Leadership Academy Class of 2022 Graduates at Institute

Posted on February 16, 2023 by Barbara Landeen

The 2022 Class of Leadership Academy fellows officially graduated at the Institute & Expo on Thursday, Feb. 9. Forty-five leaders completed the year-long program, along with eight supportive volunteer coaches.

The group was honored on stage by LeadingAge Minnesota Board Chair Barbara Klick. “This is the next generation of transformational leaders in our field,” she said during the event. “They serve as catalysts and champions to deliver on our mission – to enhance and transform the experience of aging. I am proud of these leaders who represent what is so promising about the future of aging services.”

The cohort nominated two of their classmates to speak about the experience at the graduation ceremony.

“This was not an experience where one would just sit for a few hours and go home without gleaning any knowledge,” said Danette Billups, Resident Services Director at Ebenezer Park Apartments in Minneapolis. “It was active and busy… in positive ways. We learned about our own leadership styles and strengths. We learned our areas of challenge and how to overcome those challenges. We even learned about potential challenges that could arise and how to navigate through those challenges.”

About his leadership journey, Gradylee Shapiro Zimmer, Housing Director at Episcopal Homes of Minnesota Cornelia House, shared, “Leadership Academy is a genuinely unexpected journey. We were asked to take risks and work outside of our comfort zone. As the year chugged along, I started to notice a change in my confidence. I wasn’t in the passenger seat as often; I was taking my turn behind the wheel. Leadership Academy encouraged me to build my risk tolerance. I discovered that allowing space to fail was also leaving space to succeed.”

Leadership fellows learn and apply ideas, tools, principles, and theories to strengthen their leadership and foster an organizational culture to lead effectively.

Congratulations to this year’s graduates, the largest class in the program’s 14-year history, bringing the number of alums to over 400.

Applications are open until March 7 for the 2023 program, which begins on April 26. Details and applications can be found here.