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American Leadership Forum – Great Valley Chapter Announces Class V Fellows

Modesto, CA – The Great Valley Chapter of the American Leadership Forum (ALF) today announced the members of their Class V year-long leadership program.

The Class V Fellows include the following:

From Stanislaus County:  Wanda Bonnell, California State University, Stanislaus; Tom Bower, Foster Farms; Mathew Francis, Pacific Rim Advisory Group, Fred Just, Kaiser Permanente; Kelly McMurray, The McMurray Group at Morgan Stanley; Mike Moradian Jr., Peace of Mind Pest Control Inc.; Leng Power, Disability Resource Agency for Independent Living; Vicki Trask, Stanislaus County Office of Education.

From San Joaquin County:  Glen Barnes, First Baptist Church of Lodi; Shannon Ding, AT&T; Lewis Gale, University of the Pacific; Katherine Nance, Stockton Police Officer’s Association; Matt Weber, Downy Brand LLP; Sothea Ung, Asian Pacific Self-Development and Residential Association; Moses Zapien, Stockton City Council.

From Merced County:  Isabel Cabral-Johnson, Hilmar Unified School District; Kyle Hoffman, University of California, Merced; Ric Ortega, Grassland Water and Resource Conservation Districts; See Lee, Hmong Movement Organizing for the Next Generation; Don Ramsey, Feet Changing Lives; Wendy Spencer, Building Young Leaders; Lisa Wegley, Mercy Foundation-Mercy Medical Center.

Each year, 20 to 24 established leaders representing a variety of sectors are nominated from the tri-county region of San Joaquin, Stanislaus and Merced to participate in the year-long, national-caliber leadership development program. The program consists of intensive monthly seminars on topical issues and participants develop civic engagement initiatives that address actual regional needs. The mission of the program is to build stronger communities by joining and strengthening diverse leaders and by promoting collaborative problem solving within and among the region.

“The Great Valley Chapter of ALF is building a diverse network of community leaders who develop skills, trust and profound relationships to work collaboratively on the many issues facing our region and for many, the year-long ALF Fellows program is a transformational experience,” said Kenni Friedman, ALF Great Valley board chairman.  “We’re excited about this next class of Fellows.  They come from very diverse backgrounds but share a passion for servant leadership and bettering our communities.”

The Great Valley Chapter of ALF joins 2 other chapters in California – Silicon Valley and Mountain Valley (Sacramento) – and serves the 3-county region of Merced, Stanislaus, and San Joaquin in the Northern San Joaquin Valley of Central California.  The fifth class of Fellows began their program in June and will complete in May, 2015.  The program is funded through a combination of organizational sponsorships and tuition payments.

About the American Leadership Forum – Great Valley Chapter.

The Great Valley Chapter of the American Leadership Forum (ALF) joins and strengthens established leaders from diverse backgrounds to improve the greater Stanislaus, San Joaquin, and Merced County region.  ALF’s focus is to improve the social, economic, and political fabric of the Greater Central Valley region through shared commitment to collaborative action by uniting boundary-crossing leaders from a diversity of sectors throughout the central valley region, strengthening their leadership capacity through deepening relationships and transformative experiences.  For more information, contact Kathy Halsey, Senior Director, at kathy@greatvalley.org or 209-523-5103 ext. 111.