Columbia, SC - The Women’s Rights Empowerment Network (WREN) has acquired South Carolina Women in Leadership (SC WIL). WREN will be assuming, expanding, and refining SC WIL’s leadership development work. This acquisition brings together advocacy, education, and leadership training under one organization to strengthen gender justice and women’s leadership across South Carolina.
Since 2016, WREN has worked to advance women’s rights and gender justice through policy advocacy, public education, research, and community engagement. SC WIL, founded in 2018, has focused on connecting women to leadership opportunities and building pathways for women to step into civic and public roles. By uniting these efforts, the WREN aims to create clearer and more accessible pathways from advocacy to leadership for women across the state.
“This acquisition is about ensuring the work continues and grows,” said Sara Ballard, Executive Director of SC WIL. “SC WIL was built to help women see themselves as leaders and step into spaces where decisions are made. With WREN, that mission moves forward with greater capacity, deeper reach, and a strong foundation that will serve communities across South Carolina for years to come.”
As part of the acquisition, SC WIL will be formally dissolved, and its leadership training programs will be integrated into WREN’s existing advocacy and education work. WREN will continue to operate as a 501c3 non-profit organization and remain non-partisan in its approach while expanding leadership development opportunities statewide.
“This is a powerful next step for WREN’s values, strategy, and vision,” said Dr. Amalia Luxardo, CEO of WREN. “By integrating leadership development work into WREN, we are strengthening our ability to support women not only in raising their voices but in taking seats at decision making tables. This acquisition allows us to build leadership that truly reflects a more equitable South Carolina for women and girls.”
This acquisition represents a new beginning for communities across the state - combining years of relationship building, advocacy, and leadership. WREN will continue advancing gender equity while preparing more women with diverse lived experiences and gender justice values to step into leadership roles at the local and state level.
For more information about WREN and its expanded leadership development work, visit scwren.org.
WREN (the Women’s Rights and Empowerment Network) is a South Carolina-based nonprofit dedicated to advancing gender justice through advocacy, education, research, and community building. Our primary advocacy priorities are reproductive freedom and economic justice because we believe that freedom, equality, and justice shouldn’t depend on where you live, how much money you have, or how you identify. Our vision is a South Carolina where everyone is affirmed and where families and communities are safe, healthy, and thriving.