Before long, there were hundreds of women wanting to become WISE women and the program grew by leaps and bounds. As Director, she has assumed a leadership role in carrying out her mission of helping women reach their potential. Lendell encourages, motivates, and inspires thousands of women to believe that if they dare to dream, they can overcome insurmountable obstacles and achieve incredible goals. Within the first year of her leadership, the program tripled in size. Although some graduates of the WISE Program never become successful entrepreneurs, the business and personal skills they learn assist them in gaining employment with others.
Employers are impressed with their knowledge of business and their drive to succeed.
Lendell has written curriculum manuals to assist other communities in developing programs and strategies for empowering people. Lendell believes that for any self-employment program, or any other economic development program to effectively address unemployment and poverty, it must address the problem at both individual and societal levels. The solution must integrate education and training with personal development and growth. The solution also must address public policy problems and community development needs. Communities can t ignore the need for community preparedness and community capacity-building for supporting their residents in their endeavors.