Welcome to the first few days of fall! I am happy to share the latest from Coro San Francisco.

The 2011-2012 Fellows’ started last month with a Logic Study of the Oakland City Council, and they are now finishing up their government placements. One of the Fellows has been placed with Oakland City Councilmember (and Coro graduate) Libby Schaaf, so her understanding of Oakland government promises to be impressive.

The 2011 Coro Exploring Leadership (CEL) Youth Fellows culminated their intense summer experience with a standing-room-only graduation ceremony in August. The CEL graduates have already returned for the first of four alumni engagement programs focused on access to college. Coro youth programs are expanding. We now have two after-school programs – one at San Leandro High School and the other at Balboa High School – that are taking place this fall. We are bringing Coro to the schools, helping to create a culture of leadership, while engaging our summer CEL graduates to be mentors and role models to their younger peers.

For the last six years we have worked with the UCSF Vice Provost, Sally Marshall, and the Chancellor’s Council on Faculty Life to train emerging faculty leaders. This summer, for the first time, we offered a refresher course for graduates. Participants came from each of the past classes and were reminded of the power and applicability of the Coro experience. This year we will be offering similar refresher courses to our other Coro Leadership Collaborative partners. 

The summer also saw new additions to our staff, as you will see below. We welcomed a new Manager of Youth Programs, Alison Traina. Alison had been a youth trainer for Coro last summer. In the fall, she left us for Nashville, TN where she received her Masters degree in education from Vanderbilt University. Coro also hired Davey Shlasko to help train the Fellows Program. Davey’s work has focused on diversity training and facilitation. Both Alison and Davey bring a wealth of experience and new perspectives to the programs and to the staff.

Finally, you may have received our letter regarding the official launch of the Coro Legacy Society. This is the result of determination, dedication and perseverance by Fred Hodder, a 1959 Fellows Program graduate, along with board member Suzanne Cross, and Coro’s Director of Alumni Relations, Tracey Jones. We already have five members of the Legacy Society, with a goal of twenty-five by the end of the year. Please let us know if you have Coro in your estate plan or if you would like information about this opportunity.

The fall will be busy with more changes. Our messaging and communications will be upgraded, the result of a six-month Taproot grant, and we are looking to update our website. We are working on expanding our partners for the Coro Leadership Collaborative and, of course, preparing for our 17^th Annual Leadership Luncheon. Be sure and save the date, Friday May 11^th at the St. Francis Hotel in San Francisco.

Thanks to all of you for your support, ideas, and commitment to Coro. You are all valuable members of our community and I am sure you believe, as I do, that the time for Coro is now. We have a unique opportunity to make a significant impact on the civic discourse of the day. Thanks so much!

Susan Shain, Executive Director                                  


Read the Executive Director's Past Messages:

July 2011
May 2011
November 2010
September 2010
July 2010
May 2010
February 2010
December 2009
September 2009