Hello Friends,

As the cool nip of Autumn is in the air and the frenzy of the American presidential debates rattles in the background I am grateful to be celebrating my 53rd birthday with a healthy body, a safe and peaceful neighborhood and the gift of doing meaningful work in the world. We're also quickly approaching the US Thanksgiving holiday when it is time to reflect on the enormous privileges and luxuries that we have here in America (and Canada and Australia ). I thank God for all this abundance!

Executives Leading Sustainable Change Update

I want to share the huge accomplishment of the recently completed Executive Leading Sustainable Change (ELSC) session one. ELSC has evolved into a three-year curriculum which invites new students and advanced students to do a deep dive into the multifaceted benefits of Contextual Leadership. I can honestly say that this is the most powerful program that IWL has ever developed. We combine the magic of 'equine guided education' with the wisdom of somatic sensitivity and mindfulness, to produce executives who are centered and exceptionally talented in their ability to lead sustainable change within themselves and their organizations. Combine these aspects with a greater ability to have difficult conversations at all scales of the organization and you have a recipe for transformation.

Bay Area Leading through Influence Program

Autumn also marks the launch of our program 'Leading through Influence' sponsored by the Alliance for Technology and Women. Helen and I are leading several six-week programs throughout the Bay Area and sharing the power of a contextual approach to the challenges of influencing without authority. We expect to have 90 new women and men exposed to Contextual Leadership and who will become contributing members to our flourishing IWL community. We are always looking to diversify and expand the resources available to you within two phone calls!

Bi-company Women Leading Change Program coming to the Twin Cities!

Later this month I will be traveling to Minneapolis to conduct the first bi-company Women Leading Change program (WLC). ELSC alumni Krista Claude from Thomson Corporation and Deb Paterson, newly appointed Regional President for Wells Fargo Bank are co-sponsors and have committed to building an IWL community in the Twin Cities area.

We also have several ELSC and WLC alumni in Arizona forming an IWL support community. This kind of partnership makes my heart sing! If you live in outside of the Bay Area and have interest in building a local IWL community please contact me and we will partner with you in getting connected.

Upcoming Speaking Engagements

Helen and I will be doing a great deal of speaking in the next few months to groups, such as:

•  Society of Women Engineers Executive Summit

•  Executive Women in Novartis (EWIN) at Novartis Pharmaceuticals

•  Student Women's Alliance at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSG)

•  Linkage's Women in Leadership Summit in Boston

•  Women in Technology International events in Boston and Palo Alto

Needless to say we are thrilled to have these opportunities to learn about the needs of women leaders in various industries and to share the power of our curriculum and IWL community to meet their business challenges.

Women's Leadership Board, Harvard University

November marks a return for me to the Women's Leadership Board (WLB) at the John F. Kennedy School of Government (KSG) at Harvard. Our work over the next few years will be focused on four major areas:

1) increase the visibility, participation and influence of women, including the dissemination of research by optimizing the power, influence, reach and programs of the Kennedy School of Government.

2) develop and empower women as leaders worldwide, including the WLB members, affecting representation at all levels and sectors by optimizing of the power, influence and programs of the KSG at Harvard.

3 ) influence, fund and track research that aims to have a specific impact on advancing women's leadership (including Harvard tenure), underpinning gender and public policy efforts.

4) increase visibility, participation and influence of women within the Kennedy School of Government and Harvard University .

The reach of these four goals is extraordinary when you walk it through the Register for Value exercise from WLC. I invite you to connect with me if any of the above issues speaks to what you care about.

IWL's All-Star Team Update

The last thing that I want to discuss in this letter is the excellent talent that we have acquired on behalf of growing IWL. As you know Helen Waters is IWL's new president . In addition to her operational duties she is leading training programs, consulting engagements, and giving keynote speeches. Helen is the most comprehensively talented person we have ever hired. We also welcome our new bookkeeper , Jan Jensen , who in just 30 days has exceeded even our highest expectations and allows us to free up Helen's time to grow the business. We're privileged to have Hillary Flack on board as the new 'comprehensive' program manager . From the moment new customers first approach IWL until they complete their program experiences, Hillary manages the complete cycle of value. She is excellent at customer service, logistics management and juggling many balls in the air with impeccable follow-through. Hillary's presence allows us to use very talented Jeannette Nelson for thought partnership and ever-improving curriculums design. If you visit or participate in our expanding curriculum you will see the output of Jeannette's amazing contribution.

And so, my friends, I end where I began by saying that I am so grateful to have you in my life and I remain your devoted partner throughout our 50-year renewable lease.

With love and gratitude,

Rayona Sharpnack
Founder and CEO