August 25–26, 2026 · Washington, D.C.
The conference is over. The replays are coming.
Thank you to everyone who filled the room. Recordings of the sessions will be available soon.
Meanwhile, keep an eye out for our weekly newsletter for updates, conference follow up, and other resources for you.
If you found the conference of value, or simply want to help Take The Lead advance women's leadership parity with its proven leadership development programs, please make a donation.
Women's Equality DayAugust 25–26, 2026Washington, D.C.
Audacity:
Leadership
in Action
Two days, two rooms. Opening night Aug 25 at The Square. Conference day Aug 26 at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.
You already carry the power. Take The Lead's women's leadership conference brings 46 speakers and 700+ leaders to Washington DC. On Women's Equality Day, Gloria Feldt takes the stage with Margaret Atwood.
Take The Lead's Audacious Leadership
+ 41 more leaders
This is Power Up
You already carry the power.
46 speakers, 700+ leaders, the Femme Art Fair, a live BETTY set, and a marketplace of 50+ women-owned brands, over two days. Power Up isn't where you go to find power you don't have. It's where you learn to claim the power you're already carrying, out loud, in a room built to back you up.
“There is so much power in speaking up together to say, it's time for parity in leadership positions.”
— Gloria Feldt, Co-Founder & President, Take The Lead
Scenes from past Power Up gatherings.
What's in the room
9 Power Tools
Take The Lead's leadership framework
46 speakers
8 panels · breakout rooms
Two days
The Square, then The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.
Margaret Atwood
Fireside chat · Aug 26
Femme Art Fair
Exclusive pre-opening look
SHEposium expo
Kendra Scott + 50+ brands
Every session and every Power Tool Champion is a woman showing you exactly how she claimed her power through real adversity. Power Up doesn't ask you to imagine it. It puts you in the room with the people who did it.
What you walk away with
You leave with a plan, not a pep talk.
Power Up isn't inspiration you forget by Friday. You leave with a framework, the tools to run it, the room to back you, and a plan you can use Monday.
A working conference, not a keynote you watch.
- 01
The framework
The 9 Leadership Power Tools: the throughline behind every session, every honoree, and the art on the walls at the Femme Art Fair.
- 02
The tools
8 panels across the two days plus interactive breakout rooms, each built around one tool from the framework. A working session, not a lecture.
- 03
The room
700+ leaders, 1 in 3 of them C-suite, arriving with the same unfinished business you are.
- 04
The plan
Action plans from every Leadership in Action panel. This is the part you take home and put to work on Monday.
- 05
The credit
Take The Lead is a SHRM Recertification Provider (SHRM-CP · SHRM-SCP).
Take The Lead
Audacious leadership
The people steering Power Up itself, plus the CEOs, editors, urologists, a retired Army Major General, and a Booker Prize novelist who join them across two days.
Gloria Feldt
Co-Founder & President · Take The Lead
Dr. Lily McNair
Board Chair · Take The Lead
Felicia Davis
Leadership Ambassador · Take The Lead
Voices in the Room
- Keynote
Margaret Atwood
Booker Prize Winner · Author of The Handmaid's Tale
Sophia Yen, MD, MPH
CEO & Co-founder · Pandia Health
Health
Jamia Wilson
Vice President & Executive Editor · Penguin Random House
Voice
Minda Harts
Author & Workplace Equity Advocate
Workplace
Vada Manager
Founder/CEO · Manager Global Holdings
Voice
Wanjiku Kamau
Founder & CEO · TealBridge
AI- Honoree
Leseliey Welch
CEO & Co-Founder · Birth Center Equity
Care 
Eva Goicochea
Founder & CEO · maude
Health
Brad Johnson
Founder / CEO · PhD · Workplace Allies
Care
What you leave with
Nine tools, nine things you leave able to do.
You already carry the power. Gloria Feldt's Leadership Power Tools are how you claim it. The same nine tools run through every panel and breakout, are recognized at the awards, and are rendered as art at the Femme Art Fair.
Each one below is a working skill, not a slogan: open it to see what it means in practice.
Understand the women and events that paved the way so you can build upon their successes and avoid repeating their mistakes.
The same nine tools recur twice more: as the framework behind Introducing the 2026 Power Tool Champions on Aug 26, and as original artwork inside Take The Lead's own space at the Femme Art Fair, the framework you came to learn, rendered by a committed artist for each tool.
Who's behind Power Up
The nine tools have an author — and an organization behind her.
Take The Lead is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Founded in 2014, it exists to change who holds power, not just talk about it.
