Leadership Pioneer Valley
While working in Washington DC, Longmeadow resident David Woods learned about Leadership Washington, an organization dedicated to mentoring future leaders. “My exposure to Leadership Washington allowed me to identify that we had the same need here in western Massachusetts,” said David.
One of the first people he talked with was Suzanne Beck, where he learned that the Northampton Chamber and the United Way of Hampshire County had recently partnered to create a pilot program called Leadership Hampshire County: twenty leaders poised to explore what was needed in the next generation of local leaders.
As a result, Leadership Pioneer Valley combined best practices from this pilot program with other regional leadership programs from around the country and created its leader development program for western Massachusetts
“My first challenge, in 2009, was to develop a diverse board that represented the region. Once that was in place, we needed to find the right person to lead this effort,” said David. “We knew within five minutes of our interview that Lora [Wondolowski] was the one to do that.”
After ten years, and hundreds of leadership graduates, “we are looking at how to build capacity so that we can continue to meet the needs of the communities we serve,” said Lora. “More and more, organizations are asking us to provide them with a single aspect of our program. For instance, how to diversify and engage their board.”
The Pioneer Valley is undergoing huge generational shifts and transitions. Leadership Pioneer Valley is playing a critical role in facilitating these transitions by supporting leaders.
Lora said, “We hand over 30-35 people every year to the community. As a grassroots worker, I was taught that my job was to replace myself. That’s what we are doing. It’s incredibly satisfying to see what our graduates are doing across the region. “
Click below to learn about other transition pairs featured at Torch.
