奥马哈有史以来最好的班级:43班

Leadership Omaha is one of the longest running professional development programs at the Greater Omaha Chamber. Since 1978, 参与者沉浸在为期10个月的学习经历中，重点是将他们塑造成更有效的社区领袖.

This year, we’re getting a look inside. We’ll follow Erin Van Zee， RDG规划部传讯总监 & 设计，这是她为期10个月的旅程.

I’m told the Leadership Omaha retreat experience is usually where strong bonds are forged, 成年人聚集在一个类似营地的环境中，变得非常沉闷. And while you might think the same can’t surely be true for a group of nearly 50 people gathered over Zoom, I think LO Class 43 might beg to differ.

虽然推荐几个体彩外围app的撤退完全是虚拟的，但推荐几个体彩外围app仍然跳舞，推荐几个体彩外围app仍然笑.

推荐几个体彩外围app进行了深刻而艰难的谈话.

We shared our hope for Omaha’s future.

For LO Class 43, as with everyone living in 2020, the state of the world looms heavy and large. But coming out of this first retreat, 有一件事我非常清楚:虽然推荐几个体彩外围app可能不在一起, 这群富有创造力和同情心的人共同准备在推荐几个体彩外围app的社区中发挥真正的作用.

我迫不及待地想看看这一年推荐几个体彩外围app会走到哪一步. #VirtuallyTheBestClassEver

LO Class 43’s latest session was FULL. 不是因为有很多人，而是因为推荐几个体彩外围app覆盖了很多地方. Drs. Ali Khan and Adi Pour and Douglas County Election Commissioner Brian Kruse all took the time to speak with us, 考虑到推荐几个体彩外围app现在所处的位置，它的重要性是不容忽视的.

Our discussions recall the central ethos of Leadership Omaha: that this diverse group of people with different ideas, experiences and opinions, are coming together to create something that will ultimately make our city and ourselves better. 这是一项艰巨的任务，但我认为LO 43班完全有能力完成这项任务.

正念指导丹尼尔·劳斯用了一句咒语来结束推荐几个体彩外围app的疗程, 我认为它非常适合这个动荡和分裂的时代, 所以我就把它留给你了:祝你平安, may you be happy, may you be healthy, may you be at peace.

#VirtuallyTheBestClassEver

在本月的“领导力奥马哈”课程中，第43班的学生分成小组，创作俳句，描述典型的奥马哈风格.g. foods, landmarks). 这种创造性的努力帮助推荐几个体彩外围app快速启动了一天的能量, 其中包括关于多样性的有意义的讨论, equity and inclusion. 推荐几个体彩外围app收到了许多组织和个人的来信，包括 Inclusive Communities, CODE, a panel of local D&我的领导，住院医生和护理人员 QLI, the latter of which provided truly moving moments I will carry in my heart forever.

从推荐几个体彩外围app的谈话中可以清楚地看到，推荐几个体彩外围app有很多工作要做——对推荐几个体彩外围app自己和推荐几个体彩外围app的社区工作——来创造一个真正的多元化, inclusive, equitable and just world. 令人鼓舞的是，推荐几个体彩外围app周围的人每天都在做这项工作，推荐几个体彩外围app有一个公开的、长期的邀请来加入他们.

As a reflection on our discussions, I’d like to close this blog entry the same way we opened our November session: with a haiku.

seeking to create
a just, equitable world
our city made whole

Image c/o the ORBT Rider Guide

To say Class 43’s “Business and Economic Development” session was jampacked would be, I think, an understatement. We started by hearing from representatives from the Greater Omaha Chamber; following that, we had a roundtable discussion with some local business owners (including LO Class 43-member Candice Price, who owns Home Team Auto Sales); after lunch, 推荐几个体彩外围app听取了交通专家(包括城市规划传奇Marty Shukert)的意见, FACIPC, 我还有幸和他一起工作 RDG Planning & Design); we closed the day with a panel on housing and community development facilitated by City of Omaha Senior Attorney Jennifer Taylor.

有很多很多很多很多很多很多的信息需要消化和考虑. Lots.

What struck me most throughout all of these conversations is how inextricably linked each of these elements are, how vital each is to creating the kind of city in which I want to live –  a city that supports small business, especially small businesses owned by women and people of color; a city that offers equitable access to well-designed affordable housing; a city with quick and easy public transportation that empowers people to lower their carbon footprint.

