Lessons in Leadership

On May 26 2020 Leaders in Lowell was joined by Deval Patrick, the 71st Governor of Massachusetts and former presidential candidate, for a discussion about his career, race relations, civic engagement, and more. Governor Patrick gave us insight into his early life growing up on the South Side of Chicago, and the lessons he learned that helped shape him into the leader he is today. From talking about the importance of mentors and compassionate leaders, to being the first black Governor of Massachusetts, our discussion with Governor Patrick provides timely insight into how citizens at all levels can participate in making their communities a better place through bipartisan leadership and involvement.

Leaders in Lowell was joined by Tara Setmayer, a CNN Political Contributor and host of political podcast “Honestly Speaking”. Tara discussed her 25 year political career which has included working as Congressman Dana Rorbacher’s Communication Director, leading the charge to get two wrongly convicted Border Patrol agents sentence’s commuted, and working as a political commentator with numerous media organizations. Tara spoke on the current state of the political world and Republican Party under Donald Trump and how the party has strayed from true Conservatism. She also discussed her wish to see a return to the pre-Trump GOP when true conservative values and character were important. Her insightful commentary on everything from COVID-19 to criminal justice reform, Donald Trump, the media and more is timely, interesting, and important.

You can find Tara's podcast "Honestly Speaking" wherever you listen to podcasts.

On April 27, 2020 Leaders in Lowell had the honor of speaking with Deborah Lee James, the former Secretary of the Air Force. In this talk, Secretary James discussed her career and the lessons she has learned from years of experience in the national security field. She shared her knowledge on the most effective styles of leadership, overcoming adversity and her 5 step plan to do so, tackling sexual assault in the military, civic engagement, and much more. Her lessons, laid out clearly for anyone to follow, can be applied to not just the Pentagon, but any leader in everyday life.

On April 16, 2020, Leaders in Lowell was joined by Peggy Grande, the former executive assistant to President Ronald Reagan. Peggy discussed her career, what it was like working with President Reagan including getting to know him as a leader, and as a person, as well as his overall leadership. Through her personal stories and memories, we got a glimpse into who Ronald Reagan was as a leader and as a man. Peggy discussed her incredible career after Reagan, including becoming an author, Fox News correspondent, and working on nonprofit “World for Brexit”. We hope you enjoy this informative, enlightening, and inspirational talk with Peggy Grande.

On April 7, 2020 Leaders in Lowell was joined by LaTosha Brown, the co-founder of the Black Voters Matter Fund and a 2019 Fall Fellow at Harvard Universities Institute of Politics. LaTosha spoke with Leaders in Lowell about her work with the Black Voters Matter Fund, civic engagement, issues like public health & education, and much more. 

This episode is an audio recording of Leaders in Lowell's panel event focused on the topic of "Women in Leadership" with Governor Jane Swift, CEO Karen Frederick, CEO Erin Murphy-Rafferty, and Bopha Malone. We apologize if the audio isn't always great as we are just getting started, but we are excited to share this event with you.

On April 4, 2019 Leaders in Lowell was honored to host a Women in Leadership Panel at the Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center at Middlesex Community College. The panel featured CEO of Community Teamwork Karen Frederick, Enterprise Bank Vice President Bopha Malone, The Wonderfund CEO Erin Murphy-Rafferty, and former Massachusetts Governor Jane Swift. The panelists touched on a variety of topics pertaining to women, community engagement, and cross field collaboration. They discussed their own personal journeys in leadership and life, the barriers that can make things harder for women in the workplace, relationships between nonprofit, business, and government and how they can effectively collaborate, the importance of mentorship and various ways that people have gone about approaching the issue of women's equality like legislation for quotas and paternity leave. We would like to thank the Merrimack Repertory Theater and Mr. and Mrs. Drew Photography for their generous help and support with this event!

This episode is an audio recording of Leaders in Lowell's event with Rena Finder, a survivor of the Holocaust. We apologize if the audio isn't always great as we are just getting started, but we are excited to share this event with you.

Lessons in Leadership with Rena Finder took place on June 26th 2019 with Rena Finder, a survivor of the Holocaust and one of the youngest saved by Oskar Schindler. She spoke with us at the Nancy and Richard Donahue Family Academic Arts Center to nearly 100 people to share her story. Ms. Finder was born in Poland in 1929 and her family was later moved to the Krakow Ghetto before she was transported with her mother to the Plaszow concentration camp and later Auschwitz-Birkenau. She was saved from an almost certain death by the Nazi-businessman Oskar Schindler who saved over 1,200 Jews during the second world war. She gave a very moving and emotional talk on the horrors of her experience as well as the kindness she was shown by people and the immense effects that it had on her life and survival. The emphasis on the key values of kindness, tolerance, and the fact that, underneath, we are all the same and all deserve fair treatment and happiness. The message could not have been clearer, we must all live our lives and treat others with kindness and that there is never any excuse to be a bystander. It was a truly moving and unforgettable experience with a message that should never be forgotten.

This episode is an audio recording of Leaders in Lowell's recent event with Deesha Dyer, former White House Social Secretary. We apologize if the audio isn't always great as we are just getting started, but we are excited to share this event with you.  

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On January 23, 2020 Leaders in Lowell was honored to host former White House Social Secretary Deesha Dyer at the Richard and Nancy Donahue Family Academic Arts Center. Originally from Philadelphia, Deesha was the Obama Administration’s Social Secretary, "responsible for the planning, coordination, and execution of official social events at the White House". In her time with the Obama Administration, she planned state visits, official ceremonies, private events, and numerous other functions on the White House campus. In 2014, Dyer founded beGirl.world a "non-profit organization empowering teen girls through global education and travel". Throughout the evening Deesha shared a variety of stories, both humorous and more serious, detailing her life and career leading to, during, and after her time at the White House, as well as how she personally managed all the stress and tried to maintain a happy and healthy personal life. From hip-hop writing to organizing a 12,000 person event for the Pope, Deesha was engaging, informative, inspirational to all who attended to follow their heart and do what’s best for both themselves and for those around them.

* The sound at the beginning of the episode is the projection screen at the venue going up, sorry for the noise! 

The 2020 run of Leaders in Lowell is presented by Nancy Donahue and Middlesex Community College.