Leadership Eastside’s Adaptive Leadership Program CLASS OF 2025 Graduates May 8

Pickering Barn in Issaquah, 6pm, tickets available

Each year, Leadership Eastside convenes a group of Eastside business, public, nonprofit and community leaders, for a 2-year Adaptive Leadership program. Leaders learn about approaching adaptive issues (those without a direct solution, ex: homelessness) with a systems-thinking approach that brings everyone affected by an issue to the table to be part of the solution. The Class of 2025 presented their team adaptive campaign projects on March 13, which were on the topics of: 

• Youth mental health, partner KTUB 

• Re-entry barriers for individuals leaving incarceration without a valid ID, partner WELD 

• Supporting minority small business owners, partner Bellden Ventures 

• The impacts of AI on public safety, partner Chief Lowe, Redmond Police Department 

Meet the Leadership Eastside Class of 2025 Graduates 

The Leadership Eastside Class of 2025 Adaptive Leadership cohort members ARE the movers and shakers of the Eastside. Many have started a nonprofit organization to fill a gap in community needs; some have immigrated here from another country and have vast wisdom to share with others; some are advocates for our LGBTQIA+ community; and others serve us through public service and community building every day: (city = lives in) 

Hend Alhinnawi - Humanitarian Tracker, Kirkland 

Seraphie Allen – City of Redmond, Seattle 

Axton Burton – Pride Across the Bridge, Redmond 

Bonnie DeCaro-Monahan – Issaquah Food & Clothing Bank, Issaquah 

Jesus Diaz – Seattle Children’s Hospital, Lake Stevens 

Adam Dibba – Africans on the Eastside, Bellevue 

Cole Eckerman – Eckerhaus Consulting, Maple Valley 

Liz Glick – City of Bellevue, Woodinville 

Nicaise Ishimwe – Amazon, Redmond 

Cham Kao – University of Washington, Mill Creek 

Mariely Lemagne – MoPOP, Seattle 

S. Scarleth Lever Ortiz – King County, Bothell,  

Gabriela Lopez Vazquez – King County Promotores Network, Kirkland 

Carl Lunak – City of Bellevue, Kenmore 

Monik Martinez – 4Tomorrow, Bellevue 

Berlin Maza – Eastside Fire & Rescue, Maple Valley 

Katie McPhail Coltrain – Northwest Marine Trade Assoc., Issaquah 

Anjali Myer – City of Sammamish, Sammamish 

Kristen Raftis – City of Redmond, Seattle 

Kelli Refer – Move Redmond, Seattle 

Jackie Siochi – Acres of Diamonds, Redmond 

Samantha St. John – Port of Seattle, Kirkland 

Blake Trask – King County – Claudia Balducci, Seattle 

Mallory Van Abbema – City of Shoreline, Shoreline 

Rajesh Venkatesh – Abhyas Consulting LLC, Bellevue 

Sara Waltemire – Meydenbauer Center, Seattle 

Tami Welch – Village Parent Support & Fred Hutch Cancer Center, Redmond 

Jim Whitney – Redmond Fire Department Medic One, Vashon Island 

Yukari Zednick – Cascadia College, Woodinville 

NEW Leadership Eastside 10-Month CORE Experience Program 

Leadership Eastside’s two-year Adaptive Leadership program will transition to a 10-month class called CORE Experience. It will still be based on The Practice of Adaptive Leadership by Heifetz, Grashow & Linsky, out of the Harvard Center for Public Leadership, Gracious Space, and understanding inequitable, multicultural systems. For the new CORE Experience program we have added the Inner Development Goals Framework, based on the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. 

 Leadership Eastside is currently accepting applications for the CORE Experience program. You can find out more information about the program, nominate a leader and apply at LeadershipEastside.com.  

Join us for graduation, tickets: https://leadershipeastside.ejoinme.org/MyEvents/Classof2025Graduation/tabid/1527987/Default.aspx  

Leadership Eastside convenes and educates leaders to focus on the greater good in East King County.  We inform, equip, and connect our community’s greatest assets – its leaders – to meet our community’s greatest needs. Our mission is to build leadership capacity to address complex challenges. Leadership Eastside envisions a thriving and equitable community where complex issues are addressed through collaboration and shared responsibility. Leadership Eastside serves the entire East King County region and beyond with its CORE Experience program and 4-day Executive Insight program. More info at www.leadershipeastside.com.