In September 2020, Orange Coast magazine recognized Leadership Tomorrow alumna and current Board Member Rachel Johnson as one of "35 Kickass Women in O.C." Currently Captain of the Laguna Beach Police Department, she previously served as a Marine, Orange County Sheriff’s deputy, and lieutenant at the Newport Beach Police Department.

As an LT class member in 2019, Rachel valued her experience learning more about the community beyond her profession and connecting with so many leaders throughout Orange County. She appreciates how LT provides leaders with exposure to real-world issues and opportunities for direct involvement, including the LT class service project. Rachel’s class furnished a temporary homeless shelter, contributing useful resources to support the community’s most vulnerable residents.

So moved by the LT program, Rachel did not hesitate to give back to the organization upon graduation. She applied to join LT’s active, working Board of Directors and now collaborates on planning workshops for the current class. She also contributes her time and expertise as an Advisory Board Member for the First Battalion, First Marines Foundation, which supports military families of Marines enlisted in service with one of the most decorated and distinguished units in the Marine Corps.

The Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce recently named LT alumnus Joe Stapleton as its Citizen of the Year for 2020. After graduating from Leadership Tomorrow in 2011, he has focused on getting the next generation involved in making a positive difference through community service. Helping to shape and influence his involvement today, Joe’s experience during the LT government day workshop gave him the opportunity to sit down with local elected officials and city employees to learn about decision-making and how best to approach existing public/private partnerships.

Today, Joe serves on more than a dozen boards of directors for community and civic organizations, including the Finance Committee for the City of Newport Beach, the Executive Board for the Commodores Club of the Newport Beach Chamber of Commerce, and as Chairman of the Board for the Newport Beach Foundation. He also holds board of directors roles with The Pacific Club, New Majority Orange County, Newport Beach & Company, Literacy Project, Speak Up Newport, OC Cats (University of Arizona Alumni Association), The Pacific Arts Foundation, Corona del Mar Residence Association, Lott Trophy and International Executive Council.

Additionally, Joe gives back to LT as a speaker during the annual business day workshop. He shares with class members about the importance of community involvement in his life, while also presenting his professional expertise as President and Co-Founder of Spinnaker Investment Group, where he oversees the firm’s client relationships while advising businesses and individuals on customized wealth and investment management, life insurance, group benefits and executive compensation solutions.

Leadership Tomorrow’s 2020-2021 Chairwoman, Jenny Roney, has served on the Board of Directors since 2015. As an enthusiastic contributor to LT’s working board of volunteers, Jenny has actively supported the nonprofit’s success as an executive committee member, workshop committee collaborator and recruitment committee lead. Over the next two years, Jenny aims to make LT bigger, better and more inspirational by working together with the outstanding group of individuals who serve alongside her.

A 2015 LT alumna, Jenny discovered the organization upon relocating to Orange County when she began her current role as Director of Human Resources at Irvine Ranch Water District.  Eager to learn about her new community and how to become involved in giving back, she sought out opportunities to build upon her prior volunteerism with YMCA, Girls Scouts, and several other community organizations in Northern Los Angeles County, where she previously lived for more than 30 years.

At first, Jenny’s quest for a similar experience in her new community felt daunting. Then, LT provided the ideal community connection that Jenny sought to educate herself about the possibilities for making a positive impact. Workshops on the arts, housing, homelessness and transportation interested Jenny the most, as she knew the least about resources available in these areas of the community. Inspired greatly by the community members who volunteered their time and talents to make LT’s nine experiential workshops and networking opportunities possible, Jenny ultimately stepped up to give back in gratitude to the LT program itself.

Leadership Tomorrow selected Class of 2002 alumna Cindy Brenneman as the 2020 Outstanding LT Alumni Leadership Award. She credits her LT experience as a key inspiration behind her service as a volunteer and nonprofit board member. She also says that LT taught her to never stop learning and always ask questions.

Cindy recounts many learnings from various LT workshops. During Government Day, she valued the speakers’ insights into so many complex issues from the inside out. She considers Water Day a game-changer in her understanding of what it takes to bring water through her faucet, and now she thinks about that day every time she turns on the sink! The most impactful experiences for Cindy included visits to organizations like S.O.S., Someone Cares Soup Kitchen and THINK Together, where she learned about the community’s immense need for help in the local communities and how volunteerism make all the difference for small-staffed nonprofits.

After retiring from her full-time career, she transitioned into part-time roles and now dedicates a significant amount of her time to volunteering with numerous Orange County organizations, while also running a lifestyle coaching consultancy, based in Costa Mesa. In addition to her Outstanding LT Alumni honor, Cindy has earned the President’s Award for Volunteerism from President Bush and was named the 2019 Civilian Volunteer of the Year by Costa Mesa Fire & Rescue.

