Testimonials

Employers & Community Leaders

David Benigni, Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory: “The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory has been sending our emerging leaders through the Leadership Essentials program since 2013, and we plan to continue this well into the future. Our primary goal at the lab is to “create defining innovations that ensure our nation’s preeminence in the 21st century;” and in order to achieve that we need great leaders. The Leadership Essentials program has enabled our emerging leaders to stretch themselves, gain confidence, increase diversity of thought, share insights and lessons learned with other organizations, and attain a stronger connection to the community. Many who have gone through the program have moved on to significant leadership positions within the organization.” 

Mark Wendell, AIA, Corporate Office Properties Trust: “Leadership Essentials provided me the time and space to turn off my professional and personal life a few of times a month to really focus in on myself.  The program challenged me to further evaluate my personality, morals, values, and career path.  Through the Strength Deployment Inventory I better understood the motives that drive my behavior in two different conditions – when things are going well and when I face conflict.  Workshops, the community impact project, and my coaching sessions allowed me to sharpen my leadership skills in various group sizes as well as one on one with my coach.” 
 
Lori Chatman, President, Enterprise Community Loan Fund: "Leadership Essentials provided a cost-effective method of comprehensive development for a future leader that we otherwise not have been able to provide. Being a nonprofit ourselves, we particularly like the service component and focus on the community."

Wendy Jeffries, Executive Director of TasteWise Kids, Community Impact Project Host: "Working with the Leadership Essentials Community Impact Project (CIP) team exceeded my expectations. They provided us with a professional, usable marketing plan that I'm excited to share with our board and to start to implement. The team was also great to work with throughout the project. They asked great questions that got us to think about what we really needed, deeply cared about the work we are doing, and were very considerate about their requests of our time.."

Leadership Essentials Alumni

Tashella Smith, Baltimore Gas & Electric: "Leadership Essentials has had a profound impact on my professional and personal development in such a short amount of time.  Professionally, I’ve learned the importance of leading with your values and leading in a transformative way.  I’ve elevated my strategic thinking and I understand how I show up for a team and how my strengths unveil themselves.”

Kate Price, PSA Insurance & Financial Services: “I would say the biggest thing that I have gained from being a member of the cohort is a lot of self-discovery. I’m new to leadership, I’m new to management, and this has been a really good opportunity for me to do some self-reflection that I’ve not been able to do before. I got to learn a lot about why I behave the way I do…and then on the other hand, be surrounded by a room full of people who react differently than me and was able to apply what I learned to both the relationships in our class and also with the people that I work with.”