November 2024
Executive Director's Corner
Lee Ann Witt
November is the time of year when
we stop to reflect on our many blessings.
I am so thankful for each of you and the opportunity to serve Scottsdale Leadership as Executive Director. I am excited that we continue to try new things with such positive and encouraging feedback. Class 39 is a thriving and active class with an abundance of energy and curiosity…just ask our speakers! I am grateful to our alumni that continue to support Scottsdale Leadership through their involvement and as active alumni donors. Together we stay true to our mission of developing community leaders.
Three years ago, we began the Dr. Art DeCabooter Scholarship to honor our co-founder who served in numerous civic leadership roles for over 30 years. He was instrumental in the “Save the McDowells” movement that lead to the establishment of the McDowell Sonoran Preserve. We use Giving Tuesday, December 3rd, as our vehicle to direct all giving efforts towards the Dr. Art DeCabooter Scholarship. We are proud to introduce you to Roger Lurie, our 3rd Dr. Art DeCabooter Scholarship award recipient. Please join us in the global movement to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.
I am looking forward to seeing you all at the 24th Annual Spirit of Community Awards Luncheon on December 13th when we gather to celebrate our Drinkwater, Hodges, Jenkins, and Frances Young Trailblazer Award winners. The holiday spirit will be alive at the Scottsdale Resort & Spa. Get your luncheon ticket now before our early bird pricing ends November 22nd.
And what would our Spirit of Community Leadership Luncheon be without our silent auction? Get ready to shop at our “12 Days of Christmas Silent Auction” that kicks off with a special package for Scottsdale Leadership to cruise to Amsterdam and Bordeaux September 5-12, 2025. What could be more fun than vacationing with your Scottdale Leadership friends?
Our silent auction opens December 2nd online and is open to the public, so share with friends and family, to join in the fun of our silent auction.
I’ll see you at the Luncheon!
Meet Your
Board Member
Rachel Jensen, Class 38
Vice Chair of Community Events
Hello Everyone!
I am Rachel Jensen, Class 38 – Best in State and currently serving as the Vice Chair of Community Events. We are only a few weeks away from our wonderful Spirit of Community Leadership Awards luncheon, and we are looking for outstanding members to help! What can you do? We are in need for help with our silent auction! As you know, this auction is important to our organization to continue to support our current and future leaders of Scottsdale and is one of our primary fundraisers for the year. To make this a success, we are seeking your support to help us secure items for the auction and/or raise funds to sponsor additional items. Here are some ideas:
1) Gift Items – if you or someone you know has connections to local businesses, artists, or service providers, they may be interested in donating items or services to support our cause. This could include gift certificates, artwork, merchandise, or experiences
2) Monetary Donations – contributions of any amount can be pooled together to purchase high-quality items for the auction, ensuring a variety of appealing options for attendees. We are seeking monetary donations to secure two cruiser bikes, electric bike, and a drone. Here is a link to donate for these items.
3) Fundraising Outreach – if you’re comfortable reaching out to potential donors or supporters, we’d greatly appreciate your help spreading the word.
Every contribution, big or small, will make a meaningful impact and will be acknowledged during the event. If you’re able to assist or have any connections that could help, please let me know. I would also be happy to provide any supporting materials or information for outreach.
Thank you for your dedication and support.
Together, I’m confident we can make this auction a success and reach our fundraising goals!
12 Days of Silent Auction is Back!
Look for our first silent auction item on December 2nd !
Blast From the Past
Bronwyn Maxwell, Class 34
Written by: Craig Miller, Class 7 and Dr. Frances Mills-Yerger, Class 16
It is nice symmetry that we are able to interview Bronwyn Maxwell of Class 34 towards the end of this year, as we interviewed her husband Kevin Maxwell for this same column at the beginning of 2024. They are both active Scottsdale Leadership alumni who have paid forward their experience and expertise to this year’s Scottsdale Leadership class. We had a great time meeting with Bronwyn who is on the frontlines of working with Scottsdale’s 3 - 5 year-old kids with developmental and learning challenges.
