Zoe Berg, Senior Photographer

The Yale Women’s Leadership Initiative will hold its annual conference this week on Feb. 3 and 4, bringing together women from across the globe to engage in the celebration of female leadership and empowerment at Yale and beyond. 

WLI is an organization founded by Yale undergraduates in 2006 with the mission to empower women and offer opportunities for leadership and development. The group aims to enrich the professional and social lives of Yale women by offering the opportunity to learn from, speak with, and network with women leaders in a variety of fields, per Sabrina Guo ’27, who is a member.

The 2024 conference will host speakers at Yale to discuss prominent topics on female leadership and empowerment and to help advance careers for women in fields including law and policy, STEM, healthcare, arts and media and entrepreneurship. 

Anita Wu ’03  LAW ’06, co-president of the Yale Club of Los Angeles and an attorney at Brown Neri Smith & Khan LLP, will hold a career development workshop at the conference.

“To me, whatever inspiration and support we can give to Yale’s talented emerging leaders as they blaze their own paths forward is a critical part of Yale’s mission and what makes the Yale community so special,” Wu told the News. “It’s how Yale alumni can contribute beyond what we can achieve ourselves.”

Wu is one of several speakers who will be at the conference. Other speakers and panelists include Sally Buzbee, executive editor at the Washington Post, Robin Wheat, former executive director of the Nassau County Minority Caucus, and Grace La, professor of architecture at Harvard University Graduate School of Design.

Priyanka Babu ’24, the conference’s director, told the News that, given the large size of the organization, it is important for them to leverage their platform to highlight intersectional feminism and provide a variety of networking opportunities. “The goal of the conference is not only to provide an enriching networking and pre-professional experience for students, but also to contribute to a broader conversation regarding inclusivity and empowerment on campus and in today’s professional landscape,” Babu said.

Babu said that she is particularly proud of the Women in Science Leadership panel that she put together. 

The panel features Akiko Iwasaki, a professor of immunobiology at the School of Medicine, and Margaret Porter Scott, vice president of biochemical and cellular pharmacology at Genentech.

“These remarkable women are true trailblazers in the field in every sense of the word, both in their science and leadership roles,” Babu told the News. 

Babu emphasized to the News the tremendous contributions of Iwasaki and Porter Scott to the field of medicine. 

Babu told the News that Iwasaki has “single-handedly” spearheaded COVID-19 and long COVID-19 research efforts and has played a central role in public health media outreach during the pandemic.

Porter Scott, Babu said, leads groundbreaking research at Genentech, often regarded as the first biotechnology company, and serves as chair of Genentech Women in Science and Engineering. 

“It is an honor and a privilege to host these two incredible speakers,” Babu told the News. “The WLI team is excited to highlight extraordinary women in science leadership roles while creating meaningful networking experiences for undergraduate students.”

Guo, a moderator of several panel discussions, told the News that she is excited about being involved with WLI and advocating for women’s empowerment. 

Guo is the founder of Girl Pride International, a 501(c)(3) that focuses on supporting displaced, refugee and migrant girls’ intellectual, material and social needs. 

“I’ve seen how cross-cultural dialogue can connect people around the world, and how these connections can transform into treasured lifelong friendships and invaluable mentorships,” she told the News. “I joined WLI and helped to coordinate this conference to build more of these cross-cultural bridges, and to also just bond with amazing women leaders across the nation.”

The conference will be held this week on Feb. 3 and 4 at the Humanities Quadrangle.