A message from our Executive Director

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Friends,

Ambiguity is the new normal – and this past year served as a reminder to live and lead adaptively. As the adage goes, change is the only constant; the pandemic necessitated leaders with flexibility, creativity, resilience, empathy, grace and lots of humor. As we close the year and transition to a new one, I would like to share some highlights and previews.
Five bright spots this year

Our First Hire
In March, I joined Five Frogs as the first Executive Director, launched start-up activities to transition the organization to its next phase and expanded our reach allowing us to develop more leaders. This is an exciting time in our life cycle! I am embracing our learning by doing philosophy and continually leaping.

Growth Campaign
We launched a first-ever campaign to fuel our growth and execute on our strategic plan, including raising sufficient revenue and expanding talent capacity. We reached 75% of our $1MM goal. As part of the overarching campaign we reached out to you, our inspiring community of leaders, with a separate ask of $20,000 from 200 leaders; one quarter of the 200 leaders helped us meet our goal.

In-Person Social
This fall we gathered for our first in-person social in Bridgeport. It was an opportunity for leaders to connect and for me to meet several program alums. Since this was our first in-person event since 2019, we found many leaders were hungry for peer-to-peer connections. We look forward to hosting more in-person and virtual gatherings in the coming year.

Piloted Peer Learning Cohorts
Nearly 30 leaders participated in two new peer learning cohorts:

  • The White Peer Learning Cohort supported leaders in a process of education, self-agitation and action towards racial equity
  • The BIPOC Peer Learning Cohort supported leaders in diving deeper into their personal liberation work while exploring how their experiences intersect with theories of identity, power, intersectionality and oppression
Revamped LDR
Pivoting from an in-person, six-month experience to a 10-month virtual one was no small feat. But our talented team successfully created an inclusive and supportive environment for leaders to learn and engage in self-discovery. The overall leader effectiveness rating increased considerably, reflecting increased confidence in self-awareness and conversations around diversity, equity and inclusion.
Looking ahead
As we look ahead to 2022, we are thrilled about the opportunities on the horizon which include:
  • expanding our team and board to align to new organizational demands
  • reaching more cross-sector leaders
  • supporting a movement of diverse, brave leaders to act boldly together
  • sharing our learnings as we implement practices and policies that shift to an anti-racist, multicultural organization
  • providing more opportunities for leaders to learn, lead and grow including our first Annual Leadership Summit
To our Board of Directors, coaches, facilitators, volunteers and funders, we extend heartfelt appreciation for your support advancing leadership development for Connecticut leaders. And to those who participated in one or more of our opportunities, we thank you for your commitment to building an equitable CT and your leadership practice, especially in a trying year.
Our name, which is based on a riddle, centers on the distinction between deciding to take action and taking action. We invite you to join us in taking action, supporting you and our community, as we leap forward together toward a more diverse, equitable and inclusive future.Wishing you a healthy and peaceful holiday season and a brilliant 2022!

In community,
Tricia Hyacinth
LDR 2013 Alum
tricia@fivefrogsct.org