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September 28, 2006

A first crop of LEADers emerges

By Ken St. Onge

Worcester program graduates first participants


One group developed a website to help high school seniors figure out a path for their lives. Another taught leadership to a group of nine boys at a local junior high school. Still another spearheaded an effort to develop a South Worcester gateway along of the city’s Southbridge Street corridor.

And last month, the first 12 participants in Worcester’s Leadership Engagement and Development program (LEAD) graduated. The group, assembled from up-and-coming members of the Worcester business community, dedicated the last year to becoming better leaders in their lives, their businesses, and their communities.

Rose Hayes and Catherine Fellenz, two local businesswomen, say they inspired each other with the idea as they helped one another build up their training and coaching businesses. Hayes was a former training director for the city of Worcester and founded Dellwood Consulting, a training program, several years ago. Fellenz was an experienced personal development coach.

The graduates of the inaugural LEAD program. Bottom row, left to right: Matthew Cote, Catherine Rossi, Dennis O∀ˆ™Connor, and Christina Andreoli. Top: Miguel Rivera, Trina Dombrowski, Anthony Rakic, Fran Manocchio, Thomas Lewis, Megan Maceiko, Lynn Patterson, and Gladys Rodriguez-Parker.
Although a similar program existed in the city during the 1980s and early 1990s, it focused on showcasing the community to businesspeople, rather than showing them opportunities to become involved with it, Hayes says. "We were both so excited to try this," Hayes says. "And now that the first class has finished, we both feel like proud parents."

It’s shared emotion, says graduate Matt Cote, executive director of law firm Fletcher, Tilton and Whipple. "We’re definitely all proud of the work we’ve done," he says.

Their training began with an overnight retreat where all 12 participants made self-evaluations, bonded, and talked about leadership. They split into three groups of four and brainstormed ideas for community service projects. Over the next five months, their peers and bosses also gave them evaluations. And once a month, they spent a day chatting with prominent local leaders about what leadership means and how they could develop it.

All the time the groups refined and worked on their projects.

Cote and his team - Christina Andreoli of Fallon Community Health Plan, Trina Dombroski of National Grid and Miguel Rivera of Worcester Community Housing Resources - worked to create a website for high schoolers, www.w2nxt.com, that includes an aptitude test and Worcester-specific guides to scholarships and colleges. Its goal is to give post-high school options for local students.

Another group - comprised of Meghan Maceiko of UnumProvident Corp., Fran Manocchio, from the City of Worcester, Dennis O’Connor, of Waste Management, and Anthony Rakic, of TD Banknorth, - developed a leadership curriculum for junior high schoolers and taught it to a group of nine boys at the Citizen’s School at East Middle.

"We thought that it was really important to work with the junior high schoolers because there are fewer programs aimed directly at them," Maceiko says.

The last group - Thomas Lewis of Providence and Worcester Railroad, Gladys Rodriguez-Parker of the Office of Congressman James McGovern, Lynn M. Patterson of FCHP, and Catherine Rossi of UMass Memorial Health Care - raised $65,000 and developed a master plan for the Southbridge Street corridor. The lack of a plan had been a stumbling block for city groups interested in receiving grants to improve the area. With the completion of the plan, that process should be a lot easier.

The second year of the program is scheduled to start in January.

Kenneth J. St. Onge can be reached at kstonge@wbjournal.com

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