Chicago Alumni, Board Launches Leadership Network Dinners
Alumni have joined forces with the Posse Chicago Advisory Board and Leadership Council members to launch a new dinner series to inspire greater engagement and stronger relationships between the groups.
The idea for the series was inspired by Chicago PNAAC representatives Richie Marrero and Laura Garciduenas, who noticed a divide between alumni and board members. On a mission to increase connections between alumni and the experienced professionals that sit on the boards, Richie and Laura engaged the Posse Chicago alumni executive committee to start planning.
While Chicago alumni committees have hosted dinners in the past, they are eager to bring a different structure and focus to this new dinner series. One new point is to keep each dinner small, to allow for more intimate discussions.
"Our hope is that the dinner series sparks action from great conversations and relationship-building," says Richie. "We hope that Scholars become the ‘first-call’ when there are opportunities in our board members’ organizations and networks."
At Posse Chicago’s joint advisory board and leadership council meeting in February, Richie and Laura, along with Aixa Velez and Yonas Zewdie, co-chairs of Chicago’s professional development alumni committee, presented the new initiative. Eager for an opportunity to support alumni, the board enthusiastically approved the new initiative.
Spearheaded by the professional development alumni committee, the inaugural dinner took place in March at a local restaurant, with eight Posse alumni, advisory board member Rod Adams, and leadership council members Dave Malcom and Andrew Whittlesey.
"The ultimate goal of the dinners is to establish a symbiosis between board members and the rich talent within the Posse alumni community," says Yonas. "We want to foster organic, enduring relationships between the leadership council, advisory board, and our alumni."
Moving forward, the professional development alumni committee plans to host quarterly dinners.
