Leading Ladies
A Program to Empower Female-Identifying Leaders
Leading Ladies is a two-day immersive leadership retreat designed for female-identifying leaders at every stage of their careers. This experience brings together a dynamic cohort of women who are ready to pause, reflect, connect, and explore what it means to lead with authenticity, creativity, and purpose.
Through COCA’s signature arts-based experiential learning, participants step outside traditional professional development and into an environment where theatre, dance, improv, circus, visual art, and other creative disciplines become tools for leadership growth. Guided by COCA teaching artists and COCAbiz facilitators, participants explore three foundational areas:
LEAD — Discover your leadership style, strengthen self-awareness, explore identity, and build confidence in how you show up and lead.
CONNECT — Build meaningful relationships, practice communication and collaboration, and explore trust, empathy, belonging, and psychological safety.
CULTIVATE — Examine the workplace culture you help create and identify ways to foster environments rooted in connection, creativity, purpose, and shared values.
Come ready to move, create, reflect, laugh, connect, and lead differently.
Following registration, participants will receive a brief Leading Ladies form to help us learn more about you, your leadership experience, and what you hope to explore during the retreat. Your responses will help us shape an experience that feels relevant, meaningful, and responsive to the women in the room.
Leading Ladies 2027
THU, FEB 25 & FRI, FEB 26
8:30AM–4:00PM
$550*
*Breakfast and lunch for both days are included in the cost of tuition
Registration deadline is January 25, 2027.
Although tuition is often covered by some employers, COCA’s sliding scale scholarship program may be available to those who qualify.
Teaching Artists
Our COCAbiz teaching artists have extraordinary careers as educators, facilitators, and artists. They are passionate about leveraging the arts to empower women to reach their full potential. Each of them brings their expertise from the stage, studio, and classroom into our unique and experiential leadership program.
Kathryn Bentley specializes in developing creative works and building community utilizing inclusive theater practices. As the Founder of The Alaiyo Collective and the Co-Founder of Action Arts Collaborative, she is an experienced actor, director, producer and educator. She holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Theater Directing and completed a 20-year career as a university professor. She has performance and directing credits with companies such as Cleveland Playhouse, The St. Louis Black Rep and St. Louis Shakespeare Festival. She is a Regional Arts Commission (RAC) Community Arts Training Institute Fellow and a member of their faculty and advisory board. In 2014, she was one of the premiere recipients of the RAC Artist Fellowship and in 2020 she received the Outstanding Working Artist St. Louis Visionary Award.
Lee Anne Mathews is an award winning actor, director and facilitator/teaching artist, and has performed all over the world, from Toronto to Tokyo. She came to St. Louis in 2006 to perform in the highly successful Menopause the Musical at The Playhouse at Westport. She has since called the midwest home, working for the Muny, Shakespeare Festival of St. Louis, New Jewish Theatre, Upstream Theatre, and many more. She has been a key member of the COCAbiz team since its beginnings, offering arts-based professional development training to groups from a variety of organizations including Commerce Bank, Ameren, Wells-Fargo Advisors, Rung for Women, and many others. Lee Anne works closely with speakers from TEDx St. Louis, guiding them through the process of prepare, practice, and perform. She currently serves as the Education and Artistic Director at the Fox Performing Arts Charitable Foundation, leading arts-education programs and productions at the Fabulous Fox Theatre. In her spare time, she runs a private coaching practice to help people with public speaking and leadership presence. www.presentyourself.me
What Participants Had to Say About the Program
“In classic COCA fashion, Leading Ladies made learning about leadership a powerful journey that was fun and informative at the same time.”
“Every event had a unique impact. They’ve helped me to grow as a person, leader, mother, wife, and friend.”
“I really didn’t know what to expect but I knew if COCA was involved I would enjoy myself. Thank you for giving me the tools and knowledge I needed. Also thank you for the comfortable space to do this class in.”
“I enjoyed every moment.”
“A wonderful opportunity to take a moment, pause, reflect, see yourself, and lead with intention.”
“I highly recommend this workshop for female leaders who desire a different kind of leadership training experience.”
