Leadership Pasadena Relaunches Cohort of Community Leaders

After a virtual program last year, Leadership Pasadena (LP) has launched an in-person cohort of 23 greater Pasadena area community members for their six-month community leadership development program.

The participants come from diverse sectors and interest areas across the community to share in a personal leadership development curriculum as well as learn from pivotal local leaders advancing issues within nonprofit, business, and policy development.

The cohort includes participants from Friends in Deed, the Boys and Girls Club of Pasadena, Tournament of Roses Foundation, Collaborate PASadena, Altadena Town Council, City of Pasadena Parks & Rec, Pasadena Educational Foundation, Pasadena Fire Department, Day One, Lagerlof Law, and many other organizations and businesses across the greater Pasadena area.

Corporate sponsors include Pasadena Federal Credit Union, Office of Kathryn Barger, The Capital Group, Huntington Hospital, SoCalGas, and the Fletcher Jones Foundation.

With an emphasis on increasing impact and collaboration, Leadership Pasadena is a community classroom, counting nearly 350 graduates within their alumni network after 22 years in community leadership development. Using a unique 3-part format of strength-based leadership skill development, Pasadena immersion and networking, and small group work on community impact projects, LP sees its role as linking motivated and engaged individuals with opportunities to lead within their organizations, families, or personal pursuits.

This year’s program has incorporated more time for discussions, facilitating roundtable conversations on topics like quality of life, education, innovation & growth, and city governance & leadership. Each roundtable discussion incorporates multiple perspectives from subject experts and residents.

“We’re seeing a strong desire from our participants to talk with one another and learn together,” said Executive Director Kaya Plansker. “The model of dialogue-based learning (versus guest speakers or panels) helps to incorporate points of view and expertise more personally – changing how the entire cohort sees their accountability to the subject.”

LP has recently incorporated military veterans into their core program and launched a “Homegrown Leaders” program aimed at 18-24 year-olds to bridge the post-graduation into first professional steps gap. Their inaugural youth program last year received funding from the City of Pasadena Parks & Recreation department and certified 11 local youth from PUSD high schools, Westridge, UC San Diego, Pasadena City College, and CalState Northridge as being “community-informed” and “leadership-trained.”

“We are looking at where the need is to integrate individuals into their immediate community,” said Chair Mary Spellman. “We hope we can facilitate relationships that serve our participants for a lifetime as they continue to live and work locally.”

More information can be found at www.leadershippasadena.org