ANNUAL CONFERENCE RECAP | 2018
IGNITE Leadership Academy:
FELLOWship and Celebration
This year marks IGNITE’s fifth birthday. The program began
when a number of dedicated LeadingAge NY members who had
participated in the national LeadingAge Leadership Academy
recognized that this valuable program was needed on the state level
to inspire, nurture and empower leaders from New York’s non-profit
provider community. Their hard work helped us to develop the
IGNITE Leadership Academy. To date, the program has graduated
approximately 100 people since it was established in 2013.
Creating a Culture of Engagement
The room was abuzz with greetings and happy reunions of Leadership
Academy alumni in Saratoga Springs. They were attending a special
preconference designed specifically for graduates of the LeadingAge
New York IGNITE and LeadingAge’s Larry Minnix Leadership
Academy. Michele Holleran, founder and CEO of Holleran
Consulting LLC, Wrightsville, PA, tailored the session to enhance the
experience of the academies, providing the latest research findings
and new tools for today’s workforce. Holleran was instrumental in
developing both the state and national Leadership Academies. The
session, Creating a Culture of Engagement, reconnected the alumni
with the tenants of their Leadership Academy experience, while also
helping them think about how to foster more engaged, flexible teams
across generations of workers.
Equally as valuable was the opportunity for the alumni to reconnect
with their former classmates and network with other alumni.
One participant remarked: “What a fantastic session. It was great
connecting with fellows from other classes and catching up with my
class. It was also a fantastic session for getting everyone back into the
mindset that we learned back in 2014-15. It was great getting back on
track and I hope we can do a session like this again soon.”
The networking continued that evening at the Leadership Academy
mixer at the Parting Glass in Saratoga Springs. This annual event
provides the opportunity for former classmates to catch up and meet
alumni from other classes, in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Discussions
were already underway for future alumni events and endeavors to
offer opportunities for continuous learning and networking.
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