United Way, RRU revive Leadership Vancouver
Leadership Vancouver aims to bring leaders together, across sectors, to address a social issue in Metro Vancouver for the benefit of the entire community.
With focus comes power. The power to create change, connect a community and make a difference. It is that power United Way of the Lower Mainland and Royal Roads University are striving to facilitate through the revitalization of Leadership Vancouver.
Spanning four months, the program offers training in leadership skills, while engaging participants to work on a community-based project in Metro Vancouver.
"It's an opportunity to really gather up the potential of leaders that are already emerging in their organizations and their fields and direct some of their energy towards these broader issues that affect everyone's quality of life," says Deb Bryant, director, Strategic Priorities for United Way of the Lower Mainland and MA in Leadership and Training (now the MA Leadership program) alumna. "We are building on existing assets in the community."
The interest in Leadership Vancouver was strong when it operated between 1992 and 2007. During that time, program alumni included notable community leaders such as Leah George Wilson, co-chair of the 2010-2012 First Nations Summit, Nadir Mohamed, President & CEO Rogers Communications Inc., and Robert Safrata, CEO of Novex Delivery Solutions and member of the City of Vancouver's Greenest City Team. The program was gifted to the United Way when it became unsustainable as a volunteer-run endeavour.
The workforce continues to demand strong leaders, however, and when Deborah Irvine, United Way of the Lower Mainland chief operating officer, was asked to bring the program back to life she saw a perfect partnership with Royal Roads. The university is an expert in educating adults, and that process plays a powerful role in changing people's lives, adds Irvine, who worked at Royal Roads and is a graduate of the MA Conflict Analysis and Management program.
"United Way is really proud to be associated with Leadership Vancouver and with Royal Roads through this," she says. "Both are powerful forces in the market and we are just proud to have the program back up and running."
Featuring a new curriculum, the re-launched Leadership Vancouver is focused on civic engagement, and aims to offer insight into social challenges in Metro Vancouver. The cohort will be asked to focus on a community project, bringing about solutions and ideas collectively to address it.
"You can see the power in that," Irvine says. "It's the power of many working towards something. If we can get a whole cohort working on something, that impact can be felt."
The program will be facilitated by associate 
faculty members from the Centre for Applied Leadership and Management at Royal Roads. Beth Page and Shauna Fenwick are experienced in leadership theory, community engagement, structured dialogue and action research. Classes will be held at The Ismaili Centre in Burnaby from April to July.
Leadership Vancouver is strengthened by the diversity of its participants, and the organizers are hoping to attract a diverse group of participants from the business, government, non-profit and labour sector.
"That's intentional because often those sectors work in isolation from each other," Bryant says. "We are looking for people who have a commitment and enthusiasm about making positive change in their organization and their communities, and want to turn their talents towards that."
Zoe MacLeod, director of the Centre for Applied Leadership and Management at RRU, says the collaboration between United Way and RRU, in itself, demonstrates what is possible when different kinds of expertise come together.
"It is vital that we build healthy and sustainable communities together, as that's where the challenges of the future will be solved," MacLeod says. "Working with United Way to revitalize Leadership Vancouver is an example of how strong and vibrant leadership can grow to embrace an entire community."
United Way Leadership Vancouver is open to 40 participants. Those who complete the program will be eligible to apply for academic credit toward Royal Roads' Graduate Certificate in Leadership and Management.
Leadership Vancouver runs on select dates from April 2 to July 13. The registration deadline is March 1.
Written by Amy Dove (amy.dove@royalroads.ca)
Posted Jan. 10, 2012
