Empowered to Lead, an e‑booklet that captures the collective learning, reflections, and impact of the Asia Pacific Women in Leadership (APWiL) Mentoring Program from 2020-2025. Prepared by UC Davis, Universiti Malaya and UC Santa Cruz, this publication brings together selected seminar transcripts, participant voices, and leadership insights that reflect APWiL’s commitment to advancing women’s leadership in higher education across the Pacific Rim. Through themes of equity, communication, confidence, and sustainable career pathways, Empowered to Lead highlights how mentorship, community, and cross‑cultural exchange can foster meaningful individual growth and institutional change.

The successful completion of the first five-year period of the APWiL Mentoring program is thanks to the commitment by the outgoing co-chairs Prof. Joanna Regulska, Prof. Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, and Dr. Sabrina Lin, as well as the APWiL Mentoring Program team Chelsey Hawes, Glynis Kincaid, Kimberly Bellows, Dawn Takaoglu, Adriana Rojas, and David Quimbayo. Key contributions came from the APWiL Presidential Champions, the APWiL Core Group, the many universities that supported the program, as well as all the individuals who participated in a workshop and joined the APWiL Summit in Auckland, New Zealand.

With special thanks to Mrinmoyee Bhattacharya, UC Davis for transcriptions and for putting the publications together; Assoc. Prof.  Dr. Sheena Kaur, Nuzul Fatihin Izatil Azman, and Angga Arven Fajar (internship student) from Universiti Malaya, who helped transcribe and summarize the key findings for this e-booklet, as well as to APWiL co-chairs, Prof. Joanna Regulska, UC Davis, and Prof. Dr. Yvonne Lim Ai Lian, Universiti Malaya.