Empower Leadership Academy | Hosted by CPY

This academy is open to all girls ages 10-18 in CPY and the greater Twin Cities community (you do not need to be a member of TeamWomen to attend).

Developing leadership skills, building confidence, and strengthening resilience requires education and practice. Empower provides a safe environment for kids to learn and grow. Our experienced leadership coaches are dedicated to inspiring, developing, and empowering our next generation of leaders.

In partnership with Community Partners With Youth (CPY), this Empower Leadership Academy, which is open to the public and free to attend, will provide an academy for the youth of CPY on August 8th, 2024 from 9:00 AM – 12:00 PM

The youth attendees will learn social and emotional topics in an interactive, safe, and fun environment. This academy will allow them to walk away with tangible self-development tools to prepare them for an inspiring, hopeful, and engaging back to school in the fall.

Former Collegiate Gopher Basketball star,  Kiara Buford recently returned to the University of Minnesota as Director of Alumni Relations. Before this, she was a Behavior Interventionist at Roseville High School for nine years, helping students seek success in their high school experience by building relationships, setting goals, and developing a positive community.  In addition to her full-time career, she dedicates time as an Empower Leadership Academy and ON Point Elite Leadership Coach.

Peyton Owens is in his 18th year with Golden Gopher Athletics. He currently oversees Golden Gopher Baseball & Rowing, Student-Athlete Development (all education provided to student-athletes, including career readiness, personal development, community outreach, and risk reduction), and Diversity & Inclusion. Owens has been instrumental in the vision and implementation of Leadership U, which he has had oversight of since its launch. This collaboration with Land O’Lakes Inc. provides leadership development and emotional intelligence education and support to student-athletes, assistant coaches, head coaches, and athletics staff. To support this initiative and others like it, he is responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors for endowment and annual support of Leadership U, the W.I.L.L. program (Women Invested in Leadership and Learning), and more. Owens is also an ambassador for athletics on campus, bringing the voice of Golden Gopher Athletics to several critical groups. He is a member of the campus Equity & Diversity Subcommittee and is a Member of the University Senate Intercollegiate Athletics Equity and Diversity Subcommittee, Serves as the NCAA Athletics Diversity and Inclusion Designee (ADID), Serves as a member of the Big Ten Conference Inclusive Excellence Committee. His commitment to collaboration and strategic partnerships, both at the University and in our broader Twin Cities help champion all that is Maroon and Gold.

Laura Boyd has over 25 years of experience working with organizations to help them develop sustainable growth and the people within. She has been a leader on executive teams for large companies, emerging companies, and non-profits, and she is also a business owner. She believes Leadership is the ultimate Delta for change, strategy, and growth in an organization, and she is now taking her years of experience helping businesses become high-performance organizations.

Laura has her Master’s in Organizational Leadership and certification in change management. Along with her years of communications and sales success, she is perfectly suited to help any organization assess, strategize, and develop both leaders and teams for growth.

Special Thanks to our Sponsor:

Special Thanks to our Supporter:

Questions? For any questions about the event or other, please fill out a TeamWomen Help Desk Ticket, and someone from our, small-but-mighty, support team will be in touch with you. (Please note that you may need a Google account to fill out or Help Desk Form.)

Late Policy: Please be advised that in the event of a full capacity, your seat may be subject to forfeiture if you arrive more than 15 minutes late. Sold-out events often have waitlists with eager attendees ready to be seated promptly.

By attending the event, you acknowledge and accept this policy regarding late arrivals and seating forfeiture. We appreciate your understanding and cooperation in making our events enjoyable for everyone involved.