Mid-Year Report  //  February 2021

Thanks to a skilled and dedicated staff and volunteer team, Leadership Gwinnett has remained committed to educating, equipping, and engaging diverse leaders and inspiring civic involvement, even through the global pandemic. Through COVID-19, our team worked vigilantly to bring meaningful and engaging programming to our constituents in a safe and thoughtful way. We adapted quickly to virtual workspaces and digital platforms to perpetuate and expand our programming as seamlessly as possible.

Since the release of our 2019-2020 annual report, we are thrilled to share with you some of our major accomplishments that have been made possible through the support of our Alumni Association members, Glance Graduate Network members, donors, and volunteers. In the past few months, Leadership Gwinnett has hosted multiple virtual workshops and events including seminars on inspiring leadership in uncertain times, staying healthy as a leader, racial equity & multi-cultural competence, COVID-19 updates with the health department, meet & greets, and an all new alumni series.

Check out what we have been up to!

Our 2020-2021 Top Five

	Virtual Glance Gwinnett Our Glance Gwinnett team pulled off our first-ever virtual session of Glance Gwinnett, a three-day snapshot program designed to reveal new opportunities to participants, inspire action, and encourage civic involvement. Twenty-nine participants enjoyed virtually engaging with local movers and shakers, learning about the current needs in Gwinnett County, and expanding their networks with unique interactive experiences. The program ended with a drive-thru commencement for the new graduates to safely meet the team and grab their completion certificate and a bag of goodies.
	Leaders Advancing an Equitable Culture in Gwinnett Supported by a CARES Act grant through Gwinnett County, Leadership Gwinnett offered two, two-day virtual workshops, free and open to the public, on the topic of racial equity and multi-cultural competence. In November 2020, almost 200 participants attended our Leaders Advancing an Equitable Culture in Gwinnett workshops featuring self-reflection, interactive discussions, and the opportunity to identify personal action steps that lead to a more inclusive community.
	Leadership Gwinnett Class of 2022 Meet & Greet Due to the restrictions of the pandemic, the Board agreed to postpone the convening of the nine-month annual program to fall of 2021. In-person interactions and group experiences are essential to building trust and developing lasting relationships, and it was decided that a virtual experience may compromise the ability to achieve program goals and objectives. The Class of 2022 (previously the Class of 2021) met virtually via Zoom in December 2022 to begin establishing connections and learning more about each other. The class will officially begin with an orientation in August 2021.
	2020 the Musical: “Thank God That’s Over” COVID, politics, digital learning, murder hornets… we can all agree that 2020 was a wild ride. Our talented alums, Kristina Blum and Jody Campbell, crafted a unique singsong celebration to leave 2020 behind and celebrate the new year. 2020 the Musical focused on those moments of hope, resilience, frustration, and, sometimes, those few fleeting moments of comedy and doubled as a fundraiser to advance Leadership Gwinnett’s mission. The musical was a hit and raised $4,700 as 100 Leadership Gwinnett alumni and Glance Gwinnett graduates joined us in person at the Eagle Theatre in Sugar Hill, or virtually, to send 2020 out with a bang!
	Leadership in the Moment Leadership Gwinnett has stayed committed to the education and engagement of our alumni during the pandemic. Our team launched Leadership in the Moment, a virtual five-part alumni series, to educate participants on today’s most pressing issues and activate engagement in ways that spark deeper civic involvement. Twenty-nine LG alumni, spanning the decades, registered to hear firsthand how Gwinnett is responding to the disruption of the pandemic, to recovery efforts and to what the future will bring. The class kicked off their orientation in January 2021 and eagerly await their first learning day in mid-February.

Leadership Gwinnett’s vision is a thriving community sustained by an inclusive network of empowered leaders and our mission is to educate, equip, and engage diverse leaders and inspire civic involvement. We welcome your support and involvement as we move forward to continue our mission. If you are interested in contributing or sharing ideas, please reach out to Lisa Zaken // 770-232-8803 for more information.