The Snelling Center Presents a Day of Professional Development and an Evening of Socializing and Networking

To say we live in unprecedented times is an understatement. Today more than ever we need to ground our leadership in sturdy foundations. This seminar is intended to help participants to discover or recall those reliable foundations, which included:

• personal core values
• third circle leadership
• gracious space
• Moral courage and
• the common good.

Come join us as we collectively renew our commitment to this vital work.

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After the conference the Snelling Center will be hosting a

VLN Reunion from 5:00pm – 9:00pm
@ the Capitol Plaza. 

There will be drinks, food and feature KeyNote speaker Susan McCormack.  Get all your classmates together and come join us.  This reunion is for ALL alumni, not just for those who attend the Conference before hand. 

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Space for the Conference will be limited to 45 participants. The Reunion has NO limitations!

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Bill Grace

Bill is a social justice activist, a traveling teacher, and an architect of ideas.
 
From 1976-1991 Bill served in Higher Education promoting ideas related to moral and civic responsibility, service learning and global citizenship.
 
In 1991 Bill founded the Center for Ethical Leadership. The Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting the common good through ethical leadership, civic responsibility and collaborative problem solving. During Bill’s tenure the Center developed a national reputation for innovative and inspired leadership development programs focused on the creation a just society. He served as Executive Director for the next 14 years.
 
His recent book Sharing the Rock is being used as a springboard for a national movement called compact for the Common Good.
 
In addition his current research and writing has focused on the development of spirit-inspired leadership, in order to call forth the wisdom, courage and hope needed in these times.
 
Bill also believes that leadership must be grounded in a global sense of the common good. Therefore he promotes leadership and social action that is grounded in spiritual development, inclusiveness and compassion all of which deepen our commitment to pursue a just and peaceful world.
 
Bill directs Common Good Works (www.commongoodworks.com) and speaks and leads seminars around the world.

Martha Maksym

Martha has served as the Deputy Secretary of the Agency of Human Services since 2017. Prior to this position, Martha became Executive Director of United Way of Chittenden County in July 2011. She was the Director of Community Investments at United Way of Chittenden County since September 1994 where she provided direction and management of all allocations, fund distribution processes and community investment strategies as they relate to meeting the Impact agenda of the organization. After a seven-year career at the Howard Bank in Burlington, Martha returned to graduate school and received her Masters in Public Administration from UVM in 1991. She then served as the Executive Director of Green Mountain Prevention Projects until joining United Way.  She is a 2002 graduate of the Snelling Center’s Vermont Leadership Institute and a 2004 graduate of the Creating Healthy Communities national fellowship sponsored by the American Hospitals Association. Martha also serves on the Board of Directors at the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, Vermont Health Foundation and Vermont Commons School.

Keynote Speaker

LOVE INTEGRITY AND JUSTICE:
The Uneasy Work of Building Bridges During A Time of Activism

Susan McCormack

As founder of Creative Discourse, and a Senior Associate with Everyday Democracy, Sue has spent her career working with municipalities, school districts, and community organizations to design and implement productive public conversations that lead to change.   Sue is a student of the ways racism, implicit bias, and whiteness impact our public institutions, and has a special interest in helping people build their awareness and capacity to apply an equity lens to their community change work.  She co-authored Facing Racism in a Diverse Nation, an Everyday Democracy discussion guide being used around the country to help communities address race relations and racial equity.  For several years, Sue served as the Director of Leadership at the Snelling Center for Government, coordinating the Vermont Leadership Institute (VLI), and the Vermont School Leadership Project (VSLP). She has been privileged to serve on the faculty of the Vermont Leadership Institute since 1999, and is a 2005 graduate of VLI. to spearhead Text, Talk, Act, a CCS initiative which uses a combination of text messaging, social media and face to face dialogue to engage young people across the country in conversations about mental health.  Sue recently co-coordinated the Heart & Soul of Essex, a two year citizen led initiative funded by the Orton Family Foundation to identify shared community values, foster collaboration and increase civic participation among two linked municipalities.
Sue also served as the Director of Leadership at the Snelling Center for Government, running the Vermont Leadership Institute, and the Vermont School Leadership Project.