Donna Orender is big on big ideas.
And a big idea she had 15 years ago — to hold an annual one-day women’s conference in Jacksonville — has blossomed into a multi-program nationwide initiative that empowers women and girls, supports women business owners and develops community service projects, among other things.
The former collegiate and professional basketball player has run the WNBA, which is the U.S. women’s basketball league, and helped the PGA of America increase the number of female golfers. She is co-founder and commissioner of the new Jacksonville-based Upshot League, which is expected to launch in May with four franchises.
It’s called Generation W. The 2026 edition will be Friday, March 27, at the University of North Florida Fine Arts Center in Jacksonville with a nationwide virtual audience.
The theme is Impact. And the 21 speakers range from Mayor Donna Deegan and several Mayo Clinic executives to Olenda Johnson, a professor of stragetic leadership and leadership development at the U.S. Naval War College, and Nazanin Afshin-Jam MacKay, an international human rights and democracy activist from Canada.
Since its inception, Generation W has touched at least 25,000 people at 58 events, served about 16,000 girls — many of whom have formed clubs at their schools — and created 1,800 mentors, according to the nonprofit. The numbers leave Orender a bit stunned.
“It’s certainly impactful but that it would radiate out nationally, I didn’t imagine,” she said.
The Generation W universe is designed to “create positivity,” which is especially crucial with modern-day information overloads, she said.
“We’ve never been more connected,” she said, but still many of us are left “feeling isolated.”
Generation W works to inspire women and girls “to be the best they can be,” she said, and use their platforms for “doing something that is bigger than yourself. We’re all contributing to the future lives of young women, making the world a better place.”
Inspiring women
One of those young women is Shelly Steele, an entrepreneur who was showcased in the 2024 Generation W’s LauncHER program that supports early stage women business owners.
She is president and co-founder of Rise Yaupon Inc., which operates a tea production facility in Edgewater using Yaupon Holly, North America’s only naturally caffeinated plant. A harvesting crew and the company’s vice president of farming, Angela Tenbroeck, are based in Jacksonville.
“We were among some other amazing founders in our cohort and felt so supported and empowered by the Generation W team and conference participants,” Steele said.
After the event, she said, “the Generation W team stayed in contact, helping us promote our business via social media and a webcast with Donna [Orender]. We are very thankful for all they do to support women-owned businesses like ours.”
Among the 2026 LauncHER entrepreneurs is Adriana Dobbs, founder of Serenity Sounds, a sound therapy center in Jacksonville. She said she discovered the therapy, such as sound baths and vibrational sound therapy, while she was navigating “heightened anxiety” and autoimmune conditions.
“As a small business owner, one of my biggest challenges is outreach — finding ways to connect with the people who could truly benefit from this work,” she said. “Opportunities like Generation W are incredibly impactful because they help bridge that gap, creating visibility, meaningful conversations and connections. It’s an honor to stand alongside women who are building with intention, sharing their work and having the courage to follow their dreams and bring their vision forward.”
Other Generation W programs include Generation WOW, a mentoring program for teen girls; and Generation Works, which provides volunteers for community service projects.
Also, the nonprofit published “WOWsdom! The Girls Guide to the Positive and the Possible,” a book of letters, mostly from women to their younger selves and from girls to their future selves, and Orender leads the bi-weekly online REfresh series with speakers addressing relevant topics.
Deegan has been a frequent guest speaker at the conference and returns again this year.
“We recognize the extraordinary impact this event has had on women and girls across Jacksonville, sparking connections, inspiring leadership and creating a ripple effect of positive change throughout our community,” she said.
Another returning local speaker is Mari Kuraishi, president of Jessie Ball duPont Fund, a Jacksonville-based philanthropy.
“Generation W is a powerful convener of leaders helping young women find their place and their voice,” she said. “In turn, leaders who feel deeply connected to their communities are inspired and better able to help solve the challenges they face and Generation W is an important catalyst for that feeling of belonging and connection.”
Aida Seeraj has attended the conference four times and returns this year as a panelist. Her first event in 2018, she said, “changed the trajectory of my life.”
“I was deeply moved by a speaker who shared that when you pursue your passion and include your family in that journey, it no longer feels like work — it becomes your purpose,” she said.
That led her to found Inspire to Rise Inc., which provides behavioral health services, parenting education and other community services. The nonprofit has since expanded to five locations in Jacksonville and Clay and Nassau counties.
“The Generation W team has also been a strong advocate for our work and mission,” she said. “It continues to be a source of inspiration, connection and purpose for leaders like me and reminds us that when we walk in purpose, the work we do creates lasting change.”
Sisteria Manns and Fatima Gaskin are Generation W volunteers, Manns since the event’s inception and Gaskin for a second year. Both cited networking and meeting new people of all ages as top benefits.
“Donna [Orender] is such a powerful woman and I love her passion focused on serving and helping others,” Manns said. “The energy of the conference is uplifting [and] inspiring and everyone appears to have so much fun. … All the volunteers are excited and happy.”
Gaskin said Generation W is “one of my favorite organizations.”
“There is so much positive energy and it is contagious. And of course it is so much fun. I love the opportunity … to give back to our community,” she said.
Generation W 15 years later
Such empowerment is the foundation of Generation W, Orender said.
“It was just an idea, a thought on how to pay it forward for the goodness and guidance forwarded to me throughout my career,” she said. “Generation W … was created to elevate communities, educate inspire and connect.”
Fifteen years later, “15 years of impact, the experience of W continues to better us all,” she said.
Tickets for the 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. event begin at $322 for general admission and $107 for virtual admission. To purchase tickets, go to shorturl.at/DkNY4.
For more information about the event, go to genwnow.com/gen-w-2026.
bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Generation W celebrates 15 years of empowering women and girls
Reporting by Beth Reese Cravey, Jacksonville Florida Times-Union / Florida Times-Union
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
