It has been an exciting 3 months since the start of our fourth annual NLC Institute, the flagship program of the San Diego Leadership Alliance. This year’s Fellows come from a variety of backgrounds and careers including non-profit, business and government. Click the link below to read more about our 18 talented Fellows.

So far this year, the Institute has been privileged to hear from a number of key figures in San Diego on a range of skills and topics. In January, trainers from NLC National helped us kick-off our Institute and the Fellows developed their entrepreneur leadership plans. These two days of intensive training help our Fellows identify and plan for a set of life-long career and personal goals.

We are also excited to have hosted, as part of our Lunch Speaker Series:

• San Diego Mayor Bob Filner,
• Council President Todd Gloria,
• Councilmember David Alvarez,
• attorney and President of NAACP San Diego Lei-Chala Wilson, and
• Executive Director of Run Women Run Francine Busby.

Each lunch speaker shared his or her entrepreneurial life journey and provided inspiring guidance for our class of Fellows.

We want to thank the faculty who volunteered time out of their weekends to teach a variety of skills during the first half of the 2013 Institute. Whether is was Evan McLaughlin, Political and Legislative Director of the San Diego and Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL-CIO, teaching about the political landscape through explaining how pizza becomes a vegetable, or Lenise Andrade, Director of Development at WiLDCOAST, demystifying fundraising and board development, while Jamie Ortiz at JO Communications gave the Fellows the rundown on organization communications and crisis management.   These dedicated members of the San Diego community make the NLC Institute possible.

In the coming months, our Fellows will put many of the skills they have learned in the institute – communications, fundraising, grassroots organizing – into action as they host the annual Fellow’s Fundraiser.  I hope you will join us for that event to support this year’s Fellows’ class and our future Institutes. Details will follow in the coming weeks.

Thank you for your support of the San Diego Leadership Alliance and the NLC Institute as we work to develop the next generation of progressive leaders here in San Diego.

Jeremy Addis-Mills
NLC Institute Co-Chair, 2012 and 2013