About Us

Current WWN Officers

Term: January 1 - June 30, 2024

Whatcom Women’s Network (WWN) is a partnership of individuals and business owners dedicated to in-person networking. Our meetings are a time to get to know each other and to learn more about each member’s businesses. We recommend each other, refer potential customers, and do a great deal of business together as a result.

The group was founded in Bellingham in 1994 as the Bellingham Women’s Leads Club, part of Ali Lassen’s International Leads Club. Lassen founded the Leads Club business in the 1970s to give women an alternative to the “men only” groups she had been barred from joining. We found the structured meetings, one-on-one focused networking, opportunity to practice our “30-second promotional speech” and 10-minute presentations to be empowering and effective in developing our businesses. We chose to become an independent group in 2003. As the Whatcom Women’s Network we have lower dues and a local focus. We support local nonprofit organizations of our choosing, which primarily provide services to women and children.