Since the inception of Leadership Kitsap, the president has always had the great pleasure of congratulating the graduating class. But you guessed it; this year is different!

As with many organizations, 2020-2021 required Leadership Kitsap to shift and consider new ways of engaging the community. Under the expert leadership of our Executive Director, Katie Walters, we developed new community learning programs that helped progress the organization’s mission to foster and empower educated, prepared, and engaged community leaders.

One such program, Thrive, was developed to engage community leaders in the seven core capacities of the positive leadership curriculum. The entirely virtual 10-week program met weekly and trained leaders at varying levels of their organizations with relevant tools and strategies to deploy immediately. This is an example of the new programs developed over this last year that supported our community in learning and making new connections during these unprecedented times.

Thank you to our steadfast board of directors, who showed up every month on zoom and gave their time, talent, and treasure to ensure that our mission continued.

And to our Leadership Kitsap sponsors, presenters, supporters, attendees, and alumni, thank you for standing with us as we developed new ways to connect with you over this last year. You helped to make this year a success.

In closing, I must again acknowledge and applaud Katie Walters, who bravely and boldly navigated the organization through uncharted waters, expertly steering the organization to new and exciting places. It has been an absolute pleasure to work alongside her. We are fortunate to have her at the helm.

Serving on the board in the role of the president over these last twelve months has been a true honor. I am looking forward to what the future holds for Leadership Kitsap and our Kitsap community.

With sincere gratitude,
Wendy Kile