Titled “Womentum takes on full-time executive director: Female mentorship organization aims to add programming, expand reach” Jackson Hole News & Guide Reporter Sophia Boyd-Fliegel interviewed Kristen in November, 2023.
November 6, 2023
Kristen Fox thinks everybody needs a mentor.
Why, then, does she help women find other mentors of the same gender?
Simply put, she told the News&Guide, there’s demand.
“I’ve had some amazing male mentors,” said Fox, the new executive director of Womentum. “But what I’ve seen from the experience is that women are still seeking each other out.”
Womentum started in Jackson in 2006 as an organization aimed at “inspiring and connecting women to thrive as leaders.” The bedrock of the organization has been an annual mentorship program that pairs mentors and mentees one on one. Leadership luncheons grew into a weekend summit at the Center for the Arts, starting in 2017.
2023’s summit, scheduled for this Thursday and Friday, is called “Getting Real: Choosing Authenticity.” The keynote speaker is Bonnie Wan, a celebrated brand strategist who now writes and speaks about personal development.
Fox, 44, took the helm of Womentum two months ago. The organization is tasked with developing its brand as a gendered nonprofit at a time when conversations about gender seem increasingly polarized and politicized.
Many progressives argued that the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in summer 2022 was inextricably linked to an assault on women’s rights. In early 2023 the Wyoming Legislature passed a bill banning trans girls and women from joining female-designated sports teams starting in seventh grade.
Hard conversations about gender are “on our radar,” Fox said.
The organization is required by IRS tax code to stay out of political campaigns, Fox said Womentum has not yet been faced with decisions about programming or participation based on gender identity. The board has stayed focused on its goals of affordability and inclusivity.
“We understand our mission is to support women in becoming leaders,” Fox said. “We don’t define what type of leader that is.”
Fox is proud of the work Womentum has done to include more women for whom English is a second language, an uptick in word-of-mouth referrals from immigrant communities, and keeping mentorship costs heavily subsidized from its $850 cost to a $350 fee, with other scholarships available.
Fox is the organization’s first executive director who will work full time at 40 hours a week. She will be joined by the first full-time program director.