Another Big Fall Season for Leadership Austin

A message from 2013-14 Leadership Austin Board Chair Brian Dolezal (ESSENTIAL 2001).
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Outside, it’s finally beginning to feel like fall - well, Austin’s version of it - but inside Leadership Austin, the season is heating up. This is Leadership Austin’s busiest time of year and for good reason: we've kicked off all four of our programs in the past six weeks, and, as you might imagine, there is a lot of terrific, behind-the-scenes work that goes into them thanks to professional staff members and committed board members and volunteers. Here’s a brief update:

ESSENTIAL
The 60-member ESSENTIAL Class participated in a stellar opening retreat September 6-7 at T Bar M Resort in New Braunfels. Thanks to the leadership of Ashley Phillips, Christopher Kennedy (ESSENTIAL 1995), Sam Planta (ESSENTIAL 1991) and a number of CREW volunteers, the kick-off event to this in-depth, nine-month course on regional issues and leadership skills was spectacular, and their first class at Shoal Crossing was equally impressive. You can view the current class roster here. A big thanks, once again, to Seton Healthcare Family for underwriting the ESSENTIAL Class for the sixth consecutive year. Thanks also to H-E-B for their ongoing support of our Healthy Living for Leaders initiative throughout the season.

ENGAGE
Led by Julie Smith (EMERGE 2011), we've gathered a diverse group of community leaders who have been very active in the ENGAGE Breakfast Series to gain their insight on topics and speakers for this season's programs. The 2013-14 series began earlier this month at the Kodosky Lounge - thanks to our partnership with the Long Center for the Performing Arts - with a topic that’s on everyone’s mind: water. Once again, KXAN News is on board to help promote and facilitate our conversations. And, as you may have recently seen, the Austin Board of REALTORS® is our new presenting sponsor. Our next ENGAGE breakfast about the growing international community in Austin is Wednesday, November 6. Be sure to register now because they sell out fast.

EXPERIENCE AUSTIN
A new group of new Central Texans (or those who are newly re-engaging with Austin) are now gaining a crash course in the region’s issues through EXPERIENCE AUSTIN, which launched Friday, October 18. Presented by Bank of America, the program began with a daylong session to give participants a broad overview of our region’s key issues, and will continue with four weeks of deeper-dive conversations with experts on a variety of topics.

EMERGE
Our next class of 55 emerging leaders (check out the roster here) are now participating in the 7th annual EMERGE program. Thanks to underwriting from St. David’s Foundation, the six-week course at Jackson Walker is in full swing. We're so thrilled to welcome this and previous classes into our alumni network, now about 3,500 members strong… fitting since this is Leadership Austin’s 35th anniversary!

…and that’s just the programs. Additionally, we've begun the formal search process for Leadership Austin’s next CEO and for a new development director. Despite officially being down two positions, our team, facilitated by Seth Sather, is doing a phenomenal job raising the critical funds to keep our programs so essential, engaging, experienced and emerging for our community. There are still plenty of ways to lend your individual or organization’s financial support to Leadership Austin, so feel free to contact me or our interim CEO Christopher Kennedy to discuss the possibilities.

Furthermore, our active board is having some productive conversations on everything from celebrating our 35th anniversary to making our programs even more effective for all of our alumni. Thanks to Jeff Olmeda for keeping us moving forward at a critical time for the organization.

Last but not least, make sure you get these important milestones on your calendar now: our annual alumni holiday party is Tuesday, December 10 at Shoal Crossing (Mopac just north of Steck, where Harold’s Outlet Barn used to be) and the Best Party Ever - presented by H-E-B - is scheduled for Friday, May 9 (not the same weekend as the ROT Rally!) back at the W Hotel.

So yes, it’s a busy fall around here. And as you enjoy a crisp morning and mild afternoon, we hope you’ll take a moment to recall your experiences with Leadership Austin, and perhaps schedule a Walk and Talk with a fellow leader.

With much appreciation to everyone who helps lead this great community,

Brian Dolezal
Chair, Leadership Austin Board of Directors

Sunday morning at KXAN

This past Sunday I had the opportunity to be a featured guest on KXAN News Today with Brian Sanders. Brian kindly invited me to come on his show to discuss all of the exciting program launches at Leadership Austin this fall. An alumnus of our Experience Austin program, Brian has seen first-hand what the program can do to help orient newcomers and longtime Austinites to the hot issues in our community. Keeping up with what is most timely and relevant can be a challenge for anyone, but as it’s their job in the news industry I'm grateful that Experience Austin was beneficial to Brian and the other KXAN anchors and staffers who have come through the program for that very reason.

I’ve done television interviews before, but this was the first time it was LIVE, which made a difference in my approach and also in the nervous factor! I'm grateful to our marketing consultants at RealSparx and board member Jenna Oltersdorf from Snackbox who gave me some super media training on the fly.

Watch the video on the KXAN website

I knew that “staying on message"  would be important - and also challenging - since there's so much happening at Leadership Austin this fall and so many of our programs are rolling out over the course of the next four weeks. But the one consistent message that runs throughout everything we do is always clear: Leadership Austin is here to connect you directly with the issues, skills, and relationships you need make a difference in the community and to turn your passion into action.

I arrived at the station early on Sunday morning, and Brian and his team were busy working away. I was really impressed with their lean and highly professional production. The cues were spot-on, the equipment was state-of-the-art, and the set was professional and impressive. It was fun working behind the scenes watching their second by second operation - so very clearly fine-tuned.

On set in the KXAN studio

Brian was very reassuring just before going on air. He simply told me to ignore the camera, pretend like it wasn't there and just talk directly to him. The fact that he is such a personable guy and credible anchor made that easy. The four minute interview flew by... and for a few minutes afterwards I had absolutely no recollection of what I actually said! I was quickly reassured by he and the team that it was exactly what they needed, so I cheerfully went on about my Sunday.

Leadership Austin is so grateful and proud to have KXAN as a partner again this year, helping to moderate our Engage Breakfast Series and spread the word about important community issues and ways that interested citizens can get involved. Thank you to Brian and KXAN!