Leadership Victoria
Congratulations to the 2020 Graduates
Updated: Feb 28, 2022

Ninety-Nine Days
How often do you say, “we just don’t have enough time to get that done?” Perhaps it is too often.
In ninety-nine days, four teams of participants from the Community Leadership Development Program put their heads together, formed a team, built a plan, and implemented strategies to get the project complete. It takes planning. It takes a collective effort. It takes hard work. These teams showed there are no limits to what you can accomplish in a short period of time.
In September of 2019, the new cohort met for the first time at the Songhees Wellness Centre with guest speaker Carey Newman who guided us through an art project that highlighted the impact of individual leadership on collective leadership. It was a powerful opportunity to see what we can accomplish alone, and in collaboration with others.
Over the following six months, the cohort bonded together, experienced the inevitable challenges, and worked together to create meaningful change in the community and for the Community Action Project partner KidCare Canada. KidCareCanada Society’s resources support parents, caregivers and professionals wanting to deepen their understanding of current research related to early nurturing, healthy brain development and social/emotional development.
On March 7th, the cohort met for our final learning day. A day of reflection and a chance to celebrate our success together. We were scheduled for the public celebration in mid-April. Due to the worldwide pandemic, we were unable to host our public event and we needed to reschedule until later this year. Graduation is an opportunity to celebrate our accomplishments and thank the volunteers who put in hundreds of hours of time to create an amazing experience for the participants in the program. Congratulations to Carissa Ropponen who was nominated by her peers and selected by the Program Committee as the winner of the Outstanding Leadership Award, celebrated as part of the Victoria Community Leadership Awards.
Thank you to the employers who supported our participants through the program. Thank you to our coaches, facilitators, and volunteers who made this year’s program a resounding success. Thank you to our funders who made the commitment to this year’s program to ensure we are creating Local Influential Leaders in our community.
And lastly, thank you and congratulations to our program participants who stepped outside their comfort zone to learn the skills, grow the confidence and make the connections to make them valuable leaders in our community now and into the future.
If you are interested in learning more about the Community Leadership Development Program please visit Our Program.