01
The shared room
The Black Women’s Leadership Circle
A membership-wide gathering for institutional perspective, connection, and the leadership questions that cross titles and roles.
For every memberThe Black Leadership Circle™
Welcome to the room.
Your membership in The Black Leadership Circle™ is confirmed. Your private member portal opens September 1, 2026.
Your seat is reserved
Your private portal opens
September 1, 2026
Everything you need to enter the Circle with clarity—without adding another complicated program to your calendar.
Your Welcome Guide and member orientation will be waiting inside.
Your September Leadership Brief™ will introduce the month’s institutional leadership theme.
Your Council placement, live gathering links, and complete member calendar will be available in the portal.
The private leadership community will open for introductions and ongoing connection.
Your experience inside the Circle
One membership. Two distinct rooms for leadership.
The Black Leadership Circle™ combines a membership-wide leadership community with a smaller, role-aligned Council. You will not be expected to attend every Council. Your Council is the room designed for your current leadership stage.
02
The focused room
Your Curated Leadership Council
A smaller, confidential peer advisory group aligned with the responsibility you carry and the decisions you are navigating.
One Council per memberYour Council
A more intimate Circle within The Circle.
Your Council gives you a confidential room with Black women encountering a similar level of leadership responsibility.
Council placement is based on your present role and may evolve as your leadership changes. The goal is not hierarchy. It is relevance—the right conversation, with the right peers, at the right moment.
01
Chairs Council
For department chairs and unit leaders navigating the complex middle of institutional leadership.
02
Deans Council
For deans and comparable academic leaders carrying college-level responsibility, visibility, and consequence.
03
Executive Leaders Council
For provosts, presidents, vice presidents, and senior executives leading at the institutional level.
04
Leadership Advancement Council
For established leaders preparing to move into expanded institutional responsibility, greater authority, or their next senior leadership role.
September 2026 launch calendar
Your inaugural month at a glance.
All live gatherings begin at 1:00 p.m. Eastern. Members attend the Black Women’s Leadership Circle and the Council aligned with their role—not every Council meeting listed below. The October 1 Leadership Advancement Council completes the September launch cycle.
September
01
Member Portal Opens
Welcome Guide, Leadership Brief™, Council placement, community access, and gathering links become available.
09Wednesday
Membership-Wide Gathering
The Black Women’s Leadership Circle
1:00–2:30 p.m. Eastern
10Thursday
Council Gathering
Chairs Council
1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
17Thursday
Council Gathering
Deans Council
1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
24Thursday
Council Gathering
Executive Leaders Council
1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
01Thursday · October
Council Gathering · September Cycle
Leadership Advancement Council
1:00–2:00 p.m. Eastern
Your portal calendar will contain the live links and any schedule updates. A calendar invitation will also be sent before each gathering.
Included in your membership
A complete leadership ecosystem—without unnecessary demands.
Each element supports a different dimension of how you think, decide, connect, and lead.
01
Black Women’s Leadership Circle
The membership-wide room for institutional perspective, shared inquiry, and connection.
02
Curated Leadership Councils
Confidential, role-aligned peer advisory groups for the leadership responsibility you carry.
03
Private Leadership Community
A protected member space for continued conversation, reflection, and meaningful connection.
04
The Leadership Brief™
Nicole’s concise monthly framing of an institutional leadership question worth examining.
The room is protected
Confidentiality is not a feature. It is the foundation.
Member stories remain in the room. Live Circle conversations are not recorded. Nicole's Leadership Briefs and selected teaching resources may be available inside the portal, but confidential member dialogue is never shared.
Confidentiality
What is shared in the Circle remains in the Circle.
No Performing
You do not need to arrive polished, prepared, or certain.
No Fixing
We listen before advising and honor each woman's agency.
Presence Over Pressure
Participation is invited, never forced.
Preparing your Circle experience
Leadership Council Placement
Your membership includes one Curated Leadership Council designed to support your current role and leadership trajectory. Please take two minutes to complete the brief questions below so we can thoughtfully prepare your Council placement before the member portal opens.
You will complete your fuller member profile and directory introduction inside the portal beginning September 1.
Help shape the founding room
Know someone who belongs here?
The Black Leadership Circle™ grows through thoughtful introductions. If another Black woman leader came to mind as you joined, share the Circle with her.
A personal invitation from someone already in the Circle is one of the highest compliments this community can receive.
A personal welcome
Thank you for trusting me with this room.
The Black Leadership Circle™ exists because leadership should not require isolation. I know what it is to carry enormous responsibility while having very few places where you can simply tell the truth about what leadership is asking of you.
My hope is that this becomes one of those rare rooms where you can think deeply, speak honestly, receive strategic support, and leave more grounded than when you arrived.
Nicole R. Robinson, PhD
Scholar · Institutional Strategist · Executive Advisor
What happens next
Your experience is being thoughtfully prepared.
Once you submit your Leadership Council Placement form, there is nothing more you need to do. On September 1, your portal invitation will arrive with your Welcome Guide, member community access, September Leadership Brief™, revised launch calendar, and details about your curated Council placement.
