Striving for Success

"The people who know about it... know that it's a very good thing in this community and they know that it's a vision whose time has come"

- Deanna Frautschi

Deanna Frautschi, first Chairperson Deanna Frautschiof Multicultural Leadership Program (MCLP) Advisory Council, "still can't wrap her head around the success stories" that have emerged from MCLP. Needless to say, she is beyond thankful for the combined efforts of volunteers who have contributed to make MCLP what it is today.
Setting an example for MCLP members and graduates, Frautschi serves on numerous community boards, including the Baby Fold. "The Baby Fold wanted an MCLP graduate to join the board and one of our participants joined last year," said Frautschi.

That new board member is Peter Stroyan from the MCLP class of 2011. It started with the understanding that Pete has a passion for helping in this area. Stroyan then took the skills he acquired from MCLP and applied them to this community-driven organization. It's an example of our dream for all the graduates.

Frautschi says MCLP graduates are really starting to "dive in," filling in vacancies for boards and organizations in the community. "Many organizations are glad we're seeking out people to be in the program who have capabilities for leadership, but are either not finding an outlet for their abilities or not being asked to participate," she added.

Deanna said the success of MCLP graduates demonstrates a need for additional funding to build upon an already strong program. "When we first started, we had all-day guest speakers who donated their personal time...but they can't continue to do this if they come back every year." Frautschi believes the program will gain support so long as people continue to learn about MCLP and what it provides for the community.

When Frautschi first started with the program, MCLP was blessed with strong corporate support. In the last two classes, we learned that a class combining corporate leaders and community leaders creates stronger, smarter graduates. Mixing "business smarts" with "street smarts" expands the set of leadership skills that graduates can use to address the complex issues in our community. Now, Deanna would like more representation from all areas of the community.

"I'd like to see people from all avenues, not just the major companies, but small organizations or self employed individuals and the community at large," stated Frautschi. She added, "The greater diversity we get in terms of what people do for their work, the better off our community will be."