On June 22 and 23, the National Corn Growers Association (NCGA) welcomed growers and staff to this year’s Women and Mentors retreat. The program focused on building a network of rising leaders, bringing women and mentors together to overcome workplace obstacles, and share their leadership journey to empower each other.
The third annual conference kicked off with a session on Quieting Your Inner Critic, with Randi Braun, which encouraged participants to put aside negative thoughts and experiences to lead with power and purpose. Over the two days, participants also heard from top women leaders at Bayer and Bunge and had an intensive workshop on constructive conflict. They closed out the conference with a presentation from Brooke Clay Taylor from the Rural Gone Urban Foundation on balancing obligations.
Attendees left encouraged to continue their networking experience in their newly formed cohort groups. These mentorship networks, formed during the conference, were designed to bring together women and male allies with shared experiences.
"Our participants all have an incredible passion for agriculture, and I can't wait to see how they continue to lead and get more involved. It is inspiring to see the support from our NCGA Board members and others currently involved in leadership ready to mentor these other rising stars." said Kendra Ricks, who designed and leads the program.
NCGA would also like to thank the sponsors that make this program possible: Syngenta, Bayer, John Deere and FMC.