2026 Camile Gayle Women's Symposium: BELA - Unbought, Unbossed

Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy (BELA) Charter School is an all-girls high school located in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, with a mission to empower each young woman to be the best version of herself. You can learn more about us at BELA here.

It is our pleasure to extend to you an invitation to participate in the BELA High School’s Annual Women’s Symposium, which will be held IN PERSON this year. BELA’s Women's Symposium is an event that brings together over 100 women of distinction from all industries and cultural backgrounds to engage in intimate conversations with BELA scholars, allowing you to share in your career journey, inclusive of all of the triumphs and challenges that have contributed to your development. See more below!
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📅 March 27, 2026
📍 Brooklyn, NY

Join Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy for the Camile Gayle Women’s Symposium, our annual gathering honoring girls’ leadership, women’s voices, and intergenerational power.

This year’s theme, Unbought, Unbossed: Leadership Redefined, builds on a powerful legacy while calling in a new school of leadership—one shaped by bold, values-driven young women who are reimagining what leadership looks like, how it’s practiced, and who it’s for.

Together, students, families, educators, and community members will explore new models of leadership rooted in integrity, creativity, courage, and collective possibility. The symposium will uplift the voices of our BELA Bees and equip young people with inspiration and tools to vision and build a better future—locally and globally.

• Inspiring conversations with women leaders and changemakers
• Student-centered moments spotlighting girls’ voices and vision
• Intergenerational dialogue on power, purpose, and possibility
• A celebration of leadership redefined for the next generation

We look forward to welcoming you to this meaningful community gathering.

📩 Questions? Please contact Glenda Smiley at

Info: Women from diverse fields will join in a discussion about their career journey + their vision of AfroFuturism, alongside our BELA student leaders. There will be one person representing the following industries: Arts & Entertainment; Business & Entrepreneurship; Education & Nonprofit; Health & Wellness; Law & Government; Science & Technology.

Info: An opportunity for student leaders and guests to engage in one one-on-one dialogue with each other. Guests are required to attend a panel discussion before or after the networking lunch.

Info: Panelists from the same field/industry (ex: Science & Technology) will be in a room together, discussing their career paths so that students can see a variety of opportunities within that given industry.

Info: Join us in our school's daily ritual to close out the day. Led by a student and a guest speaker, they share highlights from the day and bring our day to a close.

Info: Join us at a local female-owned bar and restaurant while connecting with dynamic adults from the day's events. Guests are required to attend a panel discussion to participate in this event.

Event Venue & Nearby Stays

Brooklyn Emerging Leaders Academy Charter High School, 976 Lafayette Avenue, Brooklyn, United States

Concerts, fests, parties, meetups - all the happenings, one place.

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