When the World Economic Forum released data showing it would take 135 years to close the global gender gap, Leslie Grossman knew she needed to add more velocity to her work developing women leaders and expand her role as Faculty Director and Senior Fellow of Executive Women's Leadership at George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. “With gender equity more than a century away, I was determined to find more ways to speed up this process.” That’s how Grossman’s newest book, Start with Vision, came into being. She wanted to create a handbook – a primer – that women could keep in their handbag, backpack, or desk – to read and refer to every day to address the mindset, communication challenges, and barriers they face as they launch and grow their careers as entrepreneurs and executives. How do they keep moving forward as leaders, especially when the going gets tough? The new book, Grossman’s third, offers strategies, solutions, and advice for overcoming obstacles at the moment a woman needs them. What led Grossman down this path after a successful 20-year corporate and entrepreneurial career? Her first jobs were corporate until frustration led her to start a small public relations agency. Twice, she was enticed back to the big agency world, always leaving again to create her own business. With more experience under her belt, she learned that growing an agency required more than business skills. It required a personal vision for her business, communication tools, a positive mindset, courage, confidence, and powerful connections. Joining several high-profile organizations and taking on board positions opened the door to a network of influential women who inspired and supported her. After the devastating 9/11 attack, which occurred 40 blocks from her office, she realized her true vision was to support women to become leaders at the highest levels. Her idea: a national leadership conference program for women. Launched in 2002, Women’s Leadership Exchange was the first of its kind, and her biggest client at that time became the presenting sponsor. During the 10 years of producing conferences, Grossman became a sought-after speaker, speaking worldwide, including three trips to Japan, where she spoke to women entrepreneurs and executives. She wrote two books: Sellsation! and Link Outand presented a popular TEDx talk on “Why We Each Need Our Own ‘Entourage’ or Circle of Trusted Connections.” When she stepped away from her conference business, she was tapped as a researcher for the Everest Report, where she interviewed women leaders who had led transformational change, along with their CEOs, direct reports, and peers. This gave her more knowledge and insight into the habits and behaviors of the most successful women leaders, inspiring her to become an executive coach for women and facilitating groups and coaching entrepreneurs for Vistage International. In 2016, The George Washington University invited Leslie to present a 3-day program for women executives, a program she had been presenting to corporations. The success of that program, now in its 14th cohort, led to Grossman being named a Senior Fellow and Faculty Director of the Executive Women’s Leadership Program at The George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. Her goal today is to achieve gender equity for women in 25 years instead of the most recent report of 140 years for women to be represented equally in positions of power and leadership, according to the World Economic Forum. Leslie’s vision is “A world where gender equality is a given, not a goal.”