Women Who Lead

We conclude the WILA Women Who Lead series with keynote Joi Gordon, CEO of Dress for Success International. She joined Dress for Success® in 1999 and took over leadership of Dress for Success Worldwide in 2002. Her primary goals are to ensure that Dress for Success becomes recognized as a global leader in empowering women in their economic and social development and to expand the organization's reach—so that more and more women across the globe will have access to the resources and tools they need to succeed in the workplace.

Under Joi’s leadership, Dress for Success Worldwide has expanded from a singular brick and mortar location in Manhattan to a global entity, spanning across 160 cities in 30 countries and serving over one million women by giving them the tools they need to achieve lifelong economic independence.

Most recently, Joi has received recognition from the University of Oklahoma, which presented her with its 2nd highest honor, the Regents’ Alumni Award; Over the span of 20 years, she has been honored with numerous civic and community service awards. Joi has been profiled in Crain’s New York Business, Financial Times, Epoch Times, Black Enterprise, Working Mother Magazine and Network Journal Magazine.

Joi received her B.A. in radio/television broadcasting from the University of Oklahoma and her juris doctorate from its College of Law. She lives with her husband Errol in Queens. Her greatest joys are her daughter and son, Sydney and Nicholas.oi Gordon joined Dress for Success® in 1999 and took over leadership of Dress for Success Worldwide in 2002. Her primary goals are to ensure that Dress for Success becomes recognized as a global leader in empowering women in their economic and social development and to expand the organization's reach—so that more and more women across the globe will have access to the resources and tools they need to succeed in the workplace.

Under Joi’s leadership, Dress for Success Worldwide has expanded from a singular brick and mortar location in Manhattan to a global entity, spanning across 160 cities in 30 countries and serving over one million women by giving them the tools they need to achieve lifelong economic independence.

Most recently, Joi has received recognition from the University of Oklahoma, which presented her with its 2nd highest honor, the Regents’ Alumni Award; Over the span of 20 years, she has been honored with numerous civic and community service awards. Joi has been profiled in Crain’s New York Business, Financial Times, Epoch Times, Black Enterprise, Working Mother Magazine and Network Journal Magazine.

Joi received her B.A. in radio/television broadcasting from the University of Oklahoma and her juris doctorate from its College of Law. She lives with her husband Errol in Queens. Her greatest joys are her daughter and son, Sydney and Nicholas.

Enjoy her take on the pandemic, how she is inspired by the Women In Leadership Award Honorees and how you can support them by purchasing a ticket link for the virtual event at ewpb.org and donating to Dress for Success at the event Swag Bag giveaway for attendees/donation drive on April 27th. For information, visit ewpb.org or call 561.868.7070. Tickets for WILA are $75 and will increase to $100 on April 19th.

Renée E. Layman, MS, LMHC, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Center for Child Counseling is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with over twenty years of experience in mental health. Over the past fifteen years, she has gained significant expertise in the areas of program development, leadership, and nonprofit management. Since 2013, Ms. Layman has focused on developing the infrastructure, resources, and impact of the Center for Child Counseling. Under her leadership, the organization has grown significantly in the past six years, now serving over 4,000 of the most vulnerable children in Palm Beach County. She has created a collaborative service delivery model, including partnerships with over thirty other nonprofits with a range of expertise.

Born and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Bridget Berry earned a law degree from Florida State University and has been providing high-quality legal services to clients from the county since 1985. She is a shareholder with the firm GreenbergTraurig. Bridget also provides service and leadership to various not-for profits, including the Palm Beach County Bar Association, United Way, the Legal Aid Society of Palm Beach, and the Palm Beach North Chamber of Commerce. She and her husband have raised three children from their home in Juno Isles, enjoying the growing economy and high quality of life unique to northern Palm Beach County.

Executive Women of the Palm Beaches Foundation launched a podcast series to spotlight each of the exceptional women honored through the 37th Women In Leadership Awards Virtual Celebration. This episode features Lauren Whetstone, the honoree in the Emerging Leader category. A Palm Beach County native since 1991, Lauren Whetstone earned a law degree from the University of Florida and has been providing legal services to clients since 2007. As a shareholder for GreenbergTraurig, she focuses her practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation and securities litigation. Lauren also provides services and leadership to not-for-profits, including Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County, and civic organizations like the Economic Council of Palm Beach County. She and her husband are enjoying raising their two small children in northern Palm Beach County.

The virtual celebration will be held April 30, 2021, 12pm to 1pm, and the featured speaker will be Joi Gordon, Dress for Success International Chief Executive Officer. In a special preview to her in-person appearance, Gordon will be featured in the final podcast prior to the event.

For nearly 40 years, the Cynthia Allen Gracey Women in Leadership Awards have been given to exemplary women who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements and leadership in the nonprofit, private, public and volunteer sectors. The WILA honorees are: Volunteer Sector – Natalie M. Alvarez, Vice President, Regional Team Leader, Key Private Bank; Nonprofit Sector – Renee E. Layman, CEO Center for Child Counseling; Private Sector – Bridget Berry, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig; Public Sector – Dorothy Jacks, Palm Beach County property appraiser; and Emerging Leader – Lauren Whetstone, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig.

Executive Women of the Palm Beaches Foundation launched a podcast series to spotlight each of the exceptional women honored through the 37th Women In Leadership Awards Virtual Celebration. This episode features Lauren Whetstone, the honoree in the Emerging Leader category. A Palm Beach County native since 1991, Lauren Whetstone earned a law degree from the University of Florida and has been providing legal services to clients since 2007. As a shareholder for GreenbergTraurig, she focuses her practice in the areas of complex commercial litigation and securities litigation. Lauren also provides services and leadership to not-for-profits, including Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Palm Beach County, and civic organizations like the Economic Council of Palm Beach County. She and her husband are enjoying raising their two small children in northern Palm Beach County.

The virtual celebration will be held April 30, 2021, 12pm to 1pm, and the featured speaker will be Joi Gordon, Dress for Success International Chief Executive Officer. In a special preview to her in-person appearance, Gordon will be featured in the final podcast prior to the event.

For nearly 40 years, the Cynthia Allen Gracey Women in Leadership Awards have been given to exemplary women who have demonstrated extraordinary achievements and leadership in the nonprofit, private, public and volunteer sectors. The WILA honorees are: Volunteer Sector – Natalie M. Alvarez, Vice President, Regional Team Leader, Key Private Bank; Nonprofit Sector – Renee E. Layman, CEO Center for Child Counseling; Private Sector – Bridget Berry, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig; Public Sector – Dorothy Jacks, Palm Beach County property appraiser; and Emerging Leader – Lauren Whetstone, Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig.