Leadership Fort Wayne Celebrates New Location, Anniversary

August 2, 2012

News Release

Fort Wayne, Ind. -- Mayor Tom Henry will preside over a ribbon cutting ceremony at 904 South Calhoun Street on August 16, 2012 at 4:00pm. The 2012-2013 program year marks 30 years of community leadership development and stewardship for the organization. After a 30 year residency with Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, the non-profit organization has re-located to the heart of downtown Fort Wayne across from Summit Square. This move will allow for LFW to be in close proximity to businesses, local government offices, and other non-profits that reside in the downtown area, and serve as a centrally located center for leadership development in the community.

Mayor Henry, a 1986 LFW alumnus, will read a proclamation naming August 16, 2012 ‘Leadership Fort Wayne Day’. The mayor and the City of Fort Wayne welcome LFW to its new office and congratulate the organization on 30 years of dedicated service to the community, announcing that; ‘Leadership Fort Wayne has trained, prepared and inspired a thousand-plus community leaders to address community needs at every level of our community through personal leadership and citizenship.’

Leadership Fort Wayne invites all community stakeholders and supporters including alumni of its LFW, YLFW, NINA, BPNI, RLE programs and 101 Northeast Indiana Connectors to attend.

In addition to the celebration of a 30th anniversary and the opening of a new location; LFW is also pleased to announce the addition of two new staff members to its team. Michelle Chambers will serve as the new Program Director and Ryan Walbridge as the Marketing and Impact Manager.

Michelle D. Chambers’ career spans over two decades working in the non-profit, corporate and government sectors. As a public servant and real estate professional formerly employed with the Cities of Carson and Los Angeles she worked intimately with the development of non-profit agencies and distressed communities. Her unique combination of education; Masters of Public Administration, Bachelor of Arts in Child Development, National Urban Fellow “America’s Leaders of Change” graduate and Licensed Realtor has given her the opportunity to work closely with community development and human services programs of all types. In 1991 she began working for the City of Los Angeles as an Outreach Worker for the Community Development Department. In her final tenure with the City of Los Angeles she worked as the Acting Deputy Director of the Human Services Youth and Family Centers. As the Deputy Director she oversaw the management of three million dollars in annual Community Development Block Grants. In 2007 she began working as the Redevelopment Project Manager for the City of Carson Redevelopment Agency. Here she managed the development of affordable housing and commercial projects while also managing the departments “Local Hire Initiative”. During her time in Carson City she was enrolled in the Carson City Leadership Institute, an eight month training designed to provide future leaders with a detailed understanding of the various public and private elements needed to be an effective leader within a company or community. Michelle’s life passion is to give back to those who are underserved; she volunteers her time working with agencies that work with youth and seniors.

Ryan Walbridge is a Fort Wayne native and attended Canterbury High School where he participated in the Youth Leadership Fort Wayne, Youth as Resources, and L.E.A.D. programs. He then chose to attend The University of Tampa in Florida where he received a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. During a summer back in Fort Wayne he interned with the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership as a Marketing Intern; assisting the staff with website development, social media, and other marketing and communications tasks. During his time as an undergraduate in Tampa he worked as the Marketing and Listings Coordinator for Keller Williams Tampa Central; coordinating marketing for the broker and property manager. Most recently Ryan served his college fraternity, Theta Chi Fraternity, Inc., as a Leadership and Education Consultant working with groups of undergraduate men at large universities on the west coast.

About Leadership Fort Wayne, Inc.:

Leadership Fort Wayne is the preeminent source for businesses, community-serving organizations, local governments and nonprofit organizations to train as board members, volunteers, future community leaders and staff. Leadership Fort Wayne development provides individuals with a greater understanding of the importance and impact of corporate community involvement and individual civic engagement, philanthropy and service. The mission of Leadership Fort Wayne is to train, prepare and inspire individuals to positively impact the community through meaningful engagement. More information about Leadership Fort Wayne, Inc. is available at www.leadershipfortwayne.org.

Source: Leadership Fort Wayne Inc.