Meet the First Ignite Cohort: AWBC's Ascend Institute - Association of Women's Business Centers

Launched on July 21, 2026, Ignite marks the first pillar of the Association of Women’s Business Centers’ new Ascend Institute, a suite of leadership development programs designed for the professionals who lead Women’s Business Centers across the national network, beginning with directors and senior leadership.

“Ignite exists because WBC directors carry an enormous amount of responsibility with very little support built specifically for them. This program is AWBC’s investment in the leaders who make our network work — because when our directors grow stronger, so does every entrepreneur they serve. This founding cohort isn’t just going through Ignite, they’re building the model for it.”
— Corinne Goble, CEO, AWBC

Seventeen leaders from across the network make up the founding cohort:

Bonnie Barker — Women’s Business Center of Central Appalachia
Carrie Jean Shephard — Alaska Women’s Business Center
Devanny King — Women’s Business Center of Kentucky
Humberto Hijar — WESST Las Cruces WBC
Indira Jeffrey — Mujeres Latinas Unidas Foundation WBC
Iris Cohello — WEDC Westchester Women’s Business Center
Javier Rios — WESST
Jessica Vidican-Neisius — Washington Women’s Business Center
Judith Perez — WESST Hobbs
Kate Bourland — Women’s Business Center at JEDI
Kimberly Newman — Capitol Region Women’s Business Center
Klassi Duncan — Urban League of Louisiana – Women’s Business Resource Center
Linda Louisdor — Women’s Business Center Miami
Lindsey Kay — WESST
Luz Sellers — The Women’s Business Center at True Access Capital
Sherry Cummins — Great Lakes Women’s Business Council WBC
Valentina Reyes — Mendocino Women’s Business Center

Over 8 weeks, this cohort will work through the leadership challenges specific to running a WBC — the strategy, decision-making, and pressure-tested skills the job demands, built directly into the program’s weekly sessions.

Sessions are led by in/tend, founded by Celina Peña, whose team brings direct experience working at a Women’s Business Center and decades of experience in small business leadership development.

Applications for the next Ignite cohort are open now for WBC leaders.