The 2016-2017 Class for Leadership Tomorrow is taking shape. After over 40 interviews, the list is being narrowed down to 25, the optimal size of the class. This year, the program had more applicants than ever, with some great candidates. Stay tuned for more info...

Last week, the current Leadership Tomorrow Class learned about Health and Human Services in Orange County. They visited the Orange County Rescue Mission (Village of Hope) and Children's Hospital of Orange County, and listened to speakers from Hoag Medical Group, Shankle Clinic, and Soccer For Hope.

The Leadership Tomorrow Class of 2016 (LT) completed Justice Day Thursday  the 17^th of March 2016. After opening remarks in the Library of the Office of the Public Defender in Santa Ana’s Civic Center the class had a very interesting presentation on Human Trafficking presented by Lihn Tran and Oree Freeman.  Tran has been the Administrator of the Orange County Human Trafficking Task Force for six years and Freeman is a very brave Human Trafficking Survivor and Advocate, and only twenty years of age.  Together they educated and shared in a very impactful way about the history of and progress to stop Human Trafficking in Orange County.

Our next presentation was by Sharon Petrosino who leads to office of the Public Defender after a career there of more than thirty years.  Petrosino shared the office’s role in providing effective, compassionate and high quality representation to the indigent client in a cost effective manner. She kept it real with some first-hand stories of success with Homeless Court, Drug Court, and Prop 47. She clearly articulated the role of the Office of the Public Defender.

LT’s annual Police Chief’s panel followed and featured Department leaders from Newport Beach, Tustin, Irvine and Costa Mesa and was moderated by LT’s own Chairman of the Board Assistant Chief Jon Lewis who was just sworn in as the new Chief of Police in Newport Beach on Tuesday the 22^nd of March 2016.  Outgoing Chief Jay Johnson from Newport reflected on topping off his long career in Long Beach with six years in Newport, Chief Charlie Celano of Tustin spoke of doing more with less in an era of budget constraints, and his particular focus on employee wellness to counter job stresses.  Deputy Chief Julia Engen from Irvine spoke at length about her City’s response to the Dorner killings and how to interact with a diverse population, and Captain Mark Manley from Costa Mesa described managing a department that underwent rapid and substantial staff reductions due to retirements and delays in hiring, and how to work productively with elected officials to address community concerns. This was a very impressive blue ribbon panel that took a number of questions and met personally with Class members after.

After a lunch mingle with the Police Chiefs the class boarded a luxury bus and traveled to the Theo Lacy Jail in Orange.  Trudy Naman, the LT Class Liaison, led a discussion the events thus far and prepared the class for the Jail Tour.  All personal property remained on the bus as the class was led by the supervising Deputy Sherriff and his team of Deputies on a tour of an occupied High Security Module, the Jail Medical Facilities, and the Dormitories each housing more than 190 inmates.  Along the way the class stopped and had detailed briefings on each aspect of housing over 3,000 offenders on site, including recent arrivals of more sophisticated criminals to the County Jail from the State Prison system under AB 109.  Thanks to Chief Jon Lewis for arranging this “all access” guided tour that is rarely offered. Needless to say this was a very sobering opportunity for the entire class.

We wrapped up the day in the Courtroom of Superior Court Judge and Professor of Law Thomas Goethals.  Serving on the top floor of the Santa Ana Courthouse Judge Goethals presides over the majority of the capital murder cases in Orange County.  One of the only Judges in California to have also worked as a Deputy District Attorney trying murder cases and a Defense Attorney in Private Practice defending them, Judge Goethals was appointed to the Superior Court in 2003.  He led a spirited lecture and discussion of the judicial process and how Justice is applied.

Needless to say it was another “all protein” day at LT.

In November 2014, Tracy Stayton embarked on a life-changing, year of service that would bring her to 25 countries and 6 continents.  34tunate, the project she organized, gave her the opportunity to focus on the “haves” instead of the “have-nots.”  She was free to make changes; in herself and the world. Free to leave behind the empty pining of a Rolex and be thankful for a Timex. Free to give back to others unconditionally and truly feel fortunate.

Over the course of the year, Tracy participated in 34 service projects ranging from volunteering at Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Utah to conducting HIV education in Tanzania to helping with Habitat for Humanity in Paraguay.  Her list of projects is extensive and she has many stories to share.  A few stuck out in her mind:  “In Guatemala I worked on a project based on Earth Ship building where all structures are built out of trash and other upcycled materials.  They are building a school and solving a trifecta of local issues by teaching the children traditionally in the school (education), teaching the local community about the importance of recycling and how to build this way (waste management), and employing locals to build and each (economy).  I helped them secure a $100,000 grant!”

Leadership Tomorrow is proud to call Tracy an alumni and encourages class members to become involved in their community. It’s about remembering what makes us 4tunate, no matter our circumstances!

Arts day was a huge success. Covering the performing arts, visual arts, and public art; the day kept the class engaged in the arts world – not a world familiar to everyone. The overriding theme of the day was that art is important to each of us and our community collectively. A significant portion of the class had not ever lingered in Noguchi Gardens in the performing arts area of Costa Mesa. Isamu Noguchi was the rock star of public arts displays and sculpture gardens with his works installed around the world. The tour continued to the outdoor sculpture park in NewportBeach; walking discussions included how public art is funded, chosen, installed, and in some instances returned. The class was put through a mini-improv class at South Coast Repertory with Great Atkins, world renowned instructor. Huge fun and a discovery of how fast and focused you have to be on a stage. Unbelievable lunch at The Capital Grille included a discussion with marquee panel including Dan Duling, Scriptwriter for Festival of Arts/Pageant of the Masters , Jason Holland, VP of Segerstrom Center for the Arts, Dawn Reese, Executive Director and Co-CEO of The Wooden Floor , and Paula Tomei, Managing Director of South Coast Repertory. Topics of discussion included; why are arts important, biggest challenges, arts community reach out programs, and more. One big take-a-way, the arts in any form early on inspires creativity which may be more highly valued in the future. The class was treated to an award winning short by Dennis Baker, Director of Short Film Programming with the The Newport Beach Film Festival (Official).

Thank you Stephanie Brown and Brian Greene for sharing your thoughts on Workshop #5.

Yesterday, the Leadership Tomorrow crew was certainly on the move....Newport Banning Ranch hosted a behind the scenes perspective of a proposed new development in Newport Beach that is facing controversy from community members concerned with the impact of this new project. Like Banning Ranch, the redevelopment of Irvine Business Complex also met with controversy with its conversion from business and industrial properties to high rise urban dwellings. The class spent the afternoon at one of these properties, Central Park West in Irvine.

Education Day at University of California, Irvine was kicked off with a high-level panel made up of area district officials, who informed us on new and local public school trends. Later in the morning, Mr. Randy Barth, CEO of THINK Together, one of the largest and fastest growing education-related nonprofits headquartered here in Orange County, addressed how they serve local at-risk youth thorough new innovative after school education programs.

Other components of the day highlighted Orange County’s largest public university, UCI, which is celebrating it’s 50 anniversary this year. New and emerging programs, such as the Gaming Department at UCI, including a presentation by Prof. Magda El Zarki, Director of Research Instruction in Virtual Environments and Computer Games, as well as a tour and presentation at the COVE by Matt Bailey, Chief Collaborative Strategist, at the UCI Applied Innovation center informing class members on emerging trends at this world-renowned research institution.

Thank you @TimBauer for sharing your perspective on education day.

Here is a recap from our tours to the Irvine Ranch Water District and the Mesa Water Facility last week on Water Day google ask