On Friday, November 15, 2024, the graduates of Leadership Prince William's Emerging Leaders program gathered at the historic Manassas Museum to celebrate the culmination of their eight-week journey into leadership development. The ceremony, held at 5 p.m., honored the participants' achievements and inspired them to embark on the next chapter of their leadership endeavors.
Arron Tolson of Leadership Prince William addressed the graduates, emphasizing the importance of their newfound skills. “This is not the end. It is just the beginning. Now you have a framework to go out into the community and make change,” said Tolson. He described the class as “motivating, competent, overcomers, purposeful, energetic, and dreamers,” adding that these qualities will strengthen the community and empower future leaders.
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Heather Haney, a participant in the Leadership Prince William Signature Program Class of 2025, shared her journey with the organization, reflecting on how it began with the Emerging Leaders Program. Haney’s involvement in Leadership Prince William started in 2018 after a friend encouraged her to apply.
"I was in a tough headspace at the time, working on launching my own business," Haney said. "My friend, who was already involved with Leadership Prince William, suggested I give it a try."
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Martina Jackson Green, Executive Director at the Human Services Alliance of Greater Prince William County, recently graduated from the Leadership Prince William Class of 2024. The one-year program aims to develop leadership skills and foster connections among local leaders.
During a recent interview with Potomac Local Live, Green shared insights from her experience. She described the initial intimidation of joining a class with over 30 leaders across the county but emphasized the value of leaning into her strengths and learning from others.
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Have you ever wanted to discover what kind of leader you truly are? To understand your community better than anyone else? To build life-long connections that strengthen you, your family, and your community?
If so, Leadership Prince William is the perfect opportunity for you.
The 10-month Leadership Prince William Signature Program is specifically designed to help you explore our community, increase your awareness of critical issues, and connect with other community leaders. By participating, you will be prepared to take on active, leading roles within your organization, community, and Leadership of Prince William itself.
Here’s what LPW offers:
- Broadens Your Horizons: Step beyond the familiarity of your industry and organization.
- Expand Your Network: Connect with a diverse group of community leaders.
- Enhances Your Leadership Skills: Gain a deeper understanding of your leadership strengths.
- Improves Collaboration: Learn how to work with those around you, including loved ones, effectively.
- Provides Eye-Opening Experiences: Develop a better understanding of your community through unique experiences.
- Inspires and Motivates: Feel driven to serve and make a difference.
- Boosts Confidence: Gain the confidence to lead and inspire others.
Join Leadership Prince William and unlock your potential as a leader while making meaningful connections and contributing to the strength of our community.
Upcoming Information Sessions
Thursday, May 23, noon-1:00 p.m. Northern Virginia Community College, 2645 College Dr., Woodbridge- Wednesday, May 29, 2024- 5:30 to 7 p.m. – Out of the Blue Seafood, 5005 Wellington Rd, Gainesville
- Friday, May 31, 2024- 8:30 -10 a.m. – Hampton Inn, 7295 Williamson Blvd, Manassas
- Wednesday, June 12, 2024- 9:00-10:30 a.m.- Sentara (SNVMC), 2300 Opitz Blvd, Woodbridge
- Wednesday, June 12, 2024- 5:30-7 p.m. – Sentara (SNVMC), 2300 Opitz Blvd, Woodbridge
Want to know more? Email us by the end of the day and get 3 FREE exclusive program tips we’re only sharing with Potomac Local Readers!
The Leadership Prince William (LWP) Board of Regents has announced the appointment of Charles Gilliam as the organization’s Executive Director. Gilliam, who has been serving as the interim executive director since July 2022, brings over 20 years of experience in the restaurant/hospitality industry to his new role. Most recently, he owned Roux Pot, Inc. and the Old Town Manassas restaurant Okra’s Cajun Creole, which closed in 2021 after 23 years in business.
“The job announcement attracted more than 40 qualified applicants from across the nation,” stated Tiffany Izenour, LPW Board of Regents chair. “We are pleased that Charles has demonstrated the experience and skills needed to effectively lead the organization to the next level.”
“Charles brings a wealth of passion, experience, and knowledge to the role of Executive Director, and I am excited to continue to work with him as we improve our leadership programs and expand our reach throughout Prince William County,” she added. “His experience as a small business owner will be invaluable to us.”
Gilliam holds a Bachelor of Science in business and hospitality management from Berea College in Kentucky. He is also an LPW alumnus and a certified Emergenetics associate. Gilliam and his family reside in Prince William County.
In addition to Gilliam’s appointment, the organization welcomed Kris Johnson to the team. Johnson, who spent 16 years as the Membership & Sales Director with the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, recently moved back to Manassas from Culpeper, where she served as the General Manager of the Country Club of Culpeper.
Regarding Johnson’s expertise, she stated, “While my title was Membership & Sales Director at the Prince William Chamber, I was also responsible for the planning and execution of many of their major events.”
Furthermore, Johnson’s experience as a general manager will contribute significantly to her new position. “Being a manager of a facility of that kind is challenging and totally different than my career with the Chamber,” Johnson explained. “However, my exposure to Emergenetics taught me so much about how to communicate effectively with my staff and colleagues.”
Emergenetics is a psychometric assessment tool and concept that combines neuroscience and behavioral psychology to understand individual differences in thinking and behavior. It is a key component of the LPW’s program.
Johnson’s primary focus will be overseeing LPW’s major fundraiser, the Evening of Excellence – Mardi Gras Casino event, scheduled for Friday, March 22, from 6 to 10 p.m. at the Hylton Performing Arts Center. The event will feature casino games, music, food, and an award ceremony where LPW will present the Kathy Ellington Alumni Leadership Award and the LPW Vision Award.
