March 3, 2014
United Way Announces New Leadership Education Program
A leadership education program designed to prepare the next generation of non-profit and community leaders has been launched by the Tulsa Area United Way.
The program, titled “neXtulsa”, was developed in response to an anticipated leadership vacuum in the non-profit sector in the coming years, said Sharon Gallagher, director of community collaborations at the Tulsa Area United Way.
“We conducted extensive research that revealed a significant number of executive directors of Tulsa area non-profit organizations are planning to retire in the next three to five years,” Gallagher said. “We want to ensure that our non-profit sector has strong leadership to serve the coming generations.”
The new program is a collaboration between the United Way and the University of Oklahoma – Tulsa.
“neXtulsa” recently announced its first class of 13 participants following a stringent nomination and selection process, she said. Participants were selected by a committee of United Way board members and other community leaders.
The first class of participants includes Alisa Bell, executive director, J.A.M.E.S. Inc.; Karen Blum, community volunteer; Candice Fuqua, director of operations, The Parent Child Center of Tulsa; Kimberlie Gilliland, executive director of institutional advancement, Bacone College; David Grewe, assistant director/clinical director, Youth Services of Tulsa; Steve Hahn, program manager, The Parent Child Center; Kate Neary-Pounds, regional development director, Planned Parenthood of the Heartland; Patrice Pratt, manager, A Way Home for Tulsa, Community Service Council; Kathy Seibold, vice president, community investments, Tulsa Area United Way; Mara Tshibaka, development manager, Tulsa Ballet; Justice Waidner Smith, director of human resources, co-director of Inclusion Institute, YWCA Tulsa; Deric Williams, program director, Camp Fire of Green Country; and ShagahZakerion, executive director, Tulsa Young Professionals (TyPros).
“We are planning an intensive 10-month training, coaching and experiential program that will result in ready-to-step-up candidates for leadership roles at non-profit organizations,” she said.
The program includes eight day-long sessions, including an orientation on March 20.
The curriculum will focus on traits of highly effective leaders, management and communication skills, emotional intelligence, ethics, thinking patterns, creative problem solving, team building and collaborations, stakeholder relationships, and finance and budgeting.
Adjunct faculty for the program, who are well-known leaders in the non-profit sector across the U.S., will be provided by United Way Worldwide. Faculty members will visit Tulsa to administer the program, teaching classes on-site.
Participants also will be assigned a nationally recognized non-profit executive mentor, who will coach them throughout the year online and by phone, Gallagher said.
For more information on the program, visit or contact Gallagher at 918-295-6620 or Dr. Chan Hellman at OU-Tulsa at 918-660-3483.
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