Mentor Minutes and Meaningful Partnerships – How The WIE Suite is Inspiring the Next Generation of Extraordinary Leaders
Two million mentor minutes.
Mission-driven masterclasses.
A meaningful partnership with Mejuri.
All ways in which The WIE Suite – an exclusive membership community of women - is inspiring the next generation of extraordinary leaders.
Images via The WIE Suite
As their website notes, The WIE Suite helps members “strengthen their careers, leverage their personal brands and access insights and expertise from their peers.” Convening speakers and supporters like Mellody Hobson, Arianna Huffington, Christy Turlington, Melinda Gates, Thasunda Duckett, Diane von Furstenberg and Naomi Campbell over the years, The WIE Suite teamed up recently with global fine jewelry brand Mejuri to reach and empower a new cohort of champions.
And true to form, Être girls wanted to know more.
Already following The WIE Suite founder Dee Poku on social and obsessing over every handcrafted and heart-stopping jewelry drop from Mejuri, girls across the Être ecosystem were fired up the moment this collaboration was announced.
They had questions, and when they ask...we ask.
With deep thanks for Poku for responding directly from Cannes, here is a snapshot of what epic mentors at The WIE Suite have been up to...and why the next gen is all over it.
The WIE Suite Founder & CEO Dee Poku
We know who founded The WIE Suite, but can Être tell us more about her?
Absolutely. Born the UK and raised in London and Accra, Dee Poku Spalding started her career in brand marketing and entertainment, holding senior positions with both Paramount Pictures and Focus Features (part of Universal Pictures). Recognizing early on that there weren’t “enough safe spaces and resources for women to accelerate their careers and learn from each other in a way that was constructive rather than competitive,” she launched The WIE Suite in 2020 and we haven't stopped cheering since.
Named one of Marie Claire Magazine’s 50 Women Changing the World, a CUP Catalyst Changemaker, a Harlem Fashion Week Cultural Icon, one of TRUE Africa’s 100 Top Innovators and a Webby Gold Anthem Award Winner, Poku's keynote speeches are full of mentor moments and advice for tomorrow's leaders.
L to R: Dee Poku, Jennifer Justice, Stacie Henderson and Noura Sakkijha
Is that what The WIE Suite's new campaign with Mejuri is all about? Mentor moments and advice?
Advice, support and resources - yes! Mejuri, another mission-driven company with commitments that drive longstanding impact, teamed up with The WIE Suite earlier this year to gift five WIE Suite Fellowships to inspiring underrepresented women and introduce a career skill-building series with advice from leaders across industries.
“It was a match made in heaven.”
“The team at Mejuri are very invested in purpose,” Dee Poku told Être from Cannes. “They’d seen the work The WIE Suite was doing to support and power up future leaders and wanted to support. I’d met the founder Noura Sakkijha a few times and love her brand, her founder story and their focus on sustainability so it was a match made in heaven.”
“I am proud to name The WIE Suite as one of our Empowerment Fund Partners,” Mejuri Co-Founder and CEO Noura Sakkijha adds on their website, “which was founded on the principle that to design the life you want, you need the tools and resources to do so.”
Launching the skill-building series last month at Mejuri’s SoHo location with mentors like Dee Poku Spalding, Noura Sakkijha, founder and CEO of The Justice Department Jennifer Justice (also in The Epic Mentor Guide), and TOD's CMO Stacie Henderson, this new partnership promises mentor moments that matter.
Wait, you said something else about mentor minutes? Two million of them?
Yep, check out #2millionmentorminutes - an initiative started by The WIE Suite during the pandemic when more than 2 million women lost their jobs. In need of mentorship and community, women at different stages in their careers were able to connect to thousands of WIE Suite experts for speedy and sound advice.
“We pride ourselves,” The WIE Suite website explained when the program launched, “on engaging those in positions of power around the value of giving back. Our 2M Mentors platform encourages leaders and change agents to use their elevated positions and influence to close the gender equity gap by championing future leaders.”
We love all of this so much! What else should we know about The WIE Suite right now?
From a wide variety of masterclasses and community meet-ups, The WIE Suite offers a deep bench of role models and resources ready to guide early career steps. Follow them on Insta here and keep an eye on upcoming events here.
Is there one piece of advice that Dee Poku wants to leave today's girls with as she heads home from Cannes?
“I want them to know that every member of our leadership community reached that level of success because someone helped them along the way - by advocating for them to be considered for roles, making valuable introductions or being a strong support system. Build your network. It’s invaluable to your success.”
“Build your network. It’s invaluable to your success.”
Build it.
Cultivate it.
Listen to what role models are saying and pass it on to a new rising leader.
Because as one mentor moment grows into two million minutes, and as brands align to inspire and empower women, a new generation can look to build epic networks thanks to communities like The WIE Suite.
I could not be more grateful to the founders making it happen.
Looking forward,
Illana
ÊXTRAS: Three more Masterclasses from The WIE Suite you won't want to miss: How AI Can Be Your Trusted Partner in Business Strategy on June 27, In Your Power: Corporate Board Service on July 25, and Elite Paid Speaking Success: The 6 Factors You Cannot Ignore in 2024 on September 26.
