LeadingAge New York Adviser Adviser LeadingAge NewYork Spring 2019 final | Page 19
IGNITE Leadership Academy:
FELLOWship and Celebration
Old friends happily greeted each other, and new connections were made at a special pre-conference designed
specifically for graduates of IGNITE and the national LeadingAge Larry Minnix Leadership Academy. Wendy
Green, managing vice president of leadership development, LeadingAge, Washington, DC, and Kelly Papa, vice
president, strategy and community life, Duncaster, Bloomfield, CT, facilitated the session. Wendy oversees the
national LeadingAge Larry Minnix Leadership Academy, and Kelly is a graduate of the Larry Minnix Leadership
Academy as well as a facilitator for LeadingAge Connecticut’s Leadership Academy program. The diverse
group of participants included alumni from each year of the IGNITE program as well as alumni from
various classes of the national program. LeadingAge NY is appreciative of the support of Aging in
America, which enabled us to offer the program free of charge to the participants.
The session, entitled Transitions in Leadership, reconnected alumni with the tenets of their
Leadership Academy experience while focusing on the challenges in transitions that are
inherent in leadership. It was clear that the participants enjoyed the presenters and
the content, but equally as valuable was the opportunity for alumni to reconnect
with their former classmates and network with other alumni. One participant
remarked, “It was wonderful to connect and reconnect with everyone and to be reminded
of the concepts that bind us together.”
The networking continued that evening at the Leadership Academy mixer at the Parting Glass in
Saratoga. This annual event provides the opportunity for former classmates to catch up and meet
other alumni from other state and national class years in a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Later that week, the
2018-19 IGNITE Leadership Academy graduation ceremony highlighted the accomplishments of this year’s
class, comprised of 21 smart, talented leaders from member organizations across the state who are deeply
committed to the field. During the graduation ceremony, Michael N. Rosenblut, president and CEO of Parker
Jewish Institute for Health Care and Rehabilitation and chairman of the LeadingAge NY Board of Directors,
congratulated them on all their accomplishments and wished them much success in the future.
Each of the 21 fellows in this year’s class took on an “action learning project,” putting the learning from the
program into action to address a need within their organization. This is a great way for fellows to give
back to the organizations that invested in them by sending them to the program. A summary of their
projects can be found here. The projects offer great ideas that will be beneficial to the field and
can be replicated in other member organizations.
The IGNITE program began when some 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, and the program has graduated
approximately 120 people since it was established in 2013.
IGNITE is a yearlong professional development program designed to facilitate the development
and growth of senior living leaders in the state. The experience provides participants with the tools
they will need to be outstanding leaders in their organizations. It differs from an MBA-type program
in that its focus is on teaching participants how their own thinking and values are key components to
developing their own qualities of leadership. In addition, participants acquire the tools to help them work with
teams, build successful teams and collaborate.
Only members of LeadingAge NY provider member organizations may apply for the program. The application
for the 2020-21 class will be available in the spring of 2020. For more information about the program,
click here. Anyone with questions about IGNITE Leadership Academy can contact Diane Darbyshire at
[email protected] or 518-867-8828.
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