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November 2016
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Looking back at the past, and looking forward to the future!
Looking back at the past, and looking forward to the future!
Published: November 18, 2016
Author: Pooja Rudra, Emerging Leader Member
"Be authentic, be a servant-leader, and remember to have fun", said David Lewis, President of United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley when asked by one of the Emerging Leaders "what are the three most important attributes you look for in a young leader?", at our Fireside chat on Wednesday, November 16th, 2016. Another day, another unique opportunity for Emerging Leaders to interact with and learn from a community leader who has made a career out of leading by example.
One thing that struck me about David was how well he embraced change over the years. He spoke of growing up in a small town, with no diversity, to going to Rutgers and being immersed in diversity, and seeing the value of it in a community. He spoke of United Way's mission and how it evolved over time to become more targeted, more impactful and more effective, with continuously assessing community progress and changing strategies based on metrics and research. His career at United Way demonstrates a willingness to take a detour to his goal - he started out in Allocations, which he ruefully admitted was not the perfect role for his personality, because he is results-driven and fund allocations take 8-10 years to show results, as opposed to where he found a natural segway, in fundraising!
David shared some insight into large-scale/global initiatives for the issues United Way worldwide has recognized as pandemics that must be addressed - human trafficking, for example. He also explained how United Way GLV compares to other chapters, and with a sense of well-earned pride, he admitted that our local United Way is often held up as a standard to other chapters.
Going back to diversity, another question we pondered was how to address local needs in a country/community with a growing population of immigrants who have come to this country/community for a better life, who may be from developing countries, and may have seen far greater poverty and need in their own countries. We heard the story of Sean Linder's parents (Sean, as you all know, is the Co-Chair of United Way's Emerging Leaders), who adopted two girls from Bulgaria and Kazakhstan respectively, who had spent their first few years living in derelict and dangerous circumstances. We realized that a child in need we positively impact here, could have a future impact on a child in need from any corner of the world, that change begins at home and with, as David said, "building equity" in our own community for our families' future. He also encouraged us to go through a community impact experience, and promised to get something set up for us in the near future.
On a lighter note, David showed his quirky sense of humor, pulling out an old-school tobacco pipe and posing for pictures!! We had several other hilarious moments that had us cracking up at the things he said, but what happens at Chess and Checkers Restaurant, stays at Chess and Checkers Restaurant. You'll just have to come to our next event to witness our shenanigans!! ; )
On behalf of all the Emerging Leaders, I also want to extend a warm welcome to our (hopefully) new members Matthew and Laurel, who spent the evening with us. We'd love to have you join this amazing crew and look forward to seeing you at future events!
I leave you, as always, with a question: how do you envision being part of the future - that of your family, your community, and the world at large?
- Pooja
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