Our clients Love Us

Discover how women across the globe are transforming their lives with Women Who Risk.
  • Lauren kay wyatt
    Love Renegades/ LaurenKayWyatt.com

    "The event itself was wonderful. She's a wonderful moderator. Even though I have a different background than she and the other woman, on the call, I felt very welcome and it was so interesting to hear their stories and experiences."

  • Jeanette Knittel 

    “I had my preconceived notions of what was the kind of thing was and its 4 days later and I’m still thinking about things from the forum—and that’s powerful."

  • Wendy Isley
    Consulting Hypnotist / Liberty Hypnosis

    "There's huge benefits to having compassionate receivers for your thoughts, and having a safe space to be able to voice your experiences, and how you perceive women's empowerment and how to encourage it. It's a wonderful forum.”

  • Eugenia Ortiz

    "Risk is how the young grow and become wise. Risk is what enables change, transformation and positive movement toward one’s goals."

  • Cayelin Castell
    Shamanic Astrologer / CayelinCastell.com

    "It was a fun an interesting conversation and that can be very valuable especially to people who don’t have them all the time. This is a way to connect with people all over.”

  • Ashley "Lili" Noble

    Nursing Student

    “Not all risks are failures! In fact, if you’re NOT taking risks—you’re not really living life. My biggest takeaway from the Forum was realizing how resilient we are as women—so not only can we handle it—taking risks, failures and everything else that might seem scary—and I am willing to take risks—whatever the possible outcome—to really live my life.”

Testimonials for Women Who Risk

  • Dr. Meggie Mapes

    "The Women Who Risk Leader Forums are a great example of Leading through Listening, which stand out as an empathetic innovation to traditional masculinist models of leadership with the power to open up new dimensions in creativity and sustainable productivity—to make more possible for women who lead and organizations committed to women leading."

  • Bottom line is there are simply not enough of these kinds of conversations happening. What attracted me so much about Women Who Risk was the depth of the conversations and my strong feeling that we need to continue to have these conversations. We need to go deep if we want change."
  • Dr. Jan Kircher

    "Young women will find tremendous benefit in these forums, which will help them gain momentum toward their goals. The Women’s Leadership Forums help women find the connections, build the confidence and exhibit the courage they need to successfully navigate their personal and professional lives."

  • “It was a really important thing that should be happening more. It was really interesting to see the differences that came up and to know there are other spaces and are other places where dysfunction doesn't exist or it's possible for it not to exist.”

  • Lisa Marino

    Tech. Sales

    “One of the issues around women and leadership is that women don't always support other women. One solution is experiences like the Women Who Risk Leadership Forums that focus on empowering other women and deal with specific challenges they are facing.”

  • Maryann Hesse

    "I've already referred two women."

  • Catharine Gates

    "If it never went anywhere else: the benefit is meeting these women whom I might never had the opportunity to meet, perspective sharing and really got me thinking — the benefit is huge."

  • Barbara Barr
    Director of International Programs at US Department of Transportation

    "The Women Who Risk Leadership Forums are an opportunity to help one another, and we should all be looking for opportunities to help one another. It's a chance to share your story and experiences you haven't thought of in a while that's valuable to you and other women."

  • Kahla Wheeler-Rowan
    Herbalist

    "Fabulous facilitator--excellent job! I've always had great respect for Teri."

Dr. Meggie Mapes on Our Approach
What is the benefit of consciousness raising groups generally and specifically for women?
Consciousness raising groups were/are necessary methods of reflection and resistance. They're spaces to process and reflect on experiences of people in your community (like women; other out groups) and resistant because our culture often keeps things from changing or bonds from being built through its reliance on tactics that separate and aim to keep difference a part.

Can you speak with regards to the practical benefits?

It could likely be linked to many gains: economic, psychological, interpersonal and even physical. Consciousness raising groups require that you practice listening in an empathetic way. That's rare for leadership, and could be a valuable skill—as well as in interpersonal relationships, etc. It also validates people as credible when they're speaking from experience; and it asks that you seek feedback based on those experiences from those around you, which expands the way you see the world and what might be possible.

Dr. Mapes is a professor at the University of Kansas, writer and performer with a Ph.D. in communication studies. Committed to advancing women, she lives in Kansas City with her partner and two amazing dogs. Follow her on Twitter @MeggieMapes.