Kim Sherman, LT Class of 2014 alumna and former LT board member, appreciates the opportunities that both roles brought her. While engaging with a diverse group of leaders across industries and learning how water, labor, education, business, the arts and more all work together to build communities, Kim’s LT experiences opened her eyes to a world of possibilities for career advancement and community involvement.

When asked about which LT workshop most impacted her as a class member, Kim recalls how the first one covering Orange County history set the tone for the following eight sector-specific workshops. Each subsequent monthly workshop sparked more curiosity in Kim, who served as Director of Membership for the Greater Irvine Chamber. In particular, her deepening understanding of regulatory issues across local, regional and state government instilled the confidence in Kim to increase her contributions to the business community.

Inspired by the change-makers she engaged during her LT class year, Kim went on to serve a two-year LT board term and helped shape the workshops on business, arts and education. She grew professionally as a nonprofit trade association leader and ultimately transitioned into her current role as Senior Director of Membership with Western Growers, which advocates on behalf of a large constituency across four states. Kim acknowledges her LT experience and the quality relationships formed through the organization as key factors in supporting her ongoing success.

Leadership Tomorrow Class of 2017 Alumna Sophia Rose Alexander learned about Olive Crest Orange County, after hearing the nonprofit’s Executive Director (and fellow LT alumnus) Tim Bauer speak during Health and Human Services Day. A compassionate mother of two and grandmother of five, Sophia felt so inspired by Olive Crest’s support of local children that she wanted to find a way to help.

Immediately following her LT graduation, Sophia connected with Olive Crest for a tour to learn more about how the nonprofit works to ensure each vulnerable child is safe in a loving family. That’s when Tim introduced her to Olive Crest’s Safe Families program (https://orangecounty.safe-families.org/).

With Sophia and Tim’s mutual friends involved, she felt immediately connected and joined the Safe Families Council to help with education, awareness and fundraising. This group serves families in crises by partnering with local churches, which coordinate “host families” that open their homes and lives to vulnerable children. Along with serving on the Council, Sophia and her husband support host families by having meals delivered and offering babysitting services when host families need personal time.

For Gina Jackson, a class of 2015 Leadership Tomorrow graduate, every LT workshop gave her a sense of renewed hope. She enthusiastically shared what she learned with colleagues, friends and family. The opportunity to go behind the scenes and witness firsthand how Orange County leaders advocate for the needs of community members inspired Gina to leave her comfort zone, expand her skill set, and make a career move she could have never imagined.

While most agree that “knowledge is power,” Gina believes that knowledge without action is powerless. Leadership Tomorrow influenced her action to go back to school at age 50 to earn a master’s degree in social work. The Health and Human Services, and Justice and Public Safety workshops encouraged Gina to consider how she could become part of the solution, given the prevalence of problems like substance abuse and violence in the community.

In 2018, Gina moved from California to Virginia. Putting her LT experience into action, she became a Psychology Associate, providing therapy to severely mentally ill offenders in a state prison. She goes to work not knowing what to expect and comes home feeling purposeful. Her profession feels rewarding because she has the privilege of enacting positive change into the lives of others and leaving them better than she found them.

Charlene Ashendorf, a graduate of the first class of Leadership Tomorrow (LT) in 1998, served in nearly every capacity possible to advance LT’s mission. As LT’s biggest fan and tireless ambassador, her roles have included board member, LT class liaison and chair, volunteering her time to organize everything from workshops and scholarships to nominations and class selections. In fact, Charlene believes in LT so whole-heartedly that she insisted on her fiancé participating before she accepted his marriage proposal!

As a class participant, each workshop experience resonated with Charlene in immeasurable ways, but volunteering to plan workshops most influenced her next steps after graduating from LT. Grateful for the opportunity to develop LT workshops that illuminate the minds and hearts of others, she coordinated exceptional presenters, balanced workshops, and opportunities to build relationships with participants, community leaders and partners. The meaningful connections and lifelong friendships that Charlene built through LT led to even more ways to give of her time and talent.

During her nonprofit management career, LT helped Charlene cultivate many partnerships with businesses, other nonprofits and community organizations. In her retirement, Charlene has served on many boards, assisted with organizing major community events and shared her expertise in countless ways. She currently serves as Chair of the City of Costa Mesa's Cultural Arts Committee and on the city’s Parks, Arts & Community Services commission as Liaison to seniors and the Senior Center. She also holds a leadership role for P.E.O. International, a 150-year-old philanthropic educational organization that provides financial support to women and owns a private women’s college in Nevada, Missouri.

Leadership Tomorrow’s Education Day inspired Karen Holt (LT Class of 2018) to take action, after learning about the Veteran’s Resource Center (VRC) while touring Coastline Community College’s Newport Beach campus. Karen’s LT experience connected her passion for continuing education with an opportunity to impact a community cause.

As a landscape designer and licensed contractor, she knows the value and importance of life-long learning, as well as continuing education in any field to stay current and to advance professionally. Karen nurtures her design expertise through community college art, horticulture and design classes.