Last week I had the immense pleasure of joining the 15 Leadership Academy fellows of the 2007–2008 class for their third and final retreat. It was three days of teaching, learning, sharing and immensely enjoying each other’s company.

Though I had heard stories of these amazing fellows, their deep bonds and their passion for progressive activism, to be in a room with them for three days was pretty astonishing, not to mention inspiring. What I witnessed was a room full of young leaders and visionaries who were not only tackling the hard skills of professional development through workshops on meeting facilitation and budgeting but who also were motivated to educate themselves about broader social issues such as the United States prison pipeline, racial wealth divides, climate change solutions and much more. 

It was incredibly refreshing for me to be surrounded by a spirit of openness, community and common growth over those three days. On the last day, trainer Neelam Pathikonda told the group, “Trust is not something that is given, it’s earned. This group has earned the trust of one another.” With honesty and complete vulnerability they shared deeply personal anecdotes as well as intense emotions, all which served to help them better understand one another and better understand the stark diversity that can be present even in a room of fewer than 20 people.

Looking around the room on the closing day, I was imbued with a great sense of hope and excitement. Every single individual in the room now had the potential and tools to effect very real and significant positive social change. What’s more, as we walked out the door, I felt certain that they would.

We won’t have to wait long to witness the changes they’ll bring about.