Lesley Robinson is the founding director of the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Leadership Institute (KS WELI) and a lecturer in the McCombs School of Business at The University of Texas at Austin. Robinson is affiliated with Texas McCombs’ Center for Global Business and teaches the foundational Entrepreneurial LeadHERship course that is part of the Women in Entrepreneurship specialization in the Entrepreneurship Minor.

Since its founding in fall 2019, the KS WELI has become a force on UT’s campus to grow and support women-owned and women-led businesses. By empowering women to lead and encouraging the world to follow, the KS WELI (as of spring 2023) has had an impact, including:

• $106,000-plus in seed grants awarded to support and empower women-led startups.
• 3,500-plus women provided with the tools they need to be successful in the business world.
• 66-plus women-led startups supported.
• 95-plus FoundHERs empowered.

Robinson is the CEO and founder of Embolden Consulting LLC. Previously, she served as the head of Americas for INCO, a Paris-based supporter of entrepreneurs. She also served on the board of 3 Day Startup and as program director for the Tarmac TX accelerator. Her higher education experience has been focused on international education and includes St. Edward’s University, Princeton University and The University of Tulsa.

She currently is a doctoral candidate in higher education leadership at Colorado State University. She holds a master’s degree in global and international education from Drexel University and a bachelor’s degree in communication and French from The University of Tulsa.