What’s in a name? Well, when it’s the Young Women’s Leadership Academy, that’s pretty descriptive.
As part of Women’s History Month, General Motors Financial Company, Inc. honored juniors and seniors from YWLA on Wednesday, March 20. The event was held in the company’s downtown Fort Worth headquarters and featured insights and perspectives from women who are leading and achieving in STEM and STEM-adjacent fields.
With Deborah Ferguson, NBC 5 Today Anchor, as emcee, the event was co-sponsored by the GM Financial Women’s Inspiration Network (WIN) and KEYS by GM Financial, a financial literacy program that has collaborated with YWLA in the past. The event is also a precursor to April’s Financial Literacy Month.
“With help from other inspiring female leaders in our industry and beyond, it was a privilege to host our downtown neighbors from the Young Women’s Leadership Academy of Fort Worth to talk about college, career, work-life balance and many important topics in between,” said Susan Sheffield, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at GM Financial.
“On behalf of GM Financial and all of the leaders involved, we feel fortunate to have had the opportunity to connect and network with such bright, remarkable young women, who we know will soon fill our talent pipelines and serve as leaders in our communities.”
The agenda included a panel discussion of notable women sharing their perspectives on how the students can empower themselves through education, thoughtful career path decisions and financial literacy. The panel was moderated by Shunda Robinson, Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion at GM Financial. Other panelists and featured participants, along with Ferguson and Sheffield, included:
*Jacquelin Sewell, Co-President of Operations of Sewell Automotive Companies.
*Silvia Barrera, Vice President of Credit, Commercial Vehicle Lending for GM Financial.
*Beverly Fells-Bohanon, Vice President of Customer Experience Administration for GM Financial.
*Shunda Robinson, Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion at GM Financial.
As part of the event, GM Financial announced the KEYS by GM Financial Scholarship program to benefit selected YWLA students. Three scholarships will be granted, one each for $7,500, $5,000 and $2,500. Students can apply April 1-30 as April is Financial Literacy Month.
YWLA provides a college-preparatory curriculum with an emphasis on leadership and STEM education for students in grades 6-12. It was the first single-gender school in the Fort Worth School District and operates in partnership with the Young Women’s Preparatory Network.
KEYS by GM Financial aims to improve financial literacy in communities across the U.S. by delivering critically important credit, budgeting and basic financial education to help drive upward mobility. While developed to be useful to any consumer, this program recognizes the link between financial literacy and successfully mobilizing underserved consumer populations to improve financial stability.