Our Stories

The Women of Apogee program was developed to cultivate a community of women across Apogee that provides inspiration, career support, and social support. This initiative is led by Jane Boyce, President of Large Scale Optical, and Leah Rickert, VP of Talent Acquisition and Diversity. The program emerged from focus groups aimed at identifying ways to improve the experiences of women across the company. This is a voluntary program that commenced with a smaller group, providing the opportunity to develop, evaluate, and adapt core program elements before expanding. To formally kick-off this program, the inaugural Women of Apogee Leadership Summit was held in Minneapolis last year, successfully bringing together sixty-five women from various sectors of the company.

Since last year’s Summit, the program has introduced Mentoring Circles—small groups of employees who support one another with their personal and professional development. This setting encourages the open sharing of advice, skills, knowledge, and expertise across various topics. The inaugural series is wrapping up and included forty participants. The program also launched quarterly Lunch & Learns in September 2024. These training and educational sessions are designed to promote personal and professional development. A variety of speakers and facilitators will share their knowledge, inspiring stories, strategies, and valuable resources. The first session centered around Navigating Change. 

This fall, the group hosted its second Summit, which also proved to be a success. The team successfully achieved its four main goals: to inspire, provide valuable professional development, create new connections while strengthening existing ones, and have fun! The event attracted sixty-six attendees from all segments including AFS, Glass, Services, LSO, and HQ, with participants from twelve locations and eleven business areas. Topics covered included a kickoff with Apogee’s CEO, Ty Silberhorn, workshops on career management and conflict management, speed networking, an external keynote, and a dinner at the Mall of America, featuring a fun scavenger hunt that encouraged healthy competition and team building.

Looking ahead, the Women of Apogee program will initiate its next series of Mentoring Circles, continue hosting quarterly Lunch & Learns, seek out new ways to connect women through the program, and evaluate potential opportunities for program expansion.