Challenge Day Reflections: Health & Wellness, LT'19

To keep you connected to LT and current issues and topics discussed in the curriculum, LT will share highlights and resources from the recent Challenge Day. We hope you enjoy these monthly updates!

 At the Health & Wellness Challenge Day, held at NewHolly Gathering Hall, LT'19 examined the personal, social, and environmental factors that are "determinants of health," discussed how racism is a determinant of health, and wrestled with a current community issue.

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LT’18 Community Project: Gender Equity 

As part of the curriculum, LT participants apply their leadership skills through community projects. This is one example of a LT’18 community project.  

Our team explored women’s leadership in fields typically dominated by men, interviewing seven powerful women leaders – leaders who broke barriers, impacted national policy, and had a hand in building some of the most recognizable companies throughout the Pacific Northwest. Interviewees included Constance von Muhlen, COO of Horizon Air; Sally Jewell, former United States Secretary of the Interior; and Paula Boggs, front woman for the Paula Boggs Band and retired General Counsel for Starbucks. 

Read the full story to see which themes emerged from their conversations and how these LT alums have been inspired to take action.

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Featured AlumniMegan Rudolph
Challenge Day Reflections: Education, LT'19

To keep you connected to LT and current issues and topics discussed in the curriculum, LT will share highlights and resources from the recent Challenge Day. We hope you enjoy these monthly updates!

As a former middle school teacher, I enjoyed participating in this year's Education Challenge Day. A central theme of the day was how supportive teacher/student relationships make all the difference in a student's educational experience and can have a profound impact in shaping their future.

Another theme was the importance of addressing systemic and institutional racism in our schools. Youth receive influential messages from media, society, and their schools about race from a very early age. Teachers and parents must pay attention to these messages and work to create new narratives and stories for our children.

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LT Alumni Launch Scholarship Fund, Make Dreams Come True

In 2016, South Shore PreK-8’s celebration of National African-American Parent Involvement Day (NAAPID) inspired more than 250 Black men to welcome students to school with enthusiastic high fives. The media coverage of this community event led a Detroit-based organization to pledge $100,000 in scholarship dollars to ten Black male seniors graduating from high schools in the Seattle area. Sadly, the organization did not fulfill that promise, affecting the educational futures of the young men who absolutely needed that assistance to make college a reality.

Seeing the negative impact of that broken promise, we created the MoHundred Scholarship Fund to fill the gap.

Read the full story to see how three LT alumni are rallying the local community to help make these students’ college dreams come true.

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Featured AlumniMegan Rudolph
Alumni Spotlight: Jillian Kosic, LT’13

I had been interested in joining a non-profit board for a few years, as a way to get more involved in the nonprofit sector and give back through my expertise in marketing. I was also interested in diversifying my peer group to gain a different perspective on civic leadership, business, and life.

Check out the rest of the story to see how Jillian was able to find the perfect nonprofit board on which to serve.

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Featured AlumniMegan Rudolph
Alumni Spotlight: Janice Zahn, LT'17

Although I had many years of experience working for a public agency (Port of Seattle), volunteering in my community, and a Master’s in Public Policy from the UW Evan’s School, it was my time in LT engaging and learning with my inspiring cohort of leaders that propelled me to run for Bellevue City Council. 

My classmates’ passion to make our community better was palpable and infectious... just what I needed to light the fire in my belly after the 2016 election. I saw the possibility for me, as an immigrant from Hong Kong, to use my talents in public office and be a bridge builder who works with others to solve challenging problems locally. As the only woman of color on council, in a majority minority city, I bring a new voice and perspective that I believe complements our other council members. My time at LT gave me insights on how to respectfully engage while checking my own biases in decision-making as an elected official.  

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