Leadership Fresno is one of the Chamber’s most prominent programs and is unlike any other course of its kind. It was founded in 1984 to enhance the skills, resources and civic involvement of business leaders in the community.
Each year, a new, elite group of Fresnans is selected to participate in the class. The program begins in August with an immersive two-day retreat, followed by day-long seminars each month. Additionally, it is incumbent upon the class members to determine a project that will have an effect on the community for a significant way – an endeavor that each participant must be integrally involved in.
Graduates of Leadership Fresno have advanced to hold leadership positions in a variety of organizations; they have been elected to political office – including past mayor, Ashley Swearengin and Assemblyman Jim Patterson; and many have found their participation in the program to have positively affected their professional lives. Each class also has a special attachment to the program, a fact often evidenced by the frequently repeated phrase, “My class was the best class ever!”
The goals of the program are:
- To identify and prepare potential and current leaders from all areas of the community for leadership roles throughout the greater Fresno area.
- To provide a broad overview of the issues, challenges and opportunities facing our city, county and the greater community.
- To promote access to and dialogue with community leaders.
- To stimulate increased participation and commitment in the community.
Sessions include:
- Agribusiness
- Arts & Culture
- Criminal Justice
- Education
- Fresno: Then & Now
- Health Care
- Human Services
- Planning and the Environment
- Politics and Media
For more information on Leadership Fresno, visit www.fresnochamber.com/leadership-fresno.