The 2016-17 Leadership Fellows Program – a joint effort of the Community Foundation and the Boulder Chamber – is underway, engaging 32 participants from across sectors in robust dialogue on Boulder County’s economic, civic and cultural drivers.
The 2016-17 Leadership Fellows Program – a joint effort of the Community Foundation and the Boulder Chamber – is underway, engaging 32 participants from across sectors in robust dialogue on Boulder County’s economic, civic and cultural drivers.
“We saw that change was needed to make our leadership representative of who lives in here,” said Elvira Ramos, the Community Foundation’s Vice President of Programs and Inclusive Leadership. “So, we mobilized leaders and experts across sectors to build networks and inspire action across Boulder County.”
The 11-month curriculum includes topics such as, business and the local economy, collaboration among for-profits and nonprofits, critical human needs, education funding and systems, Government 101 and roundtable discussions on a range of timely issues – from affordable housing to immigration, criminal justice and the arts. Each session integrates a lens of inclusive and transformational leadership.
“Graduates of the program commit to taking on local leadership roles within six months of completing the program,” adds Ramos. Since the program launched in 2009, respondents to a recent survey showed that 81% of Leadership Fellows have joined a nonprofit board; 26% have joined a government board or commission; 13% have worked on a local campaign for a candidate or issue; and 32% of participants have been offered a career promotion within a year of graduation.
The current class of Leadership Fellows comprises a diversity of backgrounds, professional experiences and affiliations:
- Ana Casas Ibarra, Boulder County Farmers Markets/El Centro Amistad
- Bart Miller, Western Resource Advocates
- Camila Peterson, Español Rápido y Fácil
- Charles Cooper, LFP Broadcasting
- Chereta Quána Madison, University of Colorado Boulder
- Claudia Sánchez, ELPASO
- Deolandra Perez, Earthman Landscaping
- Erik Dutilly, University of Colorado at Boulder
- Erika Leon, St. John the Baptist Catholic School
- Erika Moats, Boulder County Farmers Markets
- Jeff Near, Imagine!
- Jessica Thompson, Voices For Children CASA
- Josh White, EKS&H
- Juan Moreno, OUT Boulder County
- Kate Collardson, CertainTeed Solar
- Kiffany Lychock, Boulder Valley School District
- Laura Levesque, West Unified Communications
- Lisa White, Twitter
- Margo Josephs, City of Boulder
- Mark Griswold, Eide Bailly
- Mary Pierce, Safehouse Progressive Alliance for Nonviolence
- Matt Kobzik, Eco-Products
- Matthew Jensen, Boulder Collegians
- Maudanru Woodley, OUR Center
- Michelle Orge, Community Food Share
- Monica Marquez, IBM
- Pamela Malzbender, Zonta Foothills Foundation
- Robyn Hazlitt, Community Foundation Boulder County
- Sandra Salazar, City of Boulder/Family Resource Center
- Shanan Collins, Boulder Outreach for Homeless Overflow
- Shiquita Yarbrough, Fidelity National Title Company
- Yonatan Abramovich, Google
