Rest, rise, and reimagine leadership — together.
The Horizon Collective — created by and for women and gender-expansive leaders of color — is not your typical leadership program.
Horizon Collective is a brave, unapologetic space where truth-telling, boundary-setting, and bold visioning are the norm. At Horizon Collective, we reject burnout culture, honor rest as resistance, and step fully into leadership rooted in authenticity, belonging, and community power.
CENTERED IN COMMUNITY.
We reject burnout culture.
We honor community care as the foundation of leadership.
We know that when women and gender-expansive people of color thrive,
movements thrive.
Horizon Collective isn’t about learning to lead better within broken systems.
It’s about reimagining leadership altogether. Over six months, you’ll be part of a cohort that refuses to do leadership the old way.
Together, we will:
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Build deep trust with peers who understand the stakes
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Name and dismantle barriers that keep us small and reimagine new ways to lead
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Flex our strengths and celebrate them without apology
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Practice rest and joy as radical leadership tools
Participants leave Horizon Collective saying the experience is nothing short of transformative — walking out with clarity, courage, and a crew that sustains them long after the program ends.
NOT YOUR TRADITIONAL LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT PROGRAM.
WHO.
Horizon Collective is for the doers, the builders, the vision-keepers of Greater Boston — women and gender-expansive* leaders of color who are moving the work forward in nonprofits, schools, community organizations, or coalitions.
We prioritize applicants from organizations with budgets under $2M or without dedicated leadership development resources. Titles don’t matter — what matters is that you are holding it down, carrying responsibility, and people rely on you to keep the vision alive.
If you are:
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Carrying the weight of leadership and craving a circle that carries you back,
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Done shrinking your voice and ready to step louder into your power,
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Hungry for a community that honors both your brilliance and your boundaries —
Horizon Collective is your space.
*Gender-expansive is inclusive of gender-nonconforming, genderfluid, nonbinary, genderqueer, transfeminine, agender, and all trans-identified individuals.
PROGRAM OFFERINGS.
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Six in-person sessions
Each session offers space for deep reflection, learning, and community building. The sessions center the lived experiences of women and gender-expansive leaders of color and are designed to nurture growth and connection.
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Two-day in-person retreat
An immersive opportunity to rest, restore, and reconnect with yourself and your purpose. The retreat is rooted in the belief that wellness and liberation belong together.
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A liberatory leadership journey
This experience weaves personal healing with professional growth. Participants build skills for boundary setting, collective care, and courageous leadership while connecting with peers and learning from visionary leaders shaping change across Boston and beyond.
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Access to a vibrant alumni network
Join a growing community of Horizon Collective alumni. This network includes brilliant leaders across sectors who continue to support one another, collaborate, and rise together.
Timeline: January – June 2026
Schedule: Monthly sessions (10 AM – 4 PM), plus one overnight retreat
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Wednesday, Jan 21
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Wednesday, Feb 25
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Wednesday, Mar 18
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Wednesday – Thursday, Apr 15–16
(Overnight Wellness Retreat) -
Wednesday, May 20
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Wednesday, June 10
Location: All sessions will be in-person in the Greater Boston area.
HOW TO APPLY.
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Applications open: Wednesday, October 9, 2025
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Applications close: Monday, November 3, 2025, at 11:59 PM EST
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Finalist interviews: Early to mid November 2025
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Final decisions shared: Monday, December 1, 2025
Step into a community that sees you, celebrates you, and has your back.
Horizon Collective isn’t just a program.
It’s a movement.
FROM OUR COMMUNITY.
PARTICIPANT REFLECTIONS.
“Participating in Horizon was transformative. It gave me the space to reconnect with my values and show up more fully in both my work and my life. I found deep connection with brilliant women who reminded me that care, integrity, and softness are powerful forms of leadership. I leave with confidence, clarity, and a community that sustains me.”
— 2024 Horizon Collective Alum
“I entered the program feeling fragile, unsure if I belonged among such amazing women. But Horizon became my safe place. I learned I don’t need to control every situation. I can lead with compassion, trust myself, and honor my organization’s mission without self-doubt weighing me down. By the end, I saw myself differently—not harsh or guarded, but soft, caring, and strong.
— 2024 Horizon Collective Alum
HISTORY.
Originally conceived as the Women of Color Leadership Circle by Natanja Craig Oquendo, executive director of Boston Women’s Fund, alongside Andrea Madu and Stephanie Guidry of The Boston Foundation, with support from The Boston Foundation and Angell Foundation, the program was designed and facilitated by a team of visionary women of color leaders, including Aba Taylor, Kelly Bates, and Talissa Lahaliyed of the Interaction Institute for Social Change, along with others who embody joy, resilience, and creativity.
Inspired by trailblazers Anna Faith Jones and Frieda Garcia — the first women of color to serve as CEO and board chair of The Boston Foundation in the 1990s — this program honors their legacy of partnership, vision, and impact.
The Boston Foundation housed and supported the program from 2020 to 2021 with support from Angell Foundation and facilitation by the Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC).
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Boston Women’s Fund began leading the program in 2022 with support from The Boston Foundation and the Angell Foundation and continued design and facilitation by IISC.
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In 2024, Boston Women’s Fund began a redesign process engaging alumni from each cohort to help reimagine the offerings to fit our participants’ changing needs. In addition to their recommendations, we decided to adopt a new name to better reflect our vision and evolution. While the mission remains the same — to support, uplift, and amplify women and gender-expensive leaders of color — the program has assumed a fresh, inclusive identity that reflects limitless possibilities and a vision toward the future: Horizon Collective.
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Horizon Collective is sponsored by the Barr Foundation, Angell Foundation, and Imago Dei Fund. It has grown into a movement that uplifts women and gender-expansive leaders of color across the non-profit sector.