FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 22, 2009
Contact: Samantha DePoy-Warren, ICL Marketing and Communications Manager
Engaging young leaders in civic work to be focus of Portland gathering
Hundreds of Maine leaders of all ages will come together on Thursday for the Institute for Civic Leadership’s LeaderSHIFT event
PORTLAND– More than 250 leaders from the state’s public, private and nonprofit sectors will gather next week in Portland to consider how to better engage Mainers under the age of 35 in civic work.
The conversation will be held at LeaderSHIFT, the Institute for Civic Leadership’s (ICL) annual gathering to be held next Thursday, Oct. 29 at the Ocean Gateway Terminal.
ICL, a Portland-based nonprofit, became concerned with the challenge of engaging young leaders after hearing a statistic that said nationally, only six percent of board members are 35 or younger, a troubling figure especially given that Maine has the oldest population in the country.
The gathering, which seeks to bring together leaders of all ages, will feature speeches from young leaders in the state who are innovative, entrepreneurial and collaborative including Hannah Pingree, Maine's Speaker of the House; Will Smith, Associate Dean at Bowdoin College and Co-Director of the Seeds of Peace Camp; and Fortunat Mueller, Principal with ReVision Energy.
In addition to sharing the story of their personal development as leaders and putting into context the need for young people to be better engaged in civic work to move Maine forward, the three speakers will also be introducing best practices currently effectively engaging emerging leaders.
The best practices, which will be presented by the young leaders who help to organize them, include:
- Portland Museum of Art Contemporaries, a vibrant group of arts enthusiasts ages 25-45 who enjoy a lively mix of engaging programs and hip social events that foster greater appreciation of the Portland Museum of Art, born from the museum’s need to better engage young donors;
-Portland Greendrinks, an informal, volunteer-managed social networking group built around a common interest in the natural environment that brings hundreds of people together at a different business in the Greater Portland area each month;
-and the Woodard & Curran Leadership Development Program, a training program that proactively prepares their junior staff for future management and leadership roles within the company and community.
In addition to the formal program, food, drink and inter-generational dialogue fostered by a guided networking activity, ICL will also be showing a short video that outlines the challenges and opportunities of bringing emerging and incumbent leaders together to advance business and community work.
The video includes commentary from leaders of all ages, including Tarren Bragdon, Director of the Maine Heritage Policy Center and former member of Maine House of Representatives (1996-2000); Nan Cumming, Executive Director of Portland Trails; Scott Schnapp, Executive Director of the Maine Association of Nonprofits; Maureen Keeley, Board Matching Manager for the Institute for Civic Leadership; Cori Kahn, Senior Associate Director of Philanthropy for the Nature Conservancy in Maine; Jenna Vendil, Field Director for the Maine League of Young Voters and candidate for Portland School Committee; Johann Sabbath, Director of Entreverge and board member of Realize!Maine and Portland PROPEL; Rob Brown, Executive Director of Opportunity Maine; Ed Anderson, Human Resources Manager and Board Member of the Institute for
Civic Leadership and the Portland Boys and Girls Club; and Peter Fendler, President of Norton Financial Services.
The evening will end with a call to action to all attendees to find ways to foster better collaboration between emerging and experienced leaders and the announcement of a long-term initiative led by ICL and seed-funded by Norton Insurance and Financial Services for training, mentor-matching, connecting and supporting emerging leaders in community work.
“Too many times, we see the boards of nonprofit organizations do not truly reflect the very population that organization serves. The intent of this event and the initiative it will kick-off is to disprove assumptions different generations make about the others and to show the value in having a diversity of voices at the tables where decisions are made,” said Steve Schuit, ICL’s Executive Director. “Young professionals are energized, educated and eager to be engaged in their communities like never before, and more experienced leaders need to recognize that, and be better willing to teach and learn from them.”
ICL’s Annual Gathering “LeaderSHIFT” will be held at the Portland waterfront’s Ocean Gateway Terminal from 5 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 29. Registration and guided networking will be held from 5 to 6 p.m., with the formal program beginning at 6 p.m.
Registration is $50 per person –including hor d’oeurvres– and is open to the public. For more information or to register, contact Shawn Hunt at the Institute for Civic Leadership at 773-3254 (extension 100) or shunt@civicleadership.org. Scholarships are also available.
ABOUT THE INSTITUTE FOR CIVIC LEADERSHIP- The Institute for Civic Leadership (ICL) was founded in 1993 to build Maine’s civic capacity by training, supporting, engaging and convening a growing network of skilled leaders. In 2006 ICL merged with The Board Network, an organization founded in 1999 to build stronger nonprofit boards of directors in Maine. ICL brings innovative and inclusive models of leadership to Maine’s communities and organizations by providing a broad range of civic leadership offerings, as well as programs specific to nonprofit boards. At the Institute for Civic Leadership we are committed to opening doors, building new relationships, and inspiring leaders. We move Maine forward. For more information, contact 773-3254 (extension 100) or visit www.civicleadership.org.
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