Saint Mary's College Partnership Program

Media Coverage

Of all the sailing vessels at the Tall Ships Festival, the Tallship Unicorn has the most "girl power."An allwoman crew sailed her in yesterday from Green Bay, Wis., with a half-dozen women executives on board for leadership training.

On the tall ship Unicorn, work isn't always what it seems. The ship looks like it sailed right out of a pirate movie, even though it was built in 1947. The Unicorn is a training vessel that takes adults and teens on trips to learn leadership skills and experience personal growth.

Senior learning executives have tried any number of creative ideas to help grab and focus learners' attention. But not many can claim to have used a 110-foot, authentically rigged schooner as a learning lab.

SPREAD THE COMPANY NAME by writing an article in a business magazine or trade publication, or sponsoring a local. charity or special event.

One of those romantic-looking tall ships that will be sailing into Great Lakes ports this summer isn't there for just for fun and adventure. On the three-day voyages between ports, a half dozen women executives will be aboard Tallship Unicorn learning how running a tall ship teaches lessons that can be applied to running a business.

Helen Patton, a senior director of information technology at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., recently spent two weeks at an executive-education program at Smith College. The curriculum was typical: marketing strategy, negotiation, and leadership skills. But for this type of course, the participants weren't -- all 56 were women.The all-women program at Smith exemplifies an increasingly popular tactic for addressing the scarcity of top women executives.

Our Women Take the Helm