WISE Executive Leadership Institute

The gold standard in leadership training.

WELI is a once-in-a-career opportunity for women leaders to learn from other leaders at the highest levels of our profession to accelerate their careers and make a greater impact for their organizations.

The further leaders advance, the fewer opportunities they have to learn. Finding peer women and experts to share their experiences with is difficult enough, and it's even harder to find the time away from the day-to-day responsibilities of leading an organization.

Launched in 2014, WELI has impact the careers of more than 300 alumnae from the upper echelon of the business of sports, representing industry-leading organizations such as CBS Sports, Coca-Cola, ESPN, FOX Sports, IMG, MLB, MLS/SUM, NBA/WNBA, NBC Sports, NFL, NHL, Octagon, StubHub, Under Armour, USOC, USTA, and major league teams.

Go back to school, but with the wisdom of real-world experience.

WELI is a one-week in-person program at the Dartmouth Tuck School of Business designed for high-performing women at the vice president level and above.

It combines the academic rigor of Dartmouth's world-class faculty with the real lived experiences of peer women executives in a collaborative small group setting.

The customized curriculum leverages the the faculty and resources of Tuck Executive Education to address the skills needed by any successful executive, as well as the specific challenges faced by women in the business of sports.

The program is a unique opportunity for women executives in the sports industry to sharpen their business acumen and personal leadership skills, develop meaningful relationships, and take back ideas to immediately impact their organizations.

Leadership and Business Acumen

Learners are pushed outside of the comfort zone of their day-to-day business responsibilities to expand their knowledge base and explore the building blocks of successful leadership.

Guided by academic research and relevant case studies provided by faculty who understand the challenges and opportunities of modern organizations, learners also benefit from candid exchanges based on their class's collective experiences.

Meaningful Relationships

Many alumnae believe that the most powerful learning resource at WELI is the relationships they build with their fellow women executives.

WELI provides a chance to meet, interact with, and learn from the experiences of women leaders in different facets of the sports industry in a non-competitive environment.

Throughout the program, session content is reinforced through facilitated reflection and peer coaching. Additionally, small group learning activities and interaction during receptions, meals and breaks will enable participants to build community and create powerful and continuing support groups.

This is not superficial networking. The relationships forged at WELI last long beyond the program's end. Each year's WELI class stays connected as a powerful source of friendship, source, and advice for the remainder of their careers.

Immediate Impact

The WELI curriculum is focused on driving real-world change in a variety of practical applications. Participants will be afforded opportunities to reflect on what they need to learn, the progress they are making, and how to apply the learning back on the job.

After a week focused more on longer-term issues and less on day-to-day operational efficiency, WELI alumnae report returning to their roles feeling empowered with actionable knowledge (not just theory) to transform their organizations for the better and a proactive sense of motivation to implement ideas learned on the program immediately.

Participants will come away from the program better prepared to:

  • Develop measures for evaluating company profitability and asset utilization efficiency
  • Identify major organizational challenges and how to meet them
  • Strategize for effective negotiations
  • Explore the essentials of successful strategies
  • Apply self-awareness to think strategically about their careers
  • Understand how effective leaders influence others and implement change in their organizations
  • Meet common challenges related to change within an organization
  • Use strategic communication to create a connection between strategy development and execution
  • Maximize mentoring relationships
  • Assess personal leadership styles and how they impact team behaviors
  • Explore what work-life integration means for them

Class of 2025

The next class is scheduled to take place November 2025. Applications will be available June 2025.