The Doyenne Initiative

A 'doyenne' is the most respected or prominent woman in a particular field. The Doyenne Initiative is a 501(c)(3) organization and an international non-governmental organization (NGO) founded in 2019 to foster the advancement of women worldwide into specialized fields, elevating them to expert status. The Doyenne Initiative strives to create a network of empowered women who can transform their communities. We seek to offer women in developing countries, and internationally, opportunities for higher-level education, knowledge growth, mentorship and work experience so they are able to gain leadership positions in industry, academia, government, and beyond.

What we do: We Create Experts through Education Support (CETES). In FY 2021 we launched a visionary pilot project for Mozambican women to address the identified skill gap, the Doyenne Reliability Engineering Program (DREP) 2021-2023. DREP is a post-graduate education & development program in Reliability Engineering with a focus on technology and automation at the University of Maryland. In our mission of cultivating female leaders around the world, we offer fellowships which include the provision of full-tuition scholarships to top-level postgraduate university programs, mentorship, internships, post-graduation development/sponsorship at multi-national cutting-edge companies in their countries. Due to various pandemic-related implications, only 3 women were awarded a fellowship. It is our goal to expand DREP career, education, and professional assistance for 3-10 individuals in 2022-23 to develop more Doyennes in the engineering field. Our programs will elevate doyennes and equip them to hold the most esteemed and executive roles in their respective fields, through:

Leadership mentoring: In addition to supporting Doyenne Fellows in preparation, application and financial support to obtain post-graduate degrees, we also provide high-level mentorship and work experience, culminating in post-graduation technical and leadership development in partnership with leading companies and placement in leadership roles in their country of origin. We provide access to resources, and support for women seeking to create changes in their communities, particularly in countries with restrictive social and economic policies towards women and girls. We want to unlock opportunities for Sub-Saharan African women to succeed in STEM by removing financial barriers and increasing access to education and business networking opportunities within their countries and internationally.

International Sisters: Our vision is to spark generations of Doyennes, leading to a significant shift for women all over the world, by igniting a movement that inspires other women to reach their full potential and brings together Doyennes from developing countries and their counterparts in the US, and throughout the globe.

We count on an on-site office in Maputo, our Doyenne Empowerment Incubator (DEI) through which we would like to expand our reach to 500 girls and young women per year to 1. address girls’ dropout and the importance of education 2. host STEM related workshops/events targeting girls and young women 3. carry out outreach activities 4. educate about empowerment and intentional leadership 5. offer mentoring opportunities 6. promote scholarship applications. As per our strategic plan, we have commenced operations in Mozambique before expanding to other countries: by FY 2023-2024 we are considering expanding our operations to Guyana.

Get to know our first DREP Doyennes’ impact stories!

Cilla, Ketsiya, and Tanyia inspired a broader audience in Mozambique with their stories and passion for achieving their dreams. As a result, we have received many queries and forms of interest on a consistent basis for future Doyenne programs for which we need to secure funding.

Introducing our DREP Class of 2021

Their journey has begun - DREP Class 2021

Our website is also a great resource on our organization and our work: www.doyenneinitiative.org.

African proverb: \"If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a nation\".