Gordy Family Center
for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, & Finance

The Gordy Family Center for Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Finance coordinates intentional leadership and business skill development opportunities to help students make connections between their learning, their actions, and the world. All students will develop an understanding of who they are and learn to take responsibility for and direct their impact as leaders.

CLEF Updates

April 2, 2026: KSIM Board Considers Strategic Reallocation, 10th Grade Social Innovators Program Closing Celebration

Apr 2 2026

March 27, 2026: CLEF Leadership Seminar

Mar 27 2026

March 20, 2026: CLEF/Norton Rose Fulbright Mock Trial Program

Mar 20 2026

Gordy Family Center supports Kinkaid’s mission by preparing students to lead, serve, and become contributing citizens to Kinkaid, our country, and the global community.

Preparing Students for Life

The Center provides students with educational and practical opportunities to gain tools and experiences that will help them to build a strong foundation for success in college, a career, and life. Every student has the opportunity to learn from and be mentored by successful professionals in whom they can see their own potential and future selves. Through the Center’s programs, young women develop the skills to confidently contribute and lead throughout their lives from the classroom to the boardroom.

The Center’s guiding principle is promoting a culture of enlightened capitalism. Our capitalist system only works if those participating in it have a sound moral compass, and the Center’s courses and programs focus on helping students develop the personal virtues championed by Adam Smith of prudence, justice, and beneficence.

Leadership

At Kinkaid, we believe that every student has the capacity to lead. Students become transformational leaders in the classroom, on the field and stage, in the school community, and beyond. CLEF facilitates students’ growth as leaders through classroom instruction, the leadership seminar program, and practical application in student leadership groups on campus.

Entrepreneurship

Kinkaid offers students the opportunity to develop entrepreneurial skills through classes and programs at every level.

Finance

Kinkaid’s Finance Program begins with 11th and 12th graders taking the Fundamentals of Business and Finance course in the fall semester and the Principles of Investment class during Interim Term.

Leadership Instruction & Development

Leadership Instruction

During 9th grade, all Kinkaid students take Decisions for Healthy Living and Leadership, a semester-long course that teaches students how to harness their strengths and interests to serve as leaders at Kinkaid and beyond. With the goal of helping each student to find the leader within, the course focuses on personal leadership development and execution, specifically highlighting the significance of self-awareness, an understanding of group dynamics, and the knowledge of how to lead a team. Through class discussions, activities, readings, projects, and reflection, students learn the fundamentals of leadership and develop interpersonal communication skills, learning how to collaborate with, motivate, and lead others.

Leadership Seminar Program

Throughout the school year, CLEF holds a variety of seminars that feature speakers who are leaders in their respective fields. These have included entrepreneurship, finance, investment banking, nonprofit, energy, engineering, athletics, medicine, military service, education, and religious ministry. In addition to addressing subjects unique to the speakers’ personal experiences, topics of interest include leading with clarity, building a successful culture, civic engagement, leading through both success and failure, mentorship, finding balance, identifying your purpose, leading through conflict, servant leadership, and more. Students who participate in the program by attending and reflecting upon the seminars can qualify for Kinkaid’s Distinction in Leadership honor.

View Previous Leadership Seminars

Entrepreneurship & Finance Instruction

Upper School Seniors in the Brown Auditorium

Entrepreneurship Instruction & Programs

Kinkaid’s entrepreneurship offerings begin in middle school, where all 8th grade students take Introduction to Entrepreneurship and Leadership. Students experience the entrepreneurship journey from ideation to pitch, using the tools and methodologies of real entrepreneurs to bring their business ideas to life.

In the Upper School, 10th grade students participate in the Social Innovators Program, sponsored by CLEF and Kinkaid's Service-Learning Program in conjunction with U Penn's School of Social Policy and Practice. Kinkaid students join students from across the country for twelve weeks of experiential learning about how entrepreneurial ideas can have a positive impact on the community. The course is taught by U Penn faculty, and students receive U Penn’s Certificate of Social Entrepreneurship upon completion of the program.

Entrepreneurship Incubator: From Idea to Minimum Viable Product is offered to 11th- and 12th-grade students in the Upper School. Working in teams, students identify needs and address those needs by taking products from initial ideation to the in-market minimal viable product stage. The class culminates with the teams pitching their products to the public in a real-world experience at the end of the year. Those teams that get funding for their products can then take the ACCELerator class to bring their products to market. Throughout the Entrepreneurship Program, students are mentored by professionals and taught by subject-matter experts to develop the professional skills they need to succeed in the 21st Century marketplace.

Finance

Kinkaid’s Finance Program begins with 11th and 12th graders taking the Fundamentals of Business and Finance course in the fall semester and the Principles of Investment class during Interim Term. Students who have completed both classes may apply for membership on the Student Investment Committee (SIC). Students work with Kinkaid’s Endowment Board to recommend investments in public equities. 11th graders may continue working on the SIC during their senior year.

Career Development Internships

Kinkaid Students as interns at Deutser Business Management Consulting

Upper School Interim Term Senior Course

Through an individually structured three-week internship, this practical experience offers an opportunity to explore potential career inclinations. Through workday exposure to the organizational world of making a living — coupled with related reading and research — student interns reinforce skills such as leadership, accountability, analysis, and planning. Internships span a broad spectrum of industry. Though the majority of students remain in Houston, some assume national or international responsibilities.

Questions? Email the Director of Career Development, Martha Kirkwood

Summer Rising Senior Internships

Supported by the Alumni Board and the Advancement Office, the extended Kinkaid community offers one-week summer internships with alumni and current parents across a range of industries in Houston. The program provides rising seniors greater opportunity for real world professional experience over the summer. These internships assist with determining student interest level in a field and establish a work history beneficial for both college admission and future job aspirations. Internship opportunities are emailed to eligible students in early spring.

Questions? Email the Alumni Activities Manager, Emily Dominique