The Institute is a twelve-day program spanned over seven months (March/April thru September) that focuses on three key tenets –

​Each year, up to 20 individuals are selected to participate in NAAWLI leadership development designed to hone the leadership skills of African American women in corporations and nonprofit or-ganizations. Participants are selected to create a diverse group of accomplished business professionals from a wide variety of indus-tries, disciplines, and managerial backgrounds.