Dawna Thibodeau of Crown Jewel Homes participated in the two-day Leadership Academy in Chicago, IL, sponsored by the Women’s Council of REALTORS® (WCR), a national professional development organization with 14,000 members. Thibodeau is President-elect of the Verdugo Hills Chapter.

More than 220 elected officers attended the annual, invitation-only Leadership Academy, which provides leadership and chapter management training for incoming WCR local and state chapter presidents and regional vice presidents. As a volunteer leader, Thibodeau’s role is to deliver on the council’s brand promise to provide education, business tools and support that meet the distinct needs of women entrepreneurs in the REALTOR® community. The academy provided hands-on training in areas like team building, conflict management and effective meetings. Thibodeau also learned techniques for developing superior education programs, providing business networking opportunities to chapter members and recruiting and retaining new members to the chapter.

“WCR focuses on providing quality training that prepares leaders with the skills and tools required to lead their members to the highest professional level,” said Anita Davis of Baltimore, Md., the 2012 National WCR president-elect and chancellor of the academy.