The Women’s Leadership Accelerator is a yearlong intensive program that supercharges the leadership and management skills of women who are pushing digital innovation. Each year we welcome a cohort of women representing a range of backgrounds, expertise and newsrooms around the globe.
The application period for the 2023 Women's Leadership Accelerator is now closed. All application materials were due by 11:59 p.m. EST (4:59 UTC) on Thursday, November 10, 2022.
About the Program
The Women’s Leadership Accelerator offers an intensive program of mentoring, discussion and learning from some of the top minds in digital media. Participants work closely with mentors on challenges unique to their careers and also receive support and coaching from ONA throughout the year.
The 2023 accelerator provides:
- Virtual hello meeting in March, individual virtual welcome coaching between March and April, and an in-person cohort workshop in April/May; focused on hands-on personal and professional work; candid discussions about leadership, work-life balance and problem-solving in the newsroom; deep dives on developing leadership and management skills; and one-on-one coaching from industry leaders
- A year of check-ins and practical, targeted guidance and personal coaching on individual challenges
- Registration to the 2023 Online News Association Conference (#ONA23)
- Closing workshop for the cohort in August, coinciding with ONA23
- The opportunity to be a part of a cohort of peers to serve as a strong career-long support system
Timeline:
- Oct. 21, 2022: Applications open
- Nov. 10, 2022: Applications close at 11:59 p.m. EST (4:59 UTC)
- February/March 2023: Cohort announced
- Week of March 9: Hello Meeting for 2023 cohort (1-2 hours, virtual)
- March/April 2023: Individual welcome coaching (virtual)
- April/May 2023: In-person workshop in Chicago (exact dates to be confirmed)
- Aug. 22, 2023: Closing workshop during ONA23 in Philadelphia

Meet the 2022 Cohort
26 leaders in digital journalism selected by the Women’s Leadership Accelerator review committee for a transformative, yearlong program of leadership training, coaching and support.
Past Programs
The Women's Leadership program began in 2015 and has evolved to be a year-long cohort experience. Learn about the past programs, including previous cohorts, speakers, sponsors and programming.
Supporters
Events
We created these online sessions based on feedback from hundreds of women who’ve participated in our events and programs. Registration to access the recordings is by a pay-what-you-can model and supports ONA initiatives for women in leadership throughout the year, including the tuition-free accelerator. More talks from our 2020 event series are also available on-demand.
News and Updates
Learning
Past Speakers
The accelerator has featured an array of industry leaders and inspirational voices to shepherd our cohorts through their time in the program.
Learn More
Contact us at accelerator@journalists.org to learn more about opportunities to connect with the Accelerator.