Our Purpose
To cultivate, inspire, connect and engage an effective community of leaders.
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In This Issue
October 2018
From The Director
Dear LT Family:

I mentioned in an earlier newsletter that one of my first goals as Executive Director was to learn more about LT's role in the community and identify a roadmap for deeper engagement in our region. A planning committee comprised of LT Board members, alumni and staff has driven this process for the last six months. I want to give you an update.

We have talked with other innovative national leadership programs, local civic organizations, and regional leaders in the private, public and nonprofit sectors, as well as a diverse group of alumni. We heard several things repeatedly about our competitive advantage, or the qualities that make LT unique. These include convening leaders from the three sectors, focusing on Servant Leadership and Community Stewardship, exploring the interconnectedness of issues and solutions, engaging in difficult conversations around reducing inequities and racism, and building strong networks.

When asked about how LT could have greater impact, most-often mentioned was finding ways to better mobilize, deploy and engage our 2,000 alumni. Our alumni are recognized as leaders who think systemically, operate collaboratively, and drive solutions that move us forward to a more resilient and equitable community. 

As we look ahead, we will be focusing on ways to better serve you, our fabulous alumni. We are developing a database that you will be able to use to find each other, and that we can use to connect you to opportunities within LT and in the wider community.  

Our vision is an organization that offers you lifelong learning where you can continue to build your knowledge, leadership, and civic engagement. Stay tuned as we build out new programming and engagement strategies. As always, I welcome your ideas and comments.

Warmly,
Sue Bennett, LT'94
Executive Director

Upcoming LT Events
Conversations with Leaders, featuring Mayor Jenny Durkan
October 22, 2018, 5:30-7:00 p.m.

Join us for an informal conversation with Seattle's new mayor, Jenny Durkan. Learn about Jenny's unique leadership journey, her key priorities as mayor, and the challenges she's faced to become the first woman to lead the City in nearly a century. Register here.

Meet Your Match: A Board Networking Happy Hour
October 25, 2018, 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Are you interested in serving on a nonprofit board of directors? Would you like to meet representatives from 38 local nonprofits that are doing amazing work in our communities? Join us for our third annual Board Networking Happy Hour. You'll enjoy delicious appetizers and drinks while meeting nonprofits that are recruiting leaders for their boards of directors and potentially make a match. Learn more and register here . Use code LTROCKS for $10 off (valid until 10/12/18).
LT'19 Fall Retreat
We kicked off another LT year at the Fall Retreat in Bremerton, WA. The LT Class of 2019 spent  the weekend getting to know each other and creating a community actively engaged in learning with and from each other, as well as exploring the knowledge, skills, behaviors, and self-awareness needed to be an effective community leader.

Photo Credit: Frank Alvarado, LT'18

Some of the class members' takeaways from the retreat:

"Good leaders don't arise abstractly. They consistently use specific actions to get the most potential from their organization, their colleagues, and themselves. Learning and employing those tactics is a skill to learn like any other."

"Leadership is a process, not a destination."

"Take more risks, be vulnerable, and expand my circle of influencers."

"Leadership is about serving others first."

Check out the class roster to see who is in this year's class and where they work.
Alumni Spotlight: Priya Frank, LT'15
Seattle Art Museum
What is one highlight from your LT experience?
Hearing Martha Choe, LT'84 talk about her friendship with Bob Watt, LT'84. They met in LT and remained friends for so many years, working on projects and initiatives together and supporting one another through many different points in their lives. It was something that stands out so clearly for me because LT was the place where I made some of my closest friends to this day. We have now sat on panels together, gone on trips together, seen each other through difficult times, celebrated our wins, and dream of what it might look like to work together one day. We are truly living our lives together. It was an unexpected and invaluable gift of being in this program. 

What is one thing you think about or do differently because of LT?
The healthy community framework influences the work I do at the Seattle Art Museum every single day! I'm constantly thinking about how I can build authentic, long-lasting relationships across sectors that allow SAM to be a resource, not just in arts and culture, but also in basic needs, health and wellness, the environment, etc. I believe that by developing partnerships that can contribute to the strengthening of civic engagement, museums can stay relevant, be more inclusive, and create opportunities for more people to see themselves reflected there.