Many of these elements already exist or are in the works for our city, and all are within reach. What heartens me is the knowledge that there are people in Omaha working to make this dream city a reality and, perhaps more importantly, 为这些努力做出贡献的机会就在那里，而且时机已经成熟.

Image c/o the 内布拉斯加州刑事司法系统报告中的种族和民族差异

当Liz Kerrigan警告你不要等到最后一刻才开始为即将到来的领导力奥马哈会议做准备时, 你知道这将是多事的一天. Leadership Omaha Class 43’s session on Justice 这一天真的充满了深入的讨论和艰难的对话，探讨推荐几个体彩外围app司法系统中存在的种族和民族差异(又名RED)吗. We heard from Dr. Ryan Spohn from UNO’s Center for Justice Research and Dr. Mark Foxall, Community Service Associate at UNO on the racial disparities in prison populations; going deep into data about who is system-involved and why; and the mental health effects of incarceration.

We also spoke with representatives from RISE, a Nebraska-based program that prepares people in prison for a successful reentry into the community, and heard from Nick Juliano, president and CEO of the Nebraska Youth Justice Initiative 和金·哈韦科特道格拉斯县行政长官 Juvenile Services. 推荐几个体彩外围app的很多谈话都围绕着人性的中心主题——把被监禁的人看作是一个有无限潜力的人，他们可以比前一天变得更好，而不是一个统计数据，甚至不是由他们的选择来定义的.

And, 对于所有的数据和客观信息(这是, of course, essential to our understanding and work towards fixing the deficits in our justice system), 这一天最有意义的部分是推荐几个体彩外围app与四位目前住在内布拉斯加州青少年管教所的年轻人交谈. 就像一个人在被问到出狱后想做什么时所说的那样, “I want to go to college, 这样我就可以成为一名辅导员，为孩子们服务. 因为我身边没有人支持我.”

The title of this month’s Leadership Omaha blog is derived from a pre-work exercise we did called “Spent.” Spent is an online game about the challenges brought forth by poverty; throughout the simulation, players must make a series of difficult decisions necessary to live one month on very little money, 经常不得不在同样令人不快的选项中做出选择. It was an illuminating and important precursor to this month’s themes: education and human services.

来自不同非营利组织的几位社区领导人也加入了推荐几个体彩外围app的行列，他们致力于为推荐几个体彩外围app城市的儿童和家庭争取权益. 每个人都提供了自己独特的见解，说明推荐几个体彩外围app的地方教育和人类服务组织如何协调创造创新和及时的地方反应，从而对最需要帮助的人产生真正的影响.

那天推荐几个体彩外围app讨论了很多, 让我印象最深刻的一条建议来自推荐几个体彩外围app的OPS主管, Dr. Cheryl Logan (listen to an interview). Dr. Logan has navigated our city’s largest school district through what may be the most unnavigable year. She has a lot of experience leading, 经常不得不做出困难的，有时是不受欢迎的决定.

所以，当她给出领导建议时，推荐几个体彩外围app会倾听. 她给推荐几个体彩外围app留下了一条建议，我觉得这条建议肯定会在我的领导生涯中一直伴随着我:“如果你不在乎谁得到荣誉，你就能取得惊人的成就.” Often attributed to President Harry S. Truman, 这句话很有先见之明，因为它呼吁推荐几个体彩外围app为改善推荐几个体彩外围app的社区而努力, not because we want fame or notoriety, but because it’s the right thing to do. Regardless of where we work, how much money we make, what we do for a living, 推荐几个体彩外围app都有能力让推荐几个体彩外围app的城市变得更好——帮助确保更少的家庭为了生存而不得不在同样不愉快的选择中做出选择.

给像我这样的人一个右脑的最快方法, creative writing, English major-type) a permanently furrowed brow and elevated heart rate is to simply invoke two words: budget simulation. This month’s Leadership Omaha seminar promised to give “insight into the workings of city government.” What could go wrong?

We broke out into two teams, 各自组建了一个名为Ahamo的虚构城市的政府，并拥有自己的市长, group of department heads, city council members, lobbyists and reporters. Our governments were given one task: work together to prepare and approve a balanced budget.

建立一个让每个人都满意的预算似乎是一项不可能完成的任务. And, of course, it is an impossible task. 就像在现实生活中一样，推荐几个体彩外围app模拟中的每个人都有自己的优先事项和议程. The obligations, demands and priorities of our fictional government and its actors were often at odds with one with another. 推荐几个体彩外围app中的一些人在得到推荐几个体彩外围app想要的东西方面比其他人更成功. Even though there were moments when we struggled, we worked to find a compromise wherever we could.

