Dear ELN Network,
As our term as ELN Co-Chairs comes to a close, we can’t help but reflect on our journey and want to thank the many incredible people who helped make this an extraordinary two years advancing the most pressing challenges that face the GTHA.
When we began our journey in January 2018, we established three strategic objectives. And with your help, we’ve achieved important and tangible impact across all of them. We’ve:
- Deepened member engagement through regionally relevant programming, offering 20+ unique event opportunities during our term and seeing both membership and digital engagement grow throughout the period.
- Amplified community impact by doubling down on project incubation and supporting the execution and launch of innovative civic ideas within the network.
- Super-charged leadership capabilities of emerging leaders through events like ELNstudio: Better Leader Bootcamp and our “Oh the Places You’ll Go” workshops.
The question now is – what does the future of the inclusive leadership look like? The world is rapidly changing and the next generation of leaders need new skills to be well-equipped for an uncertain future. We hope that the ELN continues to provide hands-on, practical leadership skill-building workshops and programming to support this – after all, we live in the most diverse region in the world and it’s time we start acting like it. Let’s also keep going beyond Toronto’s downtown and find ways of providing accessible, high-impact programming for all parts of our region.
As we prepare to welcome a new set of ELN co-chairs, we want to end our term with a few final thank you’s.
- First, a HUGE thank you to our amazing ELN Executive Team! Alyssa, Abhishek, Dilya, Gerri, Marchael, Meryam, Sarah and Sean: Because of the significant personal time and energy you invested over these past two years, your fingerprints will be visible on the impact of the ELN for years to come. It was a pleasure working with such a smart, fun, creative, reliable and diverse set of individuals who will continue shaping the future of this region.
- Thank you to Toota, Jodie, Emily, Cynthia and the tireless staff at CivicAction and the CivicAction Leadership Foundation. They are the glue that held us together, supported our vision and empowered us to step into our leadership roles.
- Thank you to our colleagues on the CivicAction and CivicAction Leadership Foundation Board of Directors. Your values-based leadership is inspiring. It has been honour to serve as part of “the best board in the business”.
- And last but definitely not least, thank you to YOU and every ELN member who engaged with the network these past two years. Thank you for selecting “yes” to your leadership development and striving to achieve your full leadership potential. And thank you for your dedication to our region.
We are excited to hand the baton to the next group of ELN Co-Chairs, each of whom will bring a fresh perspective and new energy. We look forward to remaining engaged as ELN members and rubbing elbows with you at the next event!
Thank you all once again for such a fulfilling and formative two years. Wishing you all a safe and happy holiday with those who mean the most to you!
Warmly,
Jesse Darling, Mrinalini Menon & Mark Sam
