GALEO Institute for Leadership Graduated the Largest Class in the Program’s History
(Atlanta, GA): November 23, 2015 – GALEO graduated 25 new leaders from the GALEO Institute for Leadership, which held a graduation reception on Friday, November 20, 2015 at the historic National Center for Civil and Human Rights in Atlanta.
This is the 14th group of graduates resulting from GALEO’s leadership development efforts. The total number of GALEO Institute for Leadership alumni now stands at 484 people from all across the state.
GALEO Institute for Leadership graduates heard inspiring words from Dr. Todd Groce, President of the Georgia Historical Society. Dr. Groce reminded the graduates of Atlanta’s historical sense of inclusion and spurred them to become the next great generational leaders of our state. Nevada congressional candidate, Ms. Lucy Flores, also spoke at the graduation and inspired the guests with her story of redemption and success thanks to the belief that others placed in her.
The graduation follows a serious commitment to a year round program that develops basic leadership skills while also exposing the participants to other community leaders and potential opportunities for continued leadership development. The participants were exposed to the following community leaders:
- Maria Duarte, Telemundo Atlanta
- Ivan Shammas, Telemundo General Manager and Chair of the GALEO Leadership Council
- Genny Castillo, Georgia House Democratic Caucus
- Kelli Persons, League of Women Voters
- Chris Perlera, Georgia Secretary of State’s Office
- Jerry Gonzalez, GALEO
- Leonard Gomez, Mayor Pro-Tem – Grantville, Georgia
- David Araya and Angela Hurtado, Founders – Hispanic Organization Promoting Education (HoPE)
- Becca Guerra, ProGeorgia
- Brenda Lopez, Candidate for Georgia State House
- David Schaefer, The Latin American Association
- State Senator Nan Orrock
- State Senator Curt Thompson
- AnMarie Martin, Georgia Peace Officer
- Soumaya Khalifa, Islamic Speakers Bureau
- Greg Bautista, Beverly Isegohi, Pegui Mariduena, Katherine Vega, Alejandro Ramirez, Jaime Rangel, Estela Martinez, Christian Bello, Damian Bedoya, Cassandra Johnson, Saul Valdez
The GALEO Latino Community Development Fund has implemented the GALEO Institute for Leadership to focus upon the leadership development of the Latino community across our state. As part of the GALEO Institute for Leadership, GALEO formed a strategic partnership with the University of Georgia’s Fanning Institute to expand and develop our joint efforts for the Community Leadership Program.
The graduates dedicated more than 89 hours during 2015 to complete eight modules, additional presentations and a group project. In addition, this GALEO Institute for Leadership Class of 2015 represented a diverse class with participants from various countries including the following:
- United States
- Colombia
- Peru
- Puerto Rico
- Mexico
- Honduras
- Dominican Republic
- El Salvador
- Venezuela
- Haiti
The graduates represented the following counties of our state:
- Clayton
- Bartow
- Rockdale
- Chatham
- Fulton
- Hall
- Cherokee
- Dekalb
- Walton
- Gwinnett
- Barrow
- Forsyth
- Cobb
The graduates were also encouraged to engage with the GALEO Leadership Council (GLC), which is made up of alumni from previous GIL sessions, as well as active GALEO Members. Several of the graduates are already serving leadership roles within the GLC and plan to contribute to significant plans in place for 2016.
This leadership program was made possible in part by the Sapelo Foundation, University of Georgia-Fanning Institute, Georgia Power, State Farm Insurance Company, GALEO and individual donors.
Recruiting has already begun for the GALEO Institute for Leadership class of 2016. For information on the 2016 sessions and the application process, please visit http://2014old.galeo.org/leadership/gil/ .
For other questions regarding the upcoming GALEO Institute for Leadership, contact Samuel Aguilar at404.745.2546 or samuel@2014old.galeo.org. Pictures of the graduation are available upon request and are posted on http://www.facebook.com/GALEO.org . Click here for album link.
Sponsorship opportunities for the 2016 sessions are available to invest in Georgia’s future leaders. Please contact Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director, GALEO, at jerry@2014old.galeo.org or 404.745.2580.
###