Johnson emphasized the importance of executing valuable, fun events to increase LPW’s visibility and brand awareness in the area.
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Leadership Prince William announces its upcoming “Mardi Gras Casino ” fundraiser, which is scheduled for March 22, 2024, at the Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, near Manassas.
The event runs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. and features a live auction, hors d’oeuvres, and a cash bar. Tickets are $75 each and open to the public.
Leadership Prince William is a private non-profit organization that serves Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park. The mission is to engage individuals, organizations, and alumni for collaborative leadership to enrich the community.
For ticket information and event details, visit leadershipprincewilliam.org.
Leadership Prince William is a private non-profit organization operating under section 501(c)(3), dedicated to engaging and inspiring individuals, organizations, and alumni to enrich the community through collaborative leadership. Serving Prince William County and the Cities of Manassas and Manassas Park, the organization fosters leadership skills and community involvement.
Leadership Prince William: “Everyone was a winner at the Leadership Prince William Casino Royale [Thursday, July 6, 2023, at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas]. Aside from being our major fundraiser, we like to take the opportunity to honor individuals that have done something special for LPW, our community, or our world. We were honored to have Kathy Ellington, our founding Executive Director, as our guest and partner in delivering the award named in her honor. Our award winners this year are:
- Chair Award- Valerie Meale
- Kathy Ellington Leadership Award- Patrick King
- Vision Award- Dr. Carol Shapiro
- We also welcomed our incoming Chair, Tiffany Izenour and thanked our outgoing Chair, Bennett Whitlock.
“The Class of 2013 gathered to celebrate their 10th Anniversary and set the bar for future classes by raising $10,000 to “pay it forward” for LPW to have the resources needed to ensure future classes enjoy the same quality of programming. Our auctions were a huge success, thanks to the amazing coordination by our former Executive Director, Kathy Bentz. All-in-all, it was a great evening and we’re excited to start planning our next big event.”
Leadership Prince William is an organization that aims to develop new leaders while providing them with new perspectives on Prince William County, Manassas, and Manassas Park.
Each year since 2007, the program has held an annual class, dubbed its signature program, where future leaders meet monthly to discuss big ideas and tour various areas of the county and cities.
I spoke with LPW Executive Director Charles Gilliam and Board of Regents Members Tiffany Izenour (2024 chair) and Bradley Marshall to discuss the organization and its programs.
What is Leadership Prince William?
Izenour: “Leadership Prince William is an applied leadership program for our community here in Prince William County, Manassas City, and Manassas Park.2007 was our first graduating class, finishing in 2008. We currently have well over 500 alumni in our Signature Program base. We run two programs on an annual basis. The first is our Signature Program, which runs from September to June of each year. And the second is our newer and emerging Leaders Program, which runs a fall and a spring cohort for eight weeks, one day a week.”
“The Signature program gives you the opportunity to sit in the room of approximately 32 to 33 of your colleagues throughout the county that are in a variety of different roles in different industries, different demographics, different ages, different sexes, different backgrounds, and pull back the curtain on our community to see really how the community works, how we work, how we work as individual leaders and how we can best collaborate to bring our community better services, to improve our leadership skills, improve our businesses.”
More than just networking, you also learn more about yourself, correct?
Gilliam: “One of the big mysteries that we like to keep is we go up on a mountain where the cell phone service isn’t very well [to kick off the signature program]. We had a crazy experience, and for some of us, I was one of the guys who actually got to meet me for the first time on the mountain through this assessment. It sounds kind of like I’m overblowing it, but you’re familiar with the Myers Briggs…they are great assessments. I won’t take anything away from them. But this one is truly mind-boggling, how it can give you insight into yourself. That’s one of the things we do on the mountain. We introduce you to yourself and allow you to look; some of us have never seen it before. Some had. And then we and then we show you how other people’s minds and behaviors operate. Then we teach you to work within those boundaries to improve our communications drastically.”
Who should participate in this program?
Marshall: “It’s very broad, and one of the things that interested me the most when they first came to me, I’m an attorney…and the very first thing I said is, ‘I do enough with attorneys. I don’t want to join another attorneys group.’ And they’re like, ‘No, that is not what this is.’ You’ll have people from nonprofits, clergy, and government agencies. When I went through … it was tremendous, and I learned a lot from it. There was a judge in my class or a couple of other lawyers. However, the best thing about my class is that there were small business owners like Miguel Perez, who owns several restaurants, and other innovative leaders.
“When I was looking at the program, I thought I knew everything about Prince William. I really did. I just took it for granted. But after the program, what we do is basically over nine months is it’s one full day Thursday each month, and we just tackle an issue and move around the county to do it. We’ll be in Occoquan; we’ll be in Manassas Park; we’ll be in Mid County, wherever it is, different months and sometimes multiple places in one day, like the field trips.
“And we tackle these issues, and it’s bookended by these retreats going up on the mountain, is what Charles was referring to. And in the end, you learn so much more about the county and the people and about the issues they face that have already been touched on. The thing you learn the most about is yourself. And because of that, I think it’s great for anyone who’s at this point in their career.”
You can listen to the full interview on our Youtube page.
Applications for the LPW Class of 2024 are closing. More info here.
Those who are interested in attending a future class are invited to come and hang out with members during the non-profit’s fundraiser, Evening of Excellence: Casino Royale,” on Friday, July 6, 2023, at the Hylton Performing Arts Center near Manassas.
