SWA Community
H
LEAD San Diego
erb Kelleher,
Southwest Airlines’
co-founder and
Chairman Emeritus,
said it best: “The business of business is
people.” This is the basis of Southwest’s exemplary culture.
Since Southwest Airlines was founded, it has approached
business from the Heart, always taking care of its employees
and customers first.
This year, Southwest Airlines and LEAD are celebrating
36 years of serving San Diego, and we share a unique
commitment to this region - we take care of our people!
I have served on their Board of Directors, graduated from their
INFLUENCE program and, thru Southwest’s commitment to
community, have been a key supporter of LEAD’s mission for
many years. It’s this engagement with LEAD that has given
Educating, connecting, and
mobilizing our region’s leaders
Betsy Brennan, the new CEO
of the Downtown San Diego
Partnership, wants to make
downtown streets more inviting.
So she asked for ideas from 30
executives assembled at the
Downtown Library. It was Day 2 of
LEAD San Diego’s INFLUENCE, a
three-day intensive course on the
region’s top issues. Hands shot
up in the auditorium, and Brennan
took note.
INFLUENCE is one of five
programs offered by LEAD. After
36 years of civic and community
leadership development in the San
Diego region, last year LEAD joined
the San Diego Regional Chamber
of Commerce as an affiliate 501 c3
- and started its new chapter.
50 GBSAN.COM | JUNE 2018
me powerful knowledge and great
connections that have helped me
help many of my community partners
and friends of Southwest. San Diego
is filled with diverse and dynamic people who make this city
a thriving community and we must provide them with the
resources they need to succeed.
On June 14, LEAD San Diego will recognize some of these
outstanding leaders who impact San Diego and Baja California
thru their civic engagement, exceptional
leadership and active participation.
I hope you will join me at the 2018 Visionary
Awards!
Lidia S. Martinez
Manager, Community Affairs &
Grassroots Southwest Airlines
Shaping the next leaders
As the nonpartisan, leadership development arm of the Chamber, LEAD offers a
diverse suite of programs designed to mobilize leaders by enhancing knowledge of
key regional issues, strengthening personal leadership skills and establishing strong
community connections.
“We have this incredible, exciting opportunity to shape our up and coming leaders
by giving them the knowledge, tools and connections they need to make real, lasting
change,” Elizabeth Fitzsimons, Vice President of Leadership & Engagement at LEAD
and the Chamber shared with Giving Back Magazine.
LEAD’s highly selective programs are tailored to address specific needs for leaders
from a variety of backgrounds and experiences, with a unified focus on key leadership
qualities, such as collaboration, communication, vision and business acumen.
A diverse suite of programs
• Advance - A course specifically designed to empower and elevate women in
the workplace.
• IMPACT San Diego - An immersive, 10-month program focusing on the issues
and industries that are part of our region’s DNA. Participants also collaborate
on a service project with a nonprofit.