From young professionals to senior executives, the Charleston Area Alliance Leadership Kanawha Valley (LKV) program gives the leaders of today and tomorrow the tools, knowledge, experiences, and connections to enhance their community impact. LKV is one of the most celebrated leadership programs in the region as it builds strong connections across private, public, and nonprofit sectors and helps graduates find their place in creating a vibrant community.
Through LKV’s eight-month program, participants learn about the issues shaping the community from the experts working on them, form lasting bonds with classmates who are active leaders, and strengthen professional skills with a leadership development curriculum. Since 2004, more than 325 have joined the Charleston Area Alliance’s LKV alumni network.
As an economic, business and community development organization, the Alliance works to grow and aid talent to become better leaders and citizens through the LKV program. The Alliance recognizes that retaining talent at all levels is imperative and delivers quality development opportunities. LKV is one of the organization’s many projects aimed at identifying new ideas, energy, and leadership.
“We are dedicated to developing a robust pipeline of diverse civic leaders to serve the region,” said Susie Salisbury, the Alliance’s vice president of Community Development. “The impact of the program is felt in all areas of the community. We are committed to helping the broader Kanawha Valley region embrace creativity in its thinking and building bridges of understanding across segments of our community.”
LKV works to strengthen and inspire participants to become more impactful leaders and maintain involvement in the social, business, and political fabric of the community. Participants work together to get better acquainted with the area’s business, government, community, and quality of life issues. LKV takes participants to the center of the issues, illuminating the region’s challenges and innovative solutions through behind-the-scene experiences, offering exclusive access to our region’s experts and providing opportunities to deepen connections with the area’s leaders.
The program strategically addresses The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s forms of wealth, including individual, intellectual, social and political capital. LKV participants are usually looking to expand their commitment to the community, dive deeper into the Kanawha Valley’s issues, and collaborate with other leaders to find solutions. Those selected have demonstrated leadership
capacities, varied talents and backgrounds, and diverse careers.
The Alliance is grateful for TGKVF’s investment in the 2016 LKV program. With TGKVF’s support during LKV’s transitional year, we have continued our focus on developing talented leaders and building a stronger community while seeking new funding support for 2017. The Alliance is excited to announce that Frontier Communications and Thomas Health System as the presenting sponsors of the 2017 LKV class. We look forward to continuing this important work.
