Apply Now: Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar 2025

During this 12-day professional training, dialogue, and travel program, participants engage in a series of workshops focused on leadership and entrepreneurship. Participants also expand their knowledge of entrepreneurship, economic growth, leadership, and community building through carefully selected field visits and meetings with experts, practitioners, business owners, and policymakers in Hawaiʻi. Participants are individually matched with local women leaders in a Host Mentor Program and, in return, Changing Faces participants act as mentors for a select group of high school students in a Next Generation Service Project. Finally, the Changing Faces Seminar also provides training and consultative sessions to help participants develop and actualize a concrete Action Plan for the betterment of their business or their community.

Focus Areas

• The Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar focuses on the vital role that innovation and entrepreneurship play in contributing to economic growth, job creation, and strengthening communities.

Theme

• Women as Innovators and Entrepreneurs.

Funding Information

• The Changing Faces Women’s Leadership Seminar is funded by the East-West Center, the Fish Family Foundation, and others. Funding supports the participation of six to eight women from the United States and the Asia Pacific region. A full scholarship is estimated at US$3,500/per participant and includes the following programmatic costs:
  • Interisland airfare from Oʻahu to Kauaʻi
  • Ground transportation and airport transfers throughout the 2025 program
  • Lodging on Oʻahu and Kauaʻi for 12 days of the 2025 program
  • Program meals and a modest per diem to cover meals not provided throughout the 2025 program
  • Pro-rated speaker honorariums and training workshops
  • Individually tailored host mentorship
  • Cultural activities and networking opportunities
  • Participant resource materials
  • Experienced facilitators with knowledge of regional and women’s leadership issues.
• All Changing Faces Women are responsible for their own roundtrip airfare to and from Honolulu, visa related expenses, health insurance, and baggage fees. Given the limited number of scholarships available, the Center strongly encourages additional participant cost-sharing of programmatic costs and considers cost-sharing as evidence of an applicant’s commitment to self-growth, a desire to scale one’s business, and to the objectives of the Seminar. It is an important consideration of the Selection Committee.

Eligibility Criteria

• The Changing Faces Seminar targets women business owners and social entrepreneurs who have demonstrated leadership and ability to affect change and influence others in their communities. Innovative entrepreneurs, business managers, government and industry policymakers, and civil society leaders with at least seven years of work experience and who play a leadership role in their community are eligible to apply. Innovators may generally be defined as those who have created an original idea or product or are recognized for their ability to improve upon an original idea or system.
• Eligible countries include the United States, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kiribati, Laos, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Niue, Pakistan, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Sāmoa, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Thailand, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Timor-Leste, Tonga, and Vietnam. Women from Hawaiʻi are particularly encouraged to apply!
• Applicants must have the ability to communicate in English in a professional setting. Preference is given to candidates with limited opportunities for international exchange and professional development as well as those who offer to cost-share programmatic costs. A phone interview may be conducted with finalists.

Application Requirements

• Applicants must submit all of the following to be considered:
  • Completed online Changing Faces Seminar Application Form
  • Letter of Interest (maximum three pages) including:
    • A brief description of your company/organization and your role
    • What you expect to contribute to and gain from participating in Changing Faces
    • Concrete example(s) of your professional leadership and innovation, as defined above
    • Demonstrated potential for impact within your community
    • Identify an actionable goal for either your organization or community that you wish to work on and outline the role you can or would like to play in achieving that goal. NOTE: This will serve as the basis of your Action Plan for the coming year. For more information about the Action Plan, click here.
  • Resume/CV (maximum two pages)
  • Two Professional Letters of Recommendation describing your suitability for the Seminar. The letters should be signed and on letterhead.

For more information, visit East-West Center.