Women Stepping Forward, Communities Rising: Kikori’s Leadership Journey

When Women Step Forward, Communities Rise

At Kikori, we’ve seen it again and again: progress happens when women raise their hand, take initiative, and lead with purpose. From our earliest days as a fully female-founded and female-led team, we’ve built a culture rooted in connection, collaboration, and empowerment.

But leadership isn’t just about titles - it’s about action, mentorship, and creating opportunities for others. And this year, those principles guided every milestone we celebrated.

Mentorship that Illuminates the Path

Each meeting with Laurie Frank, my mentor, brings insight and energy to our work. Together, this year, we built out the Kikori philosophy around the five conditions needed for learning, highlighting physical and emotional safety as the foundation for everything we do. Laurie’s guidance doesn’t just refine programs; it shapes how we lead, reflect, and inspire educators to do the same.

Partnerships that Grow Impact

Leadership often begins with reaching out—and that’s how our partnership with Sarah Gough and Play for Peace began. I said, “We need activities—you need a platform,” and just like that, our social mission partnership was born. Over the years, we’ve built more programming together: this year, adding the New Traditions Transformed Webinar and Playlist Series, helping Kikori reach Play for Peace clubs around the world.

Similarly, Marilyn Levin connected with us over seven years ago, heard what we were doing, and immediately gifted us the activities in her book. Today, those activities form the backbone of our Experiential Connection Calendar, with an Appreciation theme embedded in Closing Circles every month, helping educators and students build meaningful connections year-round.

Stepping Into Opportunities

Sometimes, women need to create their own opportunities. This year, we embraced several:

• JP Morgan SEEN Event in Boston: Moving from attendees to active participants, we witnessed how women-led community-building grows networks and impact.

• Comcast RISE Winner: Being selected connected us with incredible women leaders in Boston, and the grant - paired with technology, business training from Renee Bobb, and a commercial next year - promises to transform our programs and reach.

• NH Tech Alliance Fellowship: An immersive, experiential journey across New Hampshire, where every group led its own session and SEL was central to each discussion. I had the honor of leading the community-building session for the incoming cohort, using Metaphor Postcards by Jen Stanchfield, one of my top mentors. Watching participants connect, open up, and learn about each other was a vivid reminder of the power of women stepping forward to create community.

Community Builders in Action

Leadership multiplies when you lift others. Our Community Builders

initiative empowers educators to lead workshops, mentor peers, and spread SEL strategies across schools. Judy Dvorak in Nebraska, for example, has led other teachers, presented at multiple conferences, and championed Kikori programs, creating ripple effects that strengthen entire communities.

Every mentor, partner, and educator is a reminder that women rising together can transform schools and systems.

Reflection Tool for Leaders

Want to strengthen your leadership impact? Try this exercise with your team:

Leadership Ripple Reflection

1. Identify one decision you made this week that positively affected students or staff.

2. Write down how your actions influenced others in your school community.

3. Pair with a colleague and discuss: “How can we create more ripple effects together?”

This activity encourages intentional leadership, collaboration, and modeling SEL values, all hallmarks of women-led initiatives.

Your Turn: Step Forward, Lead, Rise

From mentorship with Laurie Frank, partnerships with Sarah Gough and Marilyn Levin, to fellowships, awards, and leading new programs, 2024 was a year of women stepping up, leading boldly, and lifting communities. At Kikori, these stories aren’t just ours—they belong to every educator, partner, and student who has felt the impact of women leading with purpose.

Explore Kikori’s SEL tools to strengthen your leadership, empower educators, and build thriving school communities.