Mission
Take The Lead prepares, develops, inspires, and propels all women of all diversities and intersectionalities to take their fair and equal share of leadership positions across all sectors.
“You already have the power; power unused is power useless.”
Her reframe is the spine of every session this week: power isn't something you take from someone else — power-over. It's power-to, and you already have it. The 9 tools are how you use it.
The room, in numbers
A past Power Up opening night.
Take The Lead is a 501(c)(3) — every ticket, table, and sponsorship helps fund the mission beyond this room.
Support the mission (opens in a new tab)Two days, two rooms
Two days, two different rooms
An opening night built for connection, and a Women's Equality Day built for action. Buy either one, or buy both for less.
Day One · Tuesday, August 25, 2026
Opening Night
5:00 PM–8:00 PM ET · The Square, 1850 K St NW
The evening before the conference is its own experience, an intimate, curated night of art, fine dining, and live performance that sets the tone for everything that follows. This is where connections begin, and the energy of Power Up first comes alive.
- Cocktail Reception
- An intimate welcome reception where the evening begins and the first introductions are made. Curated cocktails, conversation, and a room filling up with the people you came to meet.
- Welcome Remarks
- Gloria Feldt, Take The Lead's co-founder and president, with Dr. Lily McNair and Heather Florio, open the evening together.
- Dinner
- An elevated dining experience for special guests, donors, and influential leaders, with The Power of the Arts to Change the World staged during it.
- Power Tool Champions
- Felicia Davis, who architected the honors, presents the first of the 2026 Power Tool Champion recognitions.
Femme Art Fair · exclusive pre-opening look
On the night of August 25, Power Up guests get an exclusive pre-opening look at the Femme Art Fair, with select art pieces benefitting Take The Lead available for purchase. Dinner follows, in the same room.
See the Femme Art FairElizabeth Ziff of BETTY DJs the reception, and BETTY closes the evening with a brief live set at dinner.
See how the evening runsDay Two · Wednesday, August 26, 2026
Women's Equality Day, the Conference
7:30 AM–5:00 PM ET · The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.
One full day at The Ritz-Carlton, on the day the whole event is pegged to. Here's how it unfolds.
- Opening remarks and a land acknowledgement, from Kelsey Nicole Nelson and Dr. Lily McNair.
- Main-stage panels, built around the 9 Leadership Power Tools.
- A fireside chat with Margaret Atwood.
- Breakout rooms, small enough to work in rather than watch.
- The 2026 Power Tool Champions, presented by Felicia Davis.
- The Mission Matters podcast stage.
- SHEposium, 50+ women-owned brands, running the full day.
- Closing out with the BETTY dance party.
Take The Lead is a SHRM Recertification Provider (SHRM-CP · SHRM-SCP).
In their words
Real women. Real impact.
Every quote below is from someone who was in the room.
“As the presenting sponsor of Take The Lead's Power Up Concert and Conference 2025, the Women Connect4Good Foundation and I are proud to stand behind this event that lifts women everywhere. Our investment is the best any of us can make for a better world.”
“The Power Up Conference left my heart completely full. While the speakers and honorees were inspiring, the Power Tool Champions truly moved me — their courage to share real stories of perseverance was a revelation for someone still on the journey.”
“The Take The Lead Women conference was a once-in-a-lifetime experience. My sincere gratitude to Felicia Renea Davis for nominating me and to the phenomenal Gloria Feldt for creating this love-filled gathering of brilliant people.”
“We had a fantastic time connecting with leaders and change-makers this week at Take The Lead. The conference was packed with inspiring conversations and powerful sessions.”
“Attending the Power Up Conference on Women's Equality Day felt fitting. I was humbled and energized by stories of resilience, brilliance, and leadership — and challenged to finally find my own voice. I'm leaving with a commitment to speak up and share my journey, because equality requires courage and visibility.”
“The Take The Lead conference in Washington, D.C. was truly unforgettable. The sessions were insightful and motivating. I walked away empowered and ready to act. But the real highlight was connecting with like-minded people passionate about growth and leadership. I'm leaving with fresh energy, courage, and confidence.”
“It was a powerful, inspiring conference of learning, sharing, networking and encouragement. When you own your voice — shift the world.”
Our partners
Presenting sponsor
Alongside our media partners and supporters:
August 25–26, 2026 · Women's Equality Day
Own your power.
Define your purpose. Own your power. Achieve parity.
Two days, 700+ leaders, and Take The Lead's 9 Leadership Power Tools: the framework that turns a room full of audacity into a plan you walk out with. Kelsey Nicole Nelson opens the Aug 26 conference at The Ritz-Carlton, Washington, D.C.