2024 Top 20 Impact Makers Honorees
Dr. April Day
2024 Top 20 Inspiring Woman Impact Maker Award
Awards Presentation
Saturday, April 27, 2024
Four Seasons Hotel Houston
Dr. April Day brings passion, intellect, and commitment to her mission to develop communities and improve lives through education and economic sustainability.
A native of Springfield, Massachusetts, Dr. Day earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from the University of Houston (UH) and an MBA and PhD from Our Lady of the Lake University. She is a proud UH Cougar, Nonprofit Leadership Alliance alum, Leadership Houston alum, American Leadership Forum Senior Fellow, and member of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc.
Armed with postgraduate nonprofit training, Dr. Day began her results-driven career as a program director for a 15-branch youth mentorship program involving 800 youth and 200 volunteers. Since then, she has strengthened the administrative and fiscal operations of several organizations, helped to prepare thousands of young people for college and life responsibilities, created a student leadership program, launched two women’s business centers, developed a premier women of color program, managed a total of eight million in annual budget dollars, and raised in excess of $3.5 million in grant funding.
Today, Dr. Day is president of the Women’s Business Enterprise Alliance (WBEA). The WBEA is a comprehensive business development and leading third-party certifying organization, which assists close to 800 certified women-owned business enterprises and over 700 non-certified entrepreneurs annually with free business development, start up and expansion support, business coaching, training, and access to capital. Collectively certified women business enterprises represent an economic impact of $6 billion in revenue and over 40,000 jobs in 94 Texas counties. The WBEA has served as an SBA Resource Center since 2011. The WBEA Women’s Business Center and WBEA collectively support over 1,500 small businesses annually.
To this position, Dr. Day brings the seasoned communication, collaboration, team-building, and strategic-thinking skills she has developed and perfected in over 20 years of professional experience. Under her leadership, the WBEA has enjoyed increased membership, efficiency, and revenues; received more than half a million media impressions; completed a global trade mission to China; launched four capacity building programs for women in business; and ushered in over $6 million in access to capital for women-owned businesses. Additionally, she developed a Giving Tree scholarship and mentoring program for startups; a business capacity builder called WBEA EDGE, now in its fourth year, providing cohort-based, multi-week best practices and mentoring; and a nonprofit management and business ownership college internship program. No stranger to service, Dr. Day credits her amazing team and WBEA network for the impact WBEA has been afforded the opportunity to achieve.
Dr. Day’s primary role is to facilitate procurement connections, enhance organizational performance, and increase capacity and opportunities for women-owned businesses through coaching, funding, procurement, education, and executive networking. After completing her doctorate and research in leadership and burnout, Dr. Day launched WellDays, a wellness company providing comprehensive burnout reduction and leadership services to elevate, enhance, and engage life fully through wellness, self-care, and self-discovery. In her quest to help others lead and live fully, Dr. Day launched the Executive Women’s Retreat held annually for the past three years in Mexico. WellDays is intentional about redefining success and optimizing our best lives in service without sacrificing health.
Dr. Day gives back to the community by her service in volunteering, shopping, and dining. You can catch her on multiple boards within the nonprofit and business community, serving as an adjunct faculty member in the College of Business for Texas Woman’s University, and serving as a corporate business trainer for RICE University and Houston Community College. Dr. Day is also a sought-after magazine contributor and presenter on transformational leadership, organizational performance, self-care, and burnout reduction. Her latest article, The Burnout Dilemma: How leaders can foster well-being and performance, was featured in WE Texas Magazine.
In recognition of her professional abilities and community service, Dr. Day has been presented with numerous honors. She was named one of the Top 30 Influential Women in Houston by DMARS Magazine, received the Wealthy Sisters Network International Impact Award, was named one of Houston Woman Magazine’s 50 Influential Women in Houston, received the North American University Community Leaders Award, received a Houston’s Hero Award, and was named one of Houston Business Journal’s Women Who Mean Business.
Her body of work demonstrates that she has always been on the front end of service challenging the status quo in order to create, deliver, and preserve programs that change lives. Dr. Day spends her downtime enjoying her five children and her two grandchildren, reading, traveling, and living fully.
It is for all the reasons mentioned above, and many more, that Dr. April Day has been named a Top 20 Inspiring Woman Impact Maker for 2024.
