Gathering of Minds: LGFCU Fellows Alumni Connect and Share in Morrisville

LGFCU Fellows are a select group of emerging leaders committed to enhancing their leadership to increase the effectiveness of local government in North Carolina. As Fellows, these public servants participate in a rigorous leadership program at the UNC School of Government.

Alumni use their learnings from the course to improve themselves and often find opportunities to disseminate their takeaways from the course when they return to their organizations. This is sometimes referred to as the “ripple effect” as their learnings and changes ripple out into their workplace. One dedicated alumna, Giselle Rodriguez, has very intentionally found ways to extend her impact and take her experience with the course to the next level.

“The program was great for improving myself and my skills so I can be more effective as a leader,” said Rodriguez. “The experience was refreshing, encouraging, and inspiring. When I finished the program, I thought, am I doing enough?”

Rodriguez realized several of her colleagues at the Town of Morrisville had also gone through the program. “When I came back, I realized we need to be able to share our knowledge with individuals in the organization because not everyone is going to have the opportunity to take this program,” said Rodriguez.

Sharing out the values

Rodriguez and the others began meeting regularly in January 2023 to brainstorm how to share their learnings with others in the organization. “We all shared our experiences and how we feel the program has enhanced our leadership, and we connected with each other,” said Rodriguez.

The group began going through the latest edition of The Leadership Challenge, the primary text used in the course, chapter by chapter during monthly meetings. “Going through the book is a refresher for all of us and stimulates additional conversation on those ideas,” said Rodriguez. “There is a lot of conversation and collaboration during the meetings.” While they review the chapters, the alumni brainstorm ways to share the valuable takeaways from the course with others in their organization.

One way they have shared what they learned as Fellows is by practicing a values exercise from the course with the leadership team of the Town. “We took time during one of the leadership team meetings to run through values cards we used in the course,” said Rodriguez. Each of the alumni facilitated small groups completing the exercise.

“That was very eye-opening for each of the groups to realize what really matters and what each other’s values are,” said Rodriguez. “It helps you understand how they make decisions and approach different things. Many reached out after the exercise and said they wanted to do this with their teams.” Rodriguez and her colleagues supplied additional cards; some employees even took the cards home and completed the exercise with their families.

Next steps 

“Now we are thinking, what do we do next?” said Rodriguez. “We cannot keep this secret to ourselves. We want to continue to expand and support others in the organization.”

Another way the alumni hope to share their knowledge is by making themselves available to others in the organization to act as mentors or provide coaching or support, even for people not on their team.

Additionally, the alumni group has grown closer both personally and professionally. “I feel like this is my support group. We’ve all been through this experience together,” said Rodriguez. “We are peers and work together really well, but having Fellows in common unites us in a different way.”

As of September 2023, the members of the Morrisville alumni group are:

Mary Faucette – Parks, Recreation and Cultural Resources Director

Jeanne Hooks – Director of Management Services

Pete Acosta – Chief of Police

Nathan Lozinsky – Fire Chief

Jeffery Brown – Public Works Director

Giselle Rodriguez – Assistant Town Manager