With the opening of applications for the 2019 class of Leadership Lafayette, One Acadiana and the Leadership Institute of Acadiana held its first joint Coffee Connection meeting Tuesday morning to detail the work the two organizations are doing.
The event was hosted by One Acadiana Senior Vice President Anita Begnaud and LIA Executive Director Ashley Mudd. The Coffee Connection was their way of not only allowing local business leaders and entrepreneurs to connect but also a way to let people know the benefits of the programs the organizations offer.
“We hosted today’s event to share with the community more about the partnership between the two organizations,” Mudd said. “The Leadership Lafayette program is our flagship program we’ve developed with One Acadiana, and we really wanted to highlight the benefits of the program and that applications are open.”
The Leadership Lafayette program will teach local would-be leaders the skills to become innovators and change-makers in Acadiana.
“We know there’s a lot of room and opportunity for growth and improvement in our community and we work to develop leaders to go out and be catalysts in that change,” Mudd said.
On top of discussions of other programs like Lafayette Junior Leadership, Intro Lafayette and the Leadership Alumni Organization, former Leadership Lafayette graduates were on hand to share their experiences and how they benefited from what they learned and how the connections they made helped their careers.
“One of the most important things I got was exposure to a new group of people that I never would have encountered within my circle,” said Chad Abell, an architect with Abell & Crozier Architects. “Government people stick to government people, non-profit people to non-profit people, and it gave me a peek behind the curtain to see how every piece of our community works and how it all works together.”
The Leadership Lafayette program starts with a two-day retreat and then will meet once a month for nine months to cover important topics such as economic drivers, state and local government, education, social services and philanthropy and arts and culture.
Applications for the 2019 Leadership Lafayette class are open until 5 p.m. Oct. 26 at 5 p.m. Tuition is $2,000, and financial aid options are available. For more, visit the website.