ROOTS.
A LEADERSHIP COMMUNITY FOR WOMEN OF COLOR
A 6-Month Leadership Experience for Women of Color | August 2026 – January 2027
ROOTS is a six-month leadership experience where women of color in education come together in community to reflect on their leadership, strengthen their strategy, and navigate the realities of institutional work.
It brings together women leading inside complex institutions, many of which were not designed with them in mind, who are committed to continuing their work with integrity, clarity, and purpose.
ROOTS offers something many leaders rarely have: space to step back from the pace of the work, reconnect with themselves, and think more intentionally about how they lead.
Inside ROOTS, women find community, honesty, support, and the freedom to show up as themselves.
When women of color gather in honest conversation about leadership, something shifts:
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Clarity deepens
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Healing steadies
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Strategy sharpens
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Leadership strengthens
WHAT HAPPENS IN ROOTS.
ROOTS is designed as a six-month leadership experience that combines reflection, leadership strategy, and community learning.
Participants meet regularly as a small cohort of women of color leaders working across higher education and K–12 institutions. Together, they examine the realities of leadership inside complex systems and explore practical approaches to navigating those challenges more effectively.
Each session includes structured reflection, facilitated discussion, and opportunities for participants to bring forward real leadership situations they are currently navigating in their roles.
Over the six months, participants engage leadership questions such as:
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What is actually within my authority to change, and what belongs to the system?
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Where are the structural barriers that keep important work from moving forward?
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How can I strengthen my leadership strategy inside complex institutional environments?
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How do I stop over-functioning and begin leading from position?
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What does it look like to lead with clarity while maintaining integrity in difficult conditions?
Participants leave ROOTS with:
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stronger clarity about their leadership approach
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practical strategies for navigating institutional dynamics
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renewed connection to their purpose and leadership values
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a trusted community of peers who understand the work
ROOTS is intentionally small so that each participant has space to reflect, contribute, and learn from the experience of other women leading across the field.
PROGRAM DETAILS.
WHO ROOTS IS FOR
ROOTS brings together women of color leaders working across education who are navigating leadership inside complex institutions.
Participants often include:
* Vice Presidents
* Chiefs and Executive Directors
* Deans and Senior Leaders
*Associate or Assistant Vice Presidents
* Emerging senior leaders preparing for executive roles
Cohort Size: 7-9 participants
INVESTMENT & ENROLLMENT
Program Investment: $2,500
Seat Reservation Deposit: $500 to reserve your seat
Remaining balance due July 1, 2026
Payment plans available.
Institutional invoicing available.
Next Cohort Begins: August 2026
Cohort size is limited to 7-9 participants, with only one participant per institution.
Many participants use professional development funding from their institution to support their participation in ROOTS. Documentation for reimbursement can be provided upon request.
ROOTS LEADERSHIP ARC.
The ROOTS experience is guided by a leadership framework that helps participants examine both their leadership practice and the institutional systems they are working within.
Over the course of the six months, participants move through a series of leadership conversations that build upon one another and deepen their clarity about how they lead and how they navigate complex institutions.
Each stage of the ROOTS Leadership Arc invites participants to explore a different dimension of leadership inside complex institutions.
WHAT’S INCLUDED.
SEED - name what you are carrying in your leadership and reflect on the expectations shaping your role.
SYSTEM - examine the institutional systems shaping how work moves or stalls, within your organization.
STRUCTURE - identify structural barriers that prevent important initiatives from advancing.
POSITION - clarify your leadership authority and stop carrying responsibilities that do not belong to you.
STRATEGY - strengthen your leadership approach for navigating complexity and advancing meaningful work.
STABILITY - develop steadiness in leadership and sustain clarity, purpose, and energy over time.
ABOUT THE FACILITATOR.
ROOTS is facilitated by Debra Griffith, Ed.D., an executive coach and higher education leader with more than two decades of experience working across 6–12 systems, community colleges, and universities.
Throughout her career, Debra has worked alongside leaders navigating complex institutions and advancing equity-centered work inside systems that were not always designed to support it.
Her approach to leadership development focuses on helping leaders pause, reflect on the systems around them, and strengthen how they lead within those environments.
ROOTS brings together Debra’s experience in leadership, coaching, and institutional strategy to create a space where women of color leaders can think more intentionally about their leadership and the work they are advancing.
QUESTIONS ABOUT ROOTS?
Choosing the right leadership experience matters.
If you have questions about the ROOTS cohort, whether the program is the right fit, or how to request professional development funding from your institution, I’m happy to connect.
You’re welcome to reach out directly.
debra@dobetterexecutivecoaching.com
INVESTMENT
Individuals (Founding Cohort): $2,500
$1,000 deposit to reserve your seat
Payment plan available
Institutions (Founding Cohort): $2500 per participant
Invoicing available
W-9 + vendor form provided
Pricing reflects individualized coaching, a
curated small cohort, and identity-centered
leadership development.
ENROLLMENT TIMELINE
The founding cohort begins February 2026.
Enrollment closes January 26, 2026,
or once seats are filled.
To reserve your spot,
email: debra@dobetterexecutivecoaching.com
A $1,000 deposit is required to hold your seat.
FAQs
For women of color who have been looking for a leadership space like this:
a community where you can speak honestly about power, pressure, and decisions, without explanation, alongside peers who understand what you carry.
From that place, leaders gain perspective and make grounded decisions with trusted peers, not in isolation.
Created by Dr. Debra Y. Griffith, a woman-of-color executive and leadership strategist with decades of experience navigating and transforming complex systems.
The Root is the space she needed: a grounded community where women of color can lead, heal, and think clearly together.
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I created The Roots community as the leadership space I rarely saw for women of color, one where we can speak honestly about power, pressure, and decisions without explanation, and be in community with others who understand what we carry.
Dr. Debra Y. Griffith is an executive leader, strategist, and coach with deep experience leading and redesigning complex systems.