Three nonprofit leaders from Hawaii Island were selected for the 2015 Weinberg Fellows Program.
Three nonprofit leaders from Hawaii Island were selected for the 2015 Weinberg Fellows Program.
Joining the program are Kathleen McGilvray, CEO of YWCA of Hawai’i Island; Julie Mitchell, executive director of Kuikahi Mediation Center; and Dr. Hannah Preston-Pita, CEO of the Big Island Substance Abuse Council.
“It was an honor to be selected to join such an illustrious group of leaders from Hawaii, Kauai, Maui, Molokai and Oahu,” said Mitchell. “I appreciate the opportunity to grow myself and my organization to better serve the people of East Hawaii.”
The Weinberg Fellows Program, created and funded by The Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Foundation, is an innovative management enhancement program designed to increase community-based not-for-profit agency capacity to assist people in need.
It was developed in 1992 in Hawaii, where more than 300 Weinberg Fellows have since graduated. The 2015 Weinberg Fellows Program assembles a diverse group of 11 executive directors from across the state, whose agencies assist disadvantaged community members.
In three four-day sessions in May, July and August, discussion leaders and panelists address the spectrum of executive director roles, responsibilities, and relationships. The program fosters a collaborative, supportive environment within which executive directors and key volunteer leaders of not-for-profit agencies can add to their knowledge, hone skills, develop common standards and understandings of best practices, and position their services for maximum benefit to the community.
In June, two Hawaii Island graduates of the Weinberg Fellows Program won Weinberg Foundation’s annual AIM (Achievement in Management) for Excellence Awards. Brandee Menino, CEO of HOPE Services Hawaii, and Paula Uusitalo, executive director of Hawaii Island Adult Care, both received $5,000 awards on behalf of their agencies.