Kosair Charities and Spalding University announced Thursday, Aug. 1, the creation of the Kosair Charities Leadership Development Institute, a yearlong training program for leaders of nonprofit organizations within the Kosair Charities network. The institute aims to improve and enhance already high-performing nonprofits that are dedicated to supporting children and families.
The 20 individuals who have been selected for the inaugural class of the Kosair Charities Leadership Development Institute (LDI) include executive directors and senior leadership from some of the more than 80 nonprofit organizations that have received philanthropic support from Kosair Charities. They were introduced during a press conference at the Kosair Charities College of Health and Natural Sciences Building.
Beginning in October, the inaugural Kosair Charities LDI cohort will collaborate with other leaders through a year of professional development and coaching from an array of Spalding faculty, staff and community partners in all facets of organizational development and leadership. Topics include emotional intelligence leadership, financial strategic management, fundraising, marketing and public relations, organizational culture and team-building, legal and ethical matters, and design thinking. Throughout the course, the curriculum will weave in social justice concepts.
“The nonprofits supported by Kosair Charities – and the leaders who run them – are doing incredible work to improve the lives of children and our community. We want those organizations to thrive for many years to come,” Kosair Charities President Keith Inman said. “The nonprofit sector is very important to the economic well-being of the communities they serve. This institute will help those nonprofit leaders make an even greater impact by equipping them with evidence-based tools and valuable skills that can be applied to nearly every aspect of their organizational strategy and culture.”
Inman continued: “Kosair Charities is thrilled to be partnering in this venture with Spalding, which has a mission that focuses on service and compassion and that aligns with our own mission. The university’s faculty and staff will provide great insight and coaching.”
Dr. Joanne Berryman, who recently retired as Spalding’s provost and is a former Senior Vice President for Jewish Hospital and a former CEO of Frazier Rehab Institute, will serve as the university’s Program Director for the Kosair Charities LDI. Berryman is also a certified Gallup Strengths-Based Leadership Coach and is certified by Multi-Health Systems and Genos Inc. as an Emotional Intelligence Coach. Berryman said the concepts discussed in the Kosair Charities Leadership Development Institute are similar to what one might learn in a graduate-level course.
Program highlights include:
- Participants will directly engage with cohort colleagues, professors, community leaders and peer and executive coaches for six hours per month. These interactions, along with individual and team project work, will equate to approximately 96 hours over the yearlong institute.
- Six lesson modules will be presented: Emotionally Intelligent Leadership; Strategic and Financial Leadership; Advocacy/Nonprofit Resource Development; External Affairs; Organizational Culture; and Legal, Compliance and Ethical Considerations.
- Spalding faculty and staff, including President Tori Murden McClure, multiple deans, faculty chairs, and executive staff directors, will teach in the program based on their areas of expertise.
- Final individual or group projects will be presented to the Kosair Charities Board of Directors at the conclusion of the Institute in September, 2020.
“Spalding is well-positioned as a small, compassionate university to take on a project like this and, it’s no surprise that our faculty and staff embraced the opportunity to be involved with Kosair Charities, which is a model organization in our region for philanthropy, advancing the care of children and their families,” Berryman said. “Spalding is eager to do anything we can to collaborate with the leaders of the outstanding organizations that are affiliated with Kosair Charities.”
“We believe this to be a one-of-a-kind partnership in this region between a university and a philanthropic organization to provide broad professional development for nonprofit leaders,” McClure said. “Spalding is proud to join Kosair Charities in helping support and enhance nonprofits that are doing some of our community’s most meaningful work.”
Inman said he expects the Spalding-Kosair Charities model of nonprofit leadership training will be one that others will want to replicate in years to come.
“We’re on the front end of a trend,” he said.
Inaugural class member Lee Ann Weinberg, Executive Director for Green Hill Therapy, said the type of training that the LDI will provide are greatly needed for nonprofits in our region. She said she is eager to get to share ideas with the other members of the cohort.
“I think there can be a lot of collaboration just in getting to learn from each other,” she said. “(This nonprofit institute) is a great idea, and we’re honored to be able to get this level of education without a cost to our organization. It’s a huge gift to all of us.”
Inaugural Class Roster
- Brett Bachmann, Chief Executive Officer, Heuser Hearing Institute
- Brittany Lutke, Executive Director, Kids Center for Pediatric Therapies
- Christen Byrne, Executive Director, Bluegrass Center for Autism
- Da’Marrion Fleming, Founder/President, Sowing Seeds With Faith
- Dave Christopher Sr., Founder/CEO, Amped Louisville
- Dwight Maddox Jr., Member, Kosair Charities Board of Directors
- Jennifer Helgeson, President/CEO, Boys and Girls Club of Kentuckiana
- Johnny Ware, Executive Director, Tiger Foundation
- Kelly Pullen, EVP Clinical Operations, Home of the Innocents
- Lee Ann Weinberg, Executive Director, Green Hill Therapy
- Shelley Snyder, Executive Director, Kentucky Trust for Life
- Tiffany Cole Hall, Chief Operating Officer, Volunteers of America Mid-States
- Tracie Texas Shugart, Executive Director, Louisville Metro Police Foundation
- Whitney Kilburn, Executive Director, Dorman Preschool Center
- Will Myers, President/CEO, CASA of the River Region
- Erin Gillespie, Executive Director, Spina Bifida Association of Kentucky
- D’Shawn Johnson, Executive Director, First Tee of Louisville
- Mark McCoy, Executive Director, Family Life Center
- Shelby Russell, Executive Director, Kids Cancer Alliance
- Jennifer Hancock, President/CEO Volunteers of America Mid-States