Hello NAWBO Community,

This year, our focus is clear: listening to you, acting on your feedback, and creating spaces where women in business can thrive together. The 2024–2025 Member Survey gave us valuable insight into what you need most—mentorship, meaningful networking, and practical resources that fuel growth. We hear you, and we’re building with intention.

We also want to be real with each other: this has been a difficult year for many small businesses, especially for women. Balancing economic shifts, client demands, and growth challenges has stretched us all. That’s why creating safe spaces to share both our challenges and our celebrations is more important than ever. The way we rise above is by coming together—helping each other, learning from one another, and building community strength.

What You Shared

  • Mentorship matters. Learning from seasoned business leaders and peers is vital.
  • Networking drives growth. More opportunities to connect open doors to clients, partners, and resources.
  • Actionable resources help. Members value workshops and tools they can immediately apply to strengthen their businesses.
  • Celebrating wins fuels us. Sharing victories and milestones keeps us inspired and connected.

How We’re Responding

  • NAWBO Journeys – October 7th (Virtual)
  • A program to connect business leaders at different stages to share their journeys. This space fosters storytelling, honest conversations about challenges and triumphs, and creates natural mentorship pathways.
  • Leadership Retreat – September 26th
  • A dedicated day to pause, recharge, and elevate your leadership.
  • Business Summit – October 23rd
  • A curated event bringing new opportunities, strategies, and collaboration to help us scale together

Here is Our Ask

  • We are ramping up our fundraising efforts this year. If you, your business, or someone in your network can contribute raffle items—whether products, services, or experiences—it would be a huge help. Every contribution supports our mission and strengthens the resources we can provide to our members.

Why It Matters

As we celebrate NAWBO’s 50th Anniversary, we honor the trailblazers who came before us by strengthening what comes next. Together, we will foster shared leadership, generosity, and authentic relationship-building. By being honest about the obstacles we face, while also celebrating the victories that keep us moving forward, we create a community of resilience and hope.

This is more than a milestone year—it’s a reminder that even in difficult times, we thrive best when we thrive together.

Leena Mendoza, MS, ACC
President, NAWBO Silicon Valley
leena@leenamendoza.com
www.leenamendoza.com

#NAWBOSV #NAWBO