What advice would you give to the new class?
Be open to the experience and where it will take you. From the time I started LT, to one year out, I changed jobs twice, joined the Seattle Arts Commission, and made some big personal transformations. It gave me confidence to take more risks, leave an institution I'd been with for 16 years, and enter a career I was passionate about and driven towards. I began to see myself differently, saw the difference I could make, and honestly, envision myself as a leader, something I had feared acknowledging up until that point. The program was an investment in myself holistically, and I am truly better for it all around!  
Alumni Spotlight: Josh Gaul, LT'10
K&L Gates
What is one highlight from your LT experience?
 I wouldn't say there was "one highlight" for me as the entire program served to fundamentally change my perspective on the issues that challenge our community. Before LT, I did not appreciate that many--if not most--of such issues are deeply interconnected in ways that are not apparent from the way they are covered in the media. To effectively address issues, it is incumbent on all of us to understand those interconnections so that we are not stuck in an endless cycle of only treating the symptoms.  

What is one thing you think about or do differently because of LT?
I try to recognize the role that my own and others' implicit biases play in decision making and then take steps to mitigate the impact of such biases. For instance, when interviewing, I have found that my own biases have a disproportionate effect in a one-on-one setting. As a result, I try to structure interviews to either involve multiple interviewers or to have a pre-determined set of objective questions. 

What advice would you give to the new class?

Get comfortable with being uncomfortable! The most valuable experiences in LT are those that challenge your concept of the world and yourself . . . and being challenged in that way is not always comfortable. 

Grapevine
Let us know what is happening in your life!  Email megan@leadershiptomorrowseattle.org and  stay in touch with the Leadership Tomorrow network.

1993: The Seattle Times published an opinion piece written by Bill Block, LT'93 about addressing homelessness in our region. "The solution to homelessness is housing and, where needed, services. As we struggle to meet that need, however, we must respect the constitutional rights and human dignity of those still waiting for their opportunity to be housed. That is what I would want for me and what I must seek for others."

1997: Heather Fitzpatrick has been selected to succeed Ruthann Howell, who is also LT'97, as CEO/President of Wellspring Family Services in Seattle, an organization that has served families in crisis in the Seattle area for 126 years. 

2000: Hon. Bonnie J. Glenn received the 2018 Justice Charles Z. Smith Excellence in Diversity APEX Award. Read the press release.

2003: Stephanie Lucash was selected to participate in the inaugural class for the upcoming Northwest Women's Leadership Academy.

2007 and 2011: Chinua Lambie, LT'07 and Anthony Shoecraft, LT'11 were featured in the Seattle Times for their work with the organization they helped form,  MoHundred, in response to 10 black Seattle school students being offered scholarships, only to not receive them. Read the article to learn how their organization is helping raise the scholarship money promised to these students.

2008: Shauna Causey has joined Madrona Venture Labs as Partner. Launched in 2014, Madrona Venture Labs takes ideas and turns them into startups by way of recruiting, product development, financial investment, and more.

2008: Felicia Kline was accepted into the 40th class of Leadership Charlotte.

2013: Katrina Jones has a new position at Boeing and is now Global Data Access Product Owner. 

2014: William Smith is now the Senior Human Resources Manager, Seattle Information Technology Division at City of Seattle.

2015: Candice Caldwell has accepted the role of Chair for the Junior League of Seattle's Task Force on Diversity & Inclusion. The prior Chair, Jeanette James, LT'10, completed her two years as Chair and now serves as Vice Chair.

2015: Liv Faris was promoted to Senior Manager, Content Strategy at Expedia, as well as joined the Board of Directors of National Film Festival for Talented Youth (NFFTY) and NFFTY Creative, the organization's production company that connects brands with emerging talent to produce original content.

2016: Leilani Lewis joined the boards of directors of the Northwest African American Museum and Seattle Arts and Lectures. 

2017: Philip Deng is now Foundation Relations Manager at Forterra. 

2017: Steve Hirjak was promoted to Assistant Chief of Special Operations and Homeland Security, Seattle Police Department at City of Seattle.

2017: Kirk Myers now the Director of Sustainability for Alaska Air.

2018: Tanya Dumas joined the Board of Directors for the Foundation for Healthy Generations.

2018: Patrick Lee was promoted to Senior Manager, Treasury at Vulcan, as well as joined the Finance Committee for Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience.

2019: Dawn Reyes was appointed to Washington's new Women's Commission. The commission was created to address issues relevant to the problems and needs of women, such as domestic violence, childcare and support, sexual discrimination and harassment in the workplace, equal compensation and job pathways in employment, and the specific needs of women of color.
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