Opening Day, September 2022. Rob Strong Photo.
Leadership Upper Valley, which since 2007 has helped hundreds of Upper Valley residents acquire greater impact and confidence as community changemakers, is getting ready to graduate its current class while recruiting next year’s class.
A Vital Communities program, LUV brings Upper Valley residents together once a month over a 10-month period to offer insights, relationships, and examples of service they need to make a difference in the Upper Valley. Participants come away from the program with knowledge of Upper Valley issues, opportunities, people, lifestyles, and trends, an expanded network of community leaders and partners, and motivation and experience to provide service within the Upper Valley community.
Vital Communities seeks classes of up to 30 participants from a wide range of backgrounds and roles in the Upper Valley: people currently or formerly associated with corporations, nonprofits, small and private businesses, schools, and municipalities – anyone who wants to learn about the Upper Valley and how they might make a difference. The application deadline is June 16. To learn more and apply, go to https://vitalcommunities.org/leadership-upper-valley/.
Leadership Upper Valey Arts Day 2022 at Junction Arts & Media (JAM)
“Leadership Upper Valley has been an incredibly fulfilling experience,” wrote Rebecca Desilets, assistant director of human services for the City of Lebanon. “I have loved this region ever since I decided to lay my roots here, and the LUV journey has deepened my fondness for the Upper Valley. I have connected with interesting and inspirational people. Always seeking to improve the program, the organizers are sensitive and thoughtful. I am grateful to have had this opportunity and would recommend it to anyone who, like me, loves this place we call home.”
“The Leadership Upper Valley program connects participants with a sense of place and community,” wrote Stacey Chiocchio, Corporate Citizenship Manager for Hypertherm and an LUV graduate and member of the LUV Advisory Board. “I am so impressed with the continuous improvement lens with which the program is transformed to stay engaging and relevant.”
LUV at Claremont Makerspace, January 2023. Photo by Rob Strong.
Each month’s day-long session is devoted to a different session topic focused on the Upper Valley including Health & Human Services, Education, Arts, Economy, Justice, Government and Politics, Transportation and Livable Communities, and the Environment. Sessions are held in different relevant locations throughout the Upper Valley to give a better sense of our region and may involve a tour, hands-on interaction, speakers, discussions, or other activities.
The 10 sessions in the 2022-23 year have been mostly in person with the exception of two interactive, online sessions. All the session offered participants the chance to get to know each other and to hear from outstanding Upper Valley changemakers. A few highlights were a walking tour of West Lebanon, a simulated Town Meeting, an educator-led panel on the support young people need from their schools, and a ride on one of Advanced Transit’s new electric buses.
The Class of 2023 will graduate on Wednesday, June 14, at the Vermont Institute for Natural Science in Quechee.
Published May 22, 2023