Seizing opportunities and overcoming challenges in leadership roles
Fall 2026 Session: 12-15 October, 2026
The Women in Leadership Programme provides a place for women executives in leadership roles to connect, change, and grow within a community of like-minded leaders. Facilitated by internationally recognised leadership experts Leslie Marquard and Sue Callaghan, this programme offers the tools, community, and support you need to grow, connect, and lead with authenticity and impact.
Modern leadership demands more than technical skill—it calls for emotional intelligence, vision, and resilience, especially for women navigating complex workplace dynamics.
This programme will equip you to:
- Lead from the inside-out: who you are shapes how you lead
- Integrate mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual intelligences
- Uncover your authentic leadership style and apply it with purpose
- Enjoy the peace-filled grounds and hills of Kylemore Abbey and the abundant hospitality of Ireland
- Build meaningful relationships with fellow women leaders
- Deploy approaches and practices for your specific context
- Take advantage of post-retreat, confidential executive coaching
- Expect transformation, not just information
Participants will leave the retreat empowered to lead with grace, compassion, and fairness, and with a whole new network to grow for the common good.
Embrace your leadership potential!
Benefits for You |
Benefits for Your Organisation |
|---|---|
| ★ Develop a positive, strength-based approach to leadership. | ★ Return to work ready to lead with increased confidence and an understanding of your authentic leadership style. |
| ★ Address current career challenges and develop a clear action plan towards senior leadership roles – get advice on advancing your career using reflective learning. | ★ Apply cutting-edge, research-based frameworks to your organisation's challenges. |
| ★ Learn from successful women leaders in Ireland | ★ Share world-leading insights with your work colleagues. |
| ★ Gain a strong, supportive peer network and participate in peer-to-peer mentoring. | |
| ★ Engage in psychometric assessments and practical skills sessions. | |
| ★ Enjoy the uniquely contemplative setting of Kylemore, offering yourself time and space to reflect, refresh, and reinvigorate yourself. |
Programme Information
COST
- 3,500 Euros per person*
*Does not include transportation to Kylemore or travel to Ireland
Airport Transfer Service (Optional Add-On)
For program participants traveling from Dublin Airport, we offer an optional shuttle service to Kylemore at an additional cost of €100 per way. The shuttle fee applies to all participants, regardless of whether they are receiving a scholarship or have made a payment. If you choose to avail of this service, please schedule your flight to arrive no later than 12:00 noon on the program arrival date, and don't book return flights earlier than 4:00 pm on the departure date.
PROGRAMME INCLUDES
- Lectures and conversations with Irish female leaders
- Three nights' accommodation at Kylemore Abbey with private en-suite bedrooms
- All nutritious meals prepared by our in-house chefs
- Access to the Abbey Estate & museum
- Health & Wellness program which includes a guided hike, hill walking & meditation practices
- Notre Dame at Kylemore journal
- Assessments
- All cultural programming, including Irish music
This program is for women who:
- Aspire to, or have recently been appointed to, a more senior leadership role
- In a management role with between 3 and 10 years’ experience
- Manage a team of people
- Seek to connect and inspire
Contacts
For questions regarding the program and sign-ups, email kylemore@nd.edu.
About the Faculty
Sue Callaghan
As an executive coach and facilitator, Sue Callaghan believes in the extraordinary power of a positive outlook to unlock game-changing possibilities. With authenticity, warmth, and bright energy, she empowers leaders to access their innate wisdom and realize their full potential.
Sue is an essential partner to those who seek to understand their unique purpose in the service of both themselves and others. She helps her clients invite small, strategic shifts that will lead to bold, transformational results. Sue is deeply committed to cultivating powerful, thriving leaders who create distinct, sustainable impact.
Guided by her top values of authenticity and growth, Sue earned a Certificate in Leadership Coaching from Georgetown University’s Institute for Transformational Leadership and holds a Professional Certified Coach (PCC) credential from the International Coach Federation (ICF). She is also certified in The Leadership Circle Profile™, is an Immunity to Change™ Qualified Map Facilitator, a Certified Key Polarity Indicator™ Practitioner, and a Designing Your (Work) Life™ Certified Coach. Sue holds degrees from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business (Finance) and Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management (MBA).
Sue spent 16 years with Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business Executive Education team, designing and delivering transformational leadership programs for executives. She played a pivotal role in Executive Integral Leadership, a holistic leadership development program focused on enhancing self-awareness. Additionally, she worked closely with organizations to customize leadership development programs, equipping teams with a new understanding to navigate complex business environments with greater clarity and confidence.
Today, Sue coaches leaders across industries, with clients including Factor Law, Vermont Donut Enterprises, Grupo Edica, Outset Global Trading, Halcyon House, and a leading global consulting firm.
Sue is the founder of Goldvineco, an executive coaching firm based in Long Beach, IN. When she’s not helping leaders unlock their potential, she enjoys life with her husband, Jim (a fellow Notre Dame alum), and their four grown kids.
Leslie Marquard
As a Professional Certified Coach (PCC), Leslie Marquard helps senior executives achieve substantial professional development goals. Leslie’s innovative approaches and ability to partner with her clients make her an indispensable ally. She is a certified team coach, certified provider of The Leadership Circle Profile™, the Leadership Circle System™, and Appreciative Inquiry™, and is a member of the International Coach Federation.
Coaching clients include executives from Lockheed Martin, Penske, Mercer, US Dept. of Defense, Cinnaire, Deloitte Consulting, Aquinas College, Marquette University, University of Notre Dame, University of Kentucky, Adtalem Global Education, Heidrick and Struggles, Bristol Myers Squibb, Nestle' USA, Grant Thornton, Tecomet, KSBJ radio, Brookdale Senior Living, and more.
She also taught in the University of Notre Dame’s Unleashing Your Leadership Potential for high-potential managers, in the Integral Leadership program for full-time MBA students, and for Inspirational Leadership at Kylemore, Co Galway, Ireland.
As a corporate strategist and specialist in organizational growth and transformation, Leslie takes on her clients’ biggest challenges. In her usual collaborative fashion, Leslie helps her clients create a preferred future complete with an action plan that the client is ready to implement before the whiteboard marker is dry. She engages the whole system in a strengths-based approach to strategy. No white binders needed.
Leslie's vast experience spans manufacturing, aerospace and defense, transportation, retail, insurance, higher education, government, professional services, nonprofit, finance, banking, pharmaceuticals, athletics, construction, broadcasting, museums, healthcare, and more.
Leslie earned her BS degree from Louisiana State University and her executive coach certification from Georgetown University. She holds additional certifications in The Leadership Circle Profile, The Leadership Circle System, Appreciative Inquiry, she holds Harvard University’s Immunity to Change qualification, and is currently pursuing her Master Certified Coach and Spiritual Formation certifications. She is celebrating 21 years as Co-founder and Managing Director of Marble Leadership Partners and is based in Chicago, IL. Before starting her own firm, she led the “think tank” known as the Accelerated Solutions Environment for Ernst & Young in both Atlanta and Chicago.