Fifty-nine women from across Syracuse University have been selected to participate in the University’s Women in Leadership (WiL) Diane Lyden Murphy Cohort Experience, an immersive learning experience uniquely designed to advance women leaders in higher education.

The cohort experience engages women in faculty and administrative positions. Four cohorts of 98 women leaders have participated in the cohort experience since the first cohort launched in the 2022-23 academic year. The current group of women will participate in two cohorts, Cohort 5 and Cohort 6, to be launched in September 2026.

Cohort participants join capacity building sessions to practice and perfect essential leadership skills such as active listening, navigating change and how to inspire and influence others. Participants also gain institutional insights through presentations that afford a more comprehensive understanding of University operations and how to effectively manage cross-functional and inner disciplinary tasks.

“One of the most important legacies of WiL and the cohorts lies in creating a true leadership community,” says co-founder Candace Campbell Jackson, about the reason for creating the cohort experience when she was serving as the senior vice president and chief of staff to Chancellor Emeritus Kent Syverud.  “Higher education demands and depends upon a team of collaborative leaders who can thoughtfully and authentically make decisions for the greater good.” Jackson is now serving as special advisor to Chancellor J. Michael Haynie.

“This can happen when individual leaders know and respect how to engender mutual trust and show up, not just for themselves, but also for others,” says Jackson.

“Leadership is not something we develop alone; we learn to lead in community, from one another and with one another” says Elisa Dekaney, associate provost for strategic initiatives, and part of the WiL leadership team. “Women in Leadership provides the perfect community for faculty to explore the opportunities and challenges of higher education, strengthen their voices as leaders and expand the impact they can have on their students, our institution and beyond.”

“I’ve seen firsthand how much richer the leadership exploration becomes when we don’t walk the path by ourselves,” says Mary George Opperman, senior vice president and University secretary. “These cohorts give participants the space to test their own style, notice its impact on others, and hear how their peers lead differently—and they will come away understanding themselves, and their priorities as leaders, with a clarity they couldn’t have reached alone.”

Opperman, who has been involved on the WiL Steering Committee, and by way of sharing her experience with prior WiL Cohorts, has joined the WiL Leadership Team that will guide and facilitate the cohort experience in 2026-27.

“Cohorts 5 and 6 are composed of impressive leaders dedicated to academic excellence, fostering and delivering an outstanding student experience and cross academic and administrative collaboration for operational excellence”, says Jackson. “We are hosting two concurrent cohorts due to the high number of applications we received and I especially want to  thank members of the university community for supporting WiL by nominating cohort members, attending networking events and sharing their expertise by making presentations or serving on panels.”

WiL Cohort 5 includes:

• Courtney Albiker
• Sarah Cappella
• Jordan Clifford
• Tracy Cromp
• Johanna Dennis
• Caitlin Domagal
• Jenny Dombroske
• Sara Eftekharnejad
• Alix Ferrer-Yulfo
• Nicole Fonger
• Karly Grifasi
• Nicole Harris
• Jeanine Irons
• Holly Johnson
• Dessislava Kirilova
• Amanda Lalonde
• Seyeon Lee
• Melinda Lothes
• Lauren Murphy
• Lindsay Quilty
• Erin Rand
• Ellyn Riley
• Katherine Robinson
• Miranda Traudt
• Victoria Tumanova
• Kimberly Vanderhoef
• Tara Venditti
• Brooke Wears
• Andrea Willis
• Erica Wynn-Kearse
• Qingyi Yu

WiL Cohort 6 includes:

• Karen Baris
• Sheera Buckley
• Alyssa Campbell
• Gabrielle Chapman
• Giovanna Colosi
• Jess Dennison
• Boryana Dragoeva (Rossa)
• Rachel Dubrofsky
• Cristina Hatem
• Lisa Henty
• Soo Yeon Hong
• Indaria Jones
• Tina Kapral
• Marieke Kearns
• Laura Kolton
• Meghan MacBlane
• Jessica MacDonald
• Beth Patin
• Jennifer Pluta
• Bailey Reagan
• Tracey Reichert Schimpff
• Jenna Rodgers
• Amanda Sanguiliano
• Andrea Turnbull-Garas
• Julie Walas
• Julia White
• Tanya Williamson
• Sarah Workman