Membership is by invitation only.
Women’s Professional Forum is comprised of professional women who reside or work in Guilford County, North Carolina. WPF members are experienced upper-level management executives, licensed or degreed professionals, business owners, and elected or appointed public officials. They enjoy attending monthly luncheon meetings, developing friendships, exchanging ideas, sharing common interests, exploring business opportunities, learning more about their community, and promoting opportunities for women and girls to further or aspire to their professional careers.
Membership is by invitation only. Prospective members interested in joining must be sponsored by three current WPF members. More specific requirements of membership are described below.
Requirements to Become a Member
To be considered for membership in WPF, an applicant must:
- Be an upper-level management executive, licensed or degreed professional, business owner, or an elected or appointed public official who resides in Guilford County, North Carolina.
- Be employed full-time or work in a career where the content and professionalism of the work is the measure of eligibility and not the number of hours worked.
- Have a minimum of five years’ professional experience and a minimum of two years’ experience in the same or related field of work in which she is engaged at the time of her application.
- Be sponsored by three current and eligible WPF members — a primary sponsor and two secondary sponsors.
- Attend three luncheon meetings — one with each of her sponsors — during the 12 months prior to submitting her application.
- Complete the membership application, which must include personal references from each of the three sponsors.
Requirements of Continuing Membership
To maintain one’s status as an Active member of WPF, a member must:
- Timely pay the annual dues, which include fees for the monthly luncheons.
- Attend at least 50% of the monthly luncheons each calendar year.
- Satisfy the full-time work requirement described above.
Active members who are unable to meet these requirements may be able to transfer to a different membership status, such as Active Retired, Emeritus or Supporting, depending on whether they satisfy the criteria for these membership categories. New applicants are not eligible to join WPF in a category other than Active membership.
More Information
WPF accepts one class of new members at one time each calendar year. To ensure that the purposes and benefits of WPF membership, and the collegial nature of the organization, continue ongoing, WPF limits its total number of Active members. WPF is accepting new members for 2024. Applications are due June 1, 2024 for membership beginning July 1. The New Member Application and New Member Sponsor Packet can be found under “Forms & Bylaws” They each provide further information about membership and the application process.
Only Active Members and Active Retired members may serve as primary sponsors of applicants and may sponsor or co-sponsor up to two new members in a calendar year. Emeritus members may co-sponsor, i.e., serve as a secondary sponsor to, up to two new members in a calendar year. Supporting members may not serve as a primary or secondary sponsor. A new member may not sponsor an applicant, in either a primary or secondary role, until after she has been an Active member for 24 months.
Want More Information?
For further information about membership or the application process, contact our Membership Chair Laura Burton