IWL- Sister Nancy Hynes Institute for Women's Leadership

By supporting women’s leadership programs such as the Sister Nancy Hynes Institute for Women’s Leadership (IWL), you empower Saint Ben’s students to explore how gender shapes leadership and discover their own capacity to lead.

Through scholarship, mentorship, dialogue, and transformative programming, students encounter new perspectives, strengthen their sense of belonging and agency, and develop the skills and confidence to create meaningful change. Your gift helps the IWL provide high-quality, intentional experiences that advance our mission of empowering women as local and global leaders through inclusive dialogue, reflective thinking, and values-based leadership that honors women as shapers of our world.

Your support makes programs and opportunities possible, including:

• Women’s History Month Keynote: Last year, the IWL welcomed Rachel Evangelisto, the first Native American woman to be crowned Miss Minnesota. Her visit provided students with an opportunity to learn from her experiences and engage in conversations about identity, representation, leadership, and creating change.

• Unique Programming: Throughout the year, the IWL creates engaging opportunities for students to explore gender, leadership, identity, and issues that shape their lives and communities. Programs have included Men as Feminists, where students explored feminism and allyship with male faculty and staff; Gender and the Environment, examining the intersections between gender and environmental issues; our IWL Book Club, bringing students together around books and ideas centered on women’s experiences; and Galentine’s Day, an annual celebration focused on sisterhood, connection, and self-care. These programs create spaces for students to learn, ask questions, build community, and engage with perspectives beyond the classroom.

• Hynes Scholars Program: Through our yearlong Hynes Scholars Program, students engage deeply with questions of gender, identity, leadership, and social change. Scholars participate in retreats, discussions, readings and media studies, leadership development experiences, and collaborative scholarship while building a supportive community of women committed to learning and leading together.

• Student Leadership Development: IWL student leaders have opportunities to deepen their leadership skills through conferences, summits, workshops, and other experiences focused on women’s leadership, empowerment, and social change.

And these are only a few of the ways the IWL brings students together to learn, connect, lead, and imagine what is possible.

When you make a gift to the IWL, you invest in the ongoing legacy of Bennies leading with purpose. Your support creates pathways, experiences, and spaces where today’s students can discover their voices and become the leaders our communities and world need.