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������ý����’s Women’s Leadership Council will host a free livestream of the “” Launch Event on Wednesday, Feb. 19, in Sweigart Hall at 7 p.m. Take The Lead is a new initiative to prepare, develop, inspire and propel women to take their fair share of leadership positions by 2025.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook and author of , will headline the event, which will be streamed live in various locations across the country from Arizona State University. ������ý���� is the only university partner in New Jersey selected to stream the presentation. 

In addition to Sandberg, the program features prominent leaders who will inspire, motivate and call to action including Karen Finney, host of MSNBC Disrupt; Erica Gonzalez, editor-in-chief of El Diario/La Prensa; Pat Mitchell, president of the Paley Center for Media; Michael Crow, president of Arizona State University; and Carla Harris, managing director at Morgan Stanley.

"Take The Lead challenges women, men, organizations and policy makers to change the playing field," , women’s advocate, New York Times bestselling author, and co-founder and president of Take The Lead, says. "We’ve had years with no progress toward parity so we’re putting a stake in the ground to change this.”

Feldt notes that women represent half the population, earn nearly 60 percent of college degrees, occupy 47 percent of the workforce, yet hold only 18 percent of top leadership positions across all sectors, 16.9 percent of corporate board seats and 8.1 percent of the top earner slots.

“The Women’s Leadership Council is delighted to bring this unique and insightful program to the campus of ������ý����," Anne Carroll, associate dean of ������ý����'s , says. "Women are a valuable economic resource who can make significant contributions in senior leadership positions. We hope this presentation inspires women to embrace their power and educates them about leadership parity across all sectors.”

������ý����’s Women’s Leadership Council is a community of ������ý���� alumnae and friends committed to taking an active role in leading efforts that will have an extraordinary collective impact on the university, its students and members of the council. The goal of the council, made possible through a partnership between the ������ý���� College of Business Administration and the Office of University Advancement, is to mentor students and recent graduates and connect exceptional women and business leaders through annual events and programs, such as the Take the Lead livestream.

This program is free and open to the general public, ������ý���� staff and students. Pre-registration is required online at . For additional information, call 609-896-7725 or email RWLC@rider.edu.