‘When you get a seat at the table, use your voice’
WaTasha Barnes Griffin is leading SLA to invite more diversity to the table When WaTasha Barnes Griffin speaks, you listen. Whether she is addressing a crowd as CEO of the…
From Checkers to Chess: SLA challenges leaders through personalized, relevant programs
Other leadership seminars taught Lance Paxson to play checkers. Shafer Leadership Academy taught him to play chess. “Many professional development sessions I’ve attended have been ‘one size fits all,’ but…
Muncie Daughter Calls You to Consider your Bias in the Workplace
Charlize Jamieson sat in the pews of College Avenue United Methodist Church a few months ago and heard the pastor say from the podium: “Transgender individuals are not God’s mistake;…
How Dustin Humm, owner of eKeeper Systems, has achieved a “higher degree of sanity” by working with Shafer
“It was getting to the point where I would put in 200 to 250 hours a month, month after month, for years,” said Dustin Humm, owner of eKeeper Systems. “Working…
From immigrant to Muncie City Council member: Ro Selvey is proving that hard work and dedication pays off
From the first day, she arrived in Muncie seeking refuge from her native Lebanon—immigrating from a bitter civil war that left her homeland in ruins—Roza “Ro” Selvey has been on…
How Ivy Tech’s Terri Sanders is training student leaders with inspiration from life, Shafer Leadership Academy, and Spider-Man
It was the fall of 2020. Twelve Ivy Tech Community College students from the Muncie campus had been selected to participate in the Student Leadership Academy, an annual 10-week leadership…
Muncie Youth Stock ReFreeGerator on Southside
More than 30 high school students lead innovative project to combat food insecurity. Masked high school students gathered around an unplugged refrigerator painted with vibrant pastel triangles. They took turns…
‘I found my why at Emergence’
Shafer Leadership Academy program helped Dorica Young-Watson find her voice. The kids in Dorica Young-Watson’s third-grade class excitedly shared their costumes for the school Halloween parade, a highlight of Young-Watson’s…
From campaign boot camp to building better government: How Jeff Robinson and Shafer Leadership Academy are taking ECI to the next level
Like many people who live in the community they grew up in, Jeff Robinson had a lot of ideas for what Muncie needed. He got involved any way he knew…
Patience, Persistence, and People
2020 was a strange year, but it taught me an important lesson about patience, persistence, and people. I count myself as incredibly fortunate to finish this year healthier and happier.…