When there’s no seat at the table, you build one.
That was the theme of the panel Connect4Impact Fellow Joanna Faucett joined at the 2026 Take The Lead Power Up Conference in Washington, D.C., held August 25–26. And honestly, we can’t think of anyone who embodies it better.
Faucett is a graduate of the first class of Connect4Impact this past year, Women Connect4Good’s leadership empowerment program created for young women ages 16–20. She’s currently a double major at Drury University in Springfield, Missouri, pursuing a Master of Architecture and a Bachelor’s in Nonprofit Leadership. She’s building the future in every sense of the word.
The Panel: Young, Bold and Unstoppable
Faucett joined “Young, Bold & Unstoppable: No Seat at the Table? Build One,” a powerful conversation featuring young advocates, organizers, and leaders who are using their voices, lived experiences, and networks to challenge systems, mobilize communities, and drive meaningful change.
She shared the stage with an impressive group of changemakers (left to right):
- Jamia Wilson – Vice President & Executive Editor, Penguin Random House (moderator)
- William He – Founder, Dream for America
- Alice Miranda Ollstein – Senior Health Care Reporter, Politico
- Cheyenne Hunt – Attorney, Advocate & Executive Director, Reckoning Action
“I couldn’t stay on the sidelines anymore” – Joanna Faucett
Faucett didn’t come to advocacy by accident. Her research in architecture opened her eyes to how the built environment affects women — and, in her words, “perpetuates the cycle of injustice.” That realization was the turning point. She told the audience, “I decided that I couldn’t stay on the sidelines anymore.”
When moderator Jamia Wilson asked each panelist who had opened a door for them, Faucett’s answer went straight to the heart of what Connect4Impact is about.
“I am really lucky to have so many women in my life who opened doors for me, but I’d say one in particular is Dr. Nancy,” she said, describing how Women Connect4Good founder Dr. Nancy O’Reilly introduced her to the philanthropic world when Faucett was just 15, by attending local philanthropic fundraising events where Women Connect4Good was a sponsor. Then all the pieces came together during her participation in Connect4Impact. “I found a passion in it. I found how I can help people — and my life’s purpose, really,” Faucett said.
As a Connect4Impact cohort member, Faucett experienced what it was like to make real decisions about how to invest in the future of women and girls — not only by investing dollars, but by investing in the ideas, values, and voices shaping the world. Faucett and Chloe Irwin, another cohort member, awarded a $10,000 grant to Women’s Economic Ventures and presented it to CEO Nicki Parr in person during the 2026 Giving List Summit, in front of 200 philanthropic and impact leaders from around the world. Seeing firsthand how far that funding could stretch solidified her decision to build a career at the intersection of architecture and the nonprofit sector.
Now she’s paying it forward. “I make it my personal mission now,” she said. “If I know anyone or see anyone who could benefit from this, I open the door for them — to equip them with the tools they need to improve other people’s lives as well as their own.”
Doors opened for her. Now she’s opening doors for others, most recently by recruiting two new members of the incoming 2026-2027 cohort. That’s the ripple effect in action.
Practical Wisdom from the Stage
Faucett’s advice throughout the panel was refreshingly grounded. On sustaining yourself in hard work: build a group where you can voice your concerns and motivate each other — “somebody to keep you moving.” And in the closing lightning round, when panelists were asked what anyone in the room could do in the next 48 hours to create a ripple of change, Faucett’s answer was pure connector energy: use your network. Find someone whose mission you can further — or who can further yours — and build a relationship of mutual interest.
The Full-Circle Moment
Here’s a detail we love: Take The Lead’s co-founder, Gloria Feldt, also serves as one of Connect4Impact’s expert leaders and is a member of Women Connect4Good’s board of directors. So, when Faucett stepped onto that stage in Washington, D.C., she wasn’t just attending a conference — she was walking through a door the network built. This is exactly what happens when women champion women: opportunities multiply, stages get shared, and young leaders get seen.
About Connect4Impact
Connect4Impact is Women Connect4Good, Inc.’s leadership development program for young women ages 16–20 who are ready to step into their power and use their voices for meaningful change. Over eight months, cohorts of up to 10 young women attend twice-monthly expert-led virtual workshops and follow an asynchronous curriculum filled with top changemakers in activism, philanthropy, and social impact, to name just a few. Each participant also gains real-world grantmaking experience by selecting, reviewing, and funding projects; and builds a network of mentors and peers who have their back for life.
Faucett is proof of what the program makes possible—and she’s not done. Since graduating with the first cohort last May, she’s been working alongside the Connect4Impact team to refine the curriculum for the incoming cohort, making sure the next generation of Impact Leaders gets an even stronger launchpad than she did.
Connect4Impact is accepting rolling applications now for the 2027-2028 class. If you know a young woman ready to build her own seat at the table, send her to connect4impactnow.com.
Because leadership isn’t something you wait for. It’s something you claim.