当我额头上的皱纹开始消失，我的心率开始减慢, 我看到了练习的真正价值. 我对当地民选官员和领导人在准备奥马哈年度运营预算时所面临的艰巨任务产生了新的感激和同情. Turns out, you can learn a lot about a government by reviewing its budget and even more by preparing the budget yourself. Lesson learned.

This month, 推荐几个体彩外围app很高兴听到一群奥马哈领导力学院的校友讲述他们在这个推荐个买球的app官网中的经历，以及它如何影响了他们的公民轨迹, professional and personal lives. Several alumni have gone on to lead non-profits or dig deeper into their volunteer work with local organizations. 令人振奋的是，他们在领导力奥马哈的经历不仅激励了他们在社区中变得更加活跃, but also to see how the connections they made in the program continue to grow and flourish.

Throughout these conversations, it was immediately evident that Leadership Omaha has historically created a strong sense of comradery between its classmates. 我相信很多人(在奥马哈领导会议或其他地方)都能理解推荐几个体彩外围app小组讨论中出现的一个主要主题:推荐几个体彩外围app怀念面对面了解彼此的机会, face-to-face settings.

Class 43’s all-virtual Leadership Omaha experience is wholly unique – with a few exceptions, 推荐几个体彩外围app中的许多人从未见过彼此. 上次谈话有什么重要的收获吗, it’s that as a group, 推荐几个体彩外围app有一个强烈的愿望，建立在推荐几个体彩外围app的虚拟参与的基础上，并找到通过有意地加深推荐几个体彩外围app彼此联系的方法, in-person get togethers. Lucky for us, there are plenty of leaders in Leadership Omaha Class 43 and before we had even concluded our session, we had our first in-person, lunch scheduled.

我等不及要第一次见到这些人了.

本月的“城市环境”课程是43班在推荐几个体彩外围app下个月正式从奥马哈领导学院毕业之前的倒数第二次会面. 很难相信推荐几个体彩外围app的节目即将结束. 就像在COVID大流行期间的许多经历一样, 时间莫名其妙地忽快忽慢. 

This session (which would have been our first session had it happened in the before times) involved meeting, in person (yes, in person) 以小组的形式参观了整个城市的一些地方. There are so many dedicated people working incredibly hard to make Omaha a city that’s diverse, 以革命性的方式开放和包容. The fact that the process of meeting face-to-face also allowed Class 43 to get an inside peek at places like the Benson Theatre, Seventy Five North, El Museo Latino and Historic 10^th Street 只是让推荐几个体彩外围app五月的会议体验更好. We got to put on our tourist hats for a bit and explore the amazing work being done in and around our city—and, at long last, we got to do it together. 

推荐几个体彩外围app成功了，43班——推荐几个体彩外围app正式从奥马哈领导学院毕业了!

上周，推荐几个体彩外围app正式结束了推荐几个体彩外围app在一起的时光. 在推荐几个体彩外围app告别奥马哈领袖时代之际, I want to tell each and every one of you how grateful I am to have spent this time with you.

这是一次普通的奥马哈领导力体验吗? Not in the slightest.

Do I feel a little wistful thinking about the bonding we missed out on by having our entire program over Zoom? Sometimes I do.

我还会想念每个月见到你吗? Absolutely, I will.

在LO毕业典礼上(推荐几个体彩外围app中的一些人第一次面对面见面)见证数字友情在现实生活中体现出来。, 只会让这样的推荐个买球的app官网更加重要. 推荐几个体彩外围app成立Leadership Omaha时只有49个陌生人, looking to make the best of a situation none of us could have imagined; we ended Leadership Omaha as a community of people united by a shared responsibility to take what we’ve learned and move our city forward. 我会诚心诚意地向任何问我的人推荐这段经历.

许多LO校友会说他们的班级是“有史以来最好的班级”,” and I’m sure, year after year, that ends up being true. 然而，除了推荐几个体彩外围app，没有人能说他们是有史以来最好的隔离班. Thank you for being a part of this unique Leadership Omaha journey – for sharing your ideas and being vulnerable, 感谢你提出具有挑战性的问题，并愿意进行艰难的对话, 感谢你的开放和诚实，并一直坚持下去, odd as that ride may have been.

I envision great things from Class 43, and I could not be prouder to have been a part of it with you.