About Leadership Columbus
An effective gauge of a community’s health and well being is the quality of the volunteer and civic contributions made by its leaders…those people who serve on boards and task forces, work with community groups and commissions, and serve as elected officials. These citizen leaders must be nurtured and provided with the tools that enable them to be successful and inspires them to be committed and passionate community trustees.
The mission of Leadership Columbus is to develop informed and committed leaders through educational programs (such as the 10-month Signature Program, Board Governance Training and FOCUS Columbus) that empower participants with the skills, knowledge and other tools necessary to resolve the critical challenges and issues of its community.
Helping Community Benefit Organizations through Trusteeship
Today, Leadership Columbus, one of the top five ranked community leadership programs in the country, provides state of the art education and training for emerging and existing leaders in the Columbus area. Since 1974, Leadership Columbus has been the premier training ground to educate, empower, equip and prepare more than 2,500 individuals to become the current and future trustees in and for our community. Leadership Columbus graduates have contributed to the quality of life in Central Ohio by their deeds and actions. In addition to completing more than 200 community projects, Leadership Columbus alumni have assumed positions of leadership in government, banking, business, industry, nonprofit sectors, politics, journalism, education, philanthropy, law, and neighborhood development. In addition, graduates populate the boards of the arts, health care and innumerable other nonprofit organizations in Central Ohio.
Learn more about our programs:
What our graduates are saying…
“I liked that I had easy and personal access to the people and the organizations that make an impact in our community. I really appreciated having an opportunity to hear from community leaders and observe their styles. It shifted my understanding of what leadership is.”
“Leadership Columbus has changed how I read the newspaper. Less “us” and “them,” and more “our.” I am now interested in being involved for reasons of mission, rather than networking and board experience.”
“I’ve always had an interest and dedication to community involvement, volunteerism; Leadership Columbus strengthened this interest and allows me to be more informed and have a broader view and context of the community, our challenges and our strengths.”
“I am more aware of the world around me. I have found a new sense of understanding for our community which will guide me to be a better person (manager, mother, wife) and I will be able to rally those around me to help make Columbus a better place.”
“Thank you so much for the amazing experiences over the past ten months! I have learned so much about myself and others. I have many new friends and I feel very special to have been part of such an elite group.”
“I consider myself a stronger advocate of Columbus while more keenly aware of its challenges. I found myself outside my comfort zone, doing things that were new to me, looking for ways in which I could contribute that weren’t always obvious to me.”
“Even though I’m from Columbus, Leadership Columbus opened my eyes to so much of this city that I didn’t come into contact. It is such an amazing experience to really dig deep and learn so much about this community, and what some people are doing to truly make a difference.”
“A great experience that I’m sorry to see end. I have found it relatively easy to building relationships in my everyday life but have recognized that those built through Leadership Columbus are very different. Relationships built via Leadership Columbus tend to be a good bit deeper originating from common interests to effect change.”