Leadership Gwinnett's Community Impact
Leadership Gwinnett has spent more than four decades building Gwinnett County's leadership capacity, one class, one connection, one community at a time.
Leadership Gwinnett is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit that educates, equips, and engages leaders to serve Gwinnett County, Georgia. For more than 40 years, our programs have prepared people to serve on boards, lead nonprofits, run businesses, teach in classrooms, and hold public office across the county. More than 2,400 Program Graduates carry that work forward today.
Our impact shows up in what Program Graduates do with the rest of their careers.
How Leadership Gwinnett Creates Community Impact
Leadership Gwinnett creates community impact by giving the people who shape Gwinnett County an honest, behind-the-scenes education in how their community actually works, and then connecting them to each other and to the people making decisions. The result is a county where the person who understands a problem usually knows the person who can do something about it.
That happens three ways:
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We educate leaders on the real Gwinnett. Our participants walk through the county's justice system, hospitals, schools, and infrastructure in person. They sit with the superintendent, the sheriff, the hospital executive, the small business owner, and the nonprofit director who are living those issues daily.
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We equip leaders to act on what they learn. Context becomes useful when someone knows what to do with it. Our programs pair county immersion with leadership development, so Program Graduates leave with both the context and the capability to contribute.
- We engage leaders for the long term. Graduation opens the door to The Network, our membership community for Program Graduates. Members keep learning together, serving together, and opening doors for one another, sometimes decades after their class year.
This is what people in Gwinnett call Gwinnett Glue®: the web of trust that lets a school administrator call a county commissioner, or a banker call a nonprofit director, and get a real answer the same day. It takes decades to build, and it is the thing our Program Graduates tell us they value most.
Our Impact by the Numbers
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Program Graduates |
2,400+ |
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Graduated Leadership Gwinnett classes |
40 |
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Graduated Glance Gwinnett® classes |
35 |
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Years serving Gwinnett County |
More than 40 |
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Volunteers each program year |
200+ |
More than 200 volunteers make each program year possible
Leadership Gwinnett runs on donated time. Nearly every volunteer is a Program Graduate who came back to build the experience for the next class, serving on Learning Day committees, hosting sessions, mentoring participants, and running Network programming.
More than half of the most recent graduating class returns to serve on committees supporting the incoming class. That is the clearest evidence we have that the experience is worth what it asks of people.
What Leadership Gwinnett Alumni Do Next
In 2018, Deloitte conducted an independent survey of Leadership Gwinnett Alumni, the people who complete our nine-month program. The findings below reflect the responses of that group.
Leadership capability
- 98% consider themselves effective leaders.
- 94% consider themselves effective community builders.
- 77% have served on a board or committee.
Community knowledge and connection
- 100% report being more knowledgeable about Gwinnett County.
- 100% report a deeper understanding of the unique issues facing the community.
- 90% report being more connected to Gwinnett's decision makers and civic leaders.
Leadership Gwinnett Alumni are more likely than their peers to serve in community leadership roles, and they give their time, talent, and financial support to local causes across the county.
Leadership Gwinnett
Glance Gwinnett
Volunteer Involvement
- 160 who implement the Leadership Gwinnett program
- 40 who implement four Glance Gwinnett programs
- 50 who implement alumni programs
Community Reinvestment
of alumni consider themselves to be effective leaders
of alumni consider themselves to be effective community builders
of alumni have served on a committee
Community Engagement
of alumni are more knowledgeable about Gwinnett
of alumni are more knowledgeable about unique issues in our community
of alumni are more connected to Gwinnett's decision makers and leaders
Data retrieved by Deloitte "Leadership Gwinnett Alumni Survey" 2018
Where You'll Find Our Program Graduates
Program Graduates lead in every sector that keeps Gwinnett County running. They serve as city council members and county department directors, school principals and district administrators, hospital and health system executives, public safety leaders, college and university administrators, bank presidents and business owners, and nonprofit executive directors.
They sit on the boards, in the council chambers, and at the leadership tables where Gwinnett County's decisions get made. That is the outcome our programs exist to produce.