Important jobs like hers are not always easy, and Bronwyn has faced her share of frustrations and obstacles in her 28-year career with the Scottsdale Unified School District, that is for sure. But as our great conversation continued, you could just see her face light up when she talked about how these kids can overcome their learning difficulties to become contributing members of our society. She has a lot to offer, and we know you will enjoy getting to her know her better, just as we did.
Scottsdale Leadership's Ladies
Put on the Ritz for Good Causes
LEFT TO RIGHT: Rachel Jensen, Betty Hancock and Stacey Gross of Class 38 at the Homeless Engagement Lift Partnership (H.E.L.P) Gala
LEFT TO RIGHT: Katie Patten, Alicia Haygood and Tawni Rachel of Class 39
show up for Helping Hands for Single Moms Fundraiser
An Evening of Spectacular Art
and Connections at Canal Convergence
Community Leaders came together to enjoy artwork along the canal at the Annual Canal Convergence. Scottsdale Leadership joined Scottsdale Rising Young Professionals and NextGen at Scottsdale Arts along the Scottsdale Waterfront. Thanks to Randy Nussbaum and Sacks Tierney for sponsoring this amazing event.
Giving Tuesday Starts Today !
Scottsdale Leadership directs all Giving Tuesday efforts towards the Dr. Art DeCabooter Scholarship. Please join us in this global movement to give, collaborate, celebrate generosity and help a future deserving incoming class member!
Giving Tuesday donations will be accepted November 19th through December 3rd!
Class Day Journals
Economic Development Day
Submitted by Dana Close
Economic Development Day is one of the most anticipated and appreciated class days of the year – and for good reason! As director of our Core Program, I always let our presenters know not to be alarmed when people start pulling out their phones to take photos of their informative slides because the information is so impactful and useful!
Our outstanding Day Chair team members were Brian Bednar, Class 20 and this year’s Hodges Award winner, Co-Founder Sam Campana, and Ryan Rybarczyk, Class 36. They really pulled together a dream team of speakers for Class 39.
FROM LEFT TO RIGHT:
George Adams, Director - Facilities & Real Estate, General Dynamics
Odette Bakker, Head of Governmental Affairs-USA, ASM
Sam Campana, Co-Founder, Scottsdale Leadership
Brian Bednar, SRP Strategic Account Manager, Government Sector, Salt River Project, 2024 Hodges Award Winner
Quannah Dallas, Economic Development Director, SRPMIC
Ryan Rybarczyk, Realtor, Long Realty, Class 36
Lee Ann Witt, Executive Director, Scottsdale Leadership
George Thimsen, Tournament Chairman and Big Chief, WM Phoenix Open
Technology Day
Submitted by Kelly Morin
On Friday, November 8th, Class 39 of Scottsdale Leadership had the exciting opportunity to dive into the cutting-edge technologies that are shaping our world. Led by Day Chair Kevin Maxwell (Class 29), we explored a wide range of topics—from artificial intelligence and blockchain to autonomous driving and cybersecurity. It was a dynamic and insightful day, where we learned how these advancements are transforming industries and impacting our daily lives and communities.
The day started with a fascinating Generative AI session led by Ross Wheeler and Tony Welcome from State Farm. Generative AI, which is trained on vast amounts of internet data, has been making waves across various fields. AI is becoming increasingly creative and capable, from creating text with ChatGPT (like this very write-up) and images with Stable Diffusion to generating code with CoPilot and even mimicking human voices with Microsoft’s Vall-E. However, as we discussed, technology also comes with challenges, including the potential for bias, misinformation, and ethical concerns—issues that demand our attention as leaders in the tech space. We also learned about its potential uses, such as AI-powered social media sourcing, and the military’s deployment of AI in jets to assist human pilots.
Kids in Focus is Looking for Board Members
The Board of Directors for Kids in Focus is looking to fill 2-3 seats with talented people, where better to look than Scottsdale Leadership!
We are looking for passionate dedicated members, skills we’d love to find are financial, corporate outreach, marketing and event planning.
Contact Colleen Katz (Class 34) at 480-748-1474 or katzparty@yahoo.com if you have any questions or interest.
Visit us at KidsInFocus.org
