of highly successful and diverse female leaders who have a record of nonprofit leadership and are committed to WNLI’s mission, vision, and beliefs. Members jointly decide on and carry out strategies to advance the mission.