Two Ways to Get Involved
Impact starts with people deciding to show up. There are two doors:
- Leadership Gwinnett is our nine-month signature program for established leaders who are ready to understand the county in depth and to put that understanding to work.
- Glance Gwinnett® is a 2.5-day immersive introduction to the county, open to anyone who wants a more active role in the community. Newcomers, long-time residents, professionals at any career stage, and retirees all belong here.
Program Graduates join The Network, where the relationships built during the program continue for the rest of a career.
Why Four Decades Matters
Leadership Gwinnett began in a county that was growing faster than its leadership bench, and it has been building that bench ever since.
Forty years is the reason a Program Graduate from the Class of 1992 and one from the Class of 2026 sit on the same nonprofit board. It is the reason a Program Graduate can find a counterpart in nearly every institution that shapes this county. Depth like that is a function of time, and it accumulates one class at a time.
Be Part of What Comes Next
Community impact in Gwinnett belongs to the people who show up. Here is how to join the work.
Nominate a leader, or step forward yourself
If you are an established leader ready to serve Gwinnett County at a deeper level, or you know someone who is, our signature program is where that starts.
Start with Glance Gwinnett
Looking for a shorter way in? Glance Gwinnett gives you the county in 2.5 days, offered twice a year.
Sponsor our programs, strengthen the county
Corporate sponsors and individual donors fund the scholarships that keep our programs accessible to nonprofit leaders, educators, public servants, and small business owners. Every scholarship is a leader Gwinnett County gets to keep.
Already a Program Graduate? Reconnect with us.
The Network keeps 2,400+ Program Graduates connected through year-round programming, and more than 200 volunteers build the experience for the next class.
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What impact has Leadership Gwinnett had on Gwinnett County?
Leadership Gwinnett has graduated more than 2,400 Program Graduates across 75 classes in more than 40 years of serving Gwinnett County, Georgia. In a 2018 Deloitte survey of Leadership Gwinnett Alumni, 98% considered themselves effective leaders, 94% considered themselves effective community builders, and 77% had served on a board or committee. All surveyed Leadership Gwinnett Alumni reported greater knowledge of Gwinnett County and its issues, and 90% reported stronger connections to the county’s decision makers. More than 200 volunteers sustain the organization each program year, nearly all of them Program Graduates returning to build the program for the next class.
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How many individuals have graduated from a Leadership Gwinnett program?
More than 2,400 people have completed a Leadership Gwinnett program, across 40 graduated classes of the nine-month Leadership Gwinnett program and 35 graduated classes of Glance Gwinnett®. All of them are part of The Network.
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What do Program Graduates go on to do?
Program Graduates serve across every sector of Gwinnett County: county and municipal government, public education, healthcare, business, public safety, higher education, and the nonprofit sector. In a 2018 Deloitte survey of Leadership Gwinnett Alumni, 77% reported having served on a board or committee and 94% considered themselves effective community builders. Many return to Leadership Gwinnett itself, where more than 200 volunteers run the organization’s programs each year.
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Does community leadership training actually make a difference?
Independent survey data suggests it does. In a 2018 Deloitte survey of Leadership Gwinnett Alumni, 100% reported greater knowledge of their county and its specific challenges, 90% reported stronger connections to local decision makers, and 77% had gone on to serve on a board or committee. More than half of each graduating class volunteers to help run the program for the class that follows.
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Who runs Leadership Gwinnett's programs?
Four full-time employees and more than 200 volunteers run Leadership Gwinnett’s programs each year. Nearly all of those volunteers are Leadership Gwinnett Alumni or Glance Gwinnett Graduates. They serve on Learning Day committees, host sessions, mentor participants, and run Network programming. Leadership Gwinnett has operated as an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit since 2012.
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How can I support Leadership Gwinnett's work in the community?
You can nominate a leader for an upcoming class, partner with the program as a business, donate to the scholarship fund that keeps our programs accessible, or volunteer. Program Graduates can also stay engaged through The Network, which connects 2,400+ people through year-round programming.
Data current as of September 2026. Percentages are drawn from the Deloitte “Leadership Gwinnett Alumni Survey,” 2018.
