Norman C. Francis Leadership Institute graduates inaugural class

By Mason Harrison
Contributing Writer

A handful of prominent non-profit leaders, business executives and policy experts gathered to mark the creation of the Norman C. Francis Leadership Institute June 26 as the organization celebrated the graduation of its inaugural class of fellows against the backdrop of the Arthur Roger Gallery in the Warehouse District. Launched in 2012, the institute is the brainchild of longtime Xavier University president Norman Francis, who sought to establish a leadership development course unlike any other in the area.

“What makes the institute different is the incorporation of what is known as adaptive leadership,” said Timothy Francis, the son of the Xavier president and vice chair of the leadership institute. “This is a concept that’s been pioneered by Marty Linsky, who teaches leadership skills at Harvard University.” Linsky is the co-founder of Cambridge Leadership Associates and has taught at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government for the past 25 years. He traveled to New Orleans to discuss leadership models with the institute’s first cohort. “Leadership is more than just telling people what to do,” Francis said. “It’s about figuring out how to be an agent of change to get things done for your community.”

Posing with Dr. Norman C. Francis, center, are graduates of his Leadership Institutes inaugural class who are, from left: Jay Dumas, Jeffrey Schwartz, Daniel Forman, Dr. Wendy Gaudin, Dr. Joe Ricks Jr., Brooke Minto,
Amy Collins, Elizabeth Marcell, Monica Edwards, Jade Russell, Minh Thanh Nguyen, Jason Burns Sr., Todd
McDonald, Michael Griffin, Jason Williams, Ronald Carrere Jr., Nolan Marshall III., Jaimme Collins, Tim
Francis and Dr. Yu Jiang. Photo by Irving Johnson III.

Participants in the inaugural cohort hail from various fields, including deputy superintendent of external affairs for the Recovery School District, Dana Peterson; founder and executive director of the Vietnamese Young Leaders Association, Minh Nguyen; and newly elected councilman at-large, Jason Williams. “One of the charges of the institute to its participants was to be more involved in the public policy process,” Francis said. “Jason Williams’ decision to run for City Council was, in part, born out of his participation in the institute and there were many fellows who were very supportive of his desire to serve on the council.”

While NCFLI is a nonpartisan organization, its focus is on leadership development, research and policy analysis, and fostering international training and partnerships, where “participants will study and visit foreign countries in order to develop and explore opportunities for partnership and participation in the global economy,” according to its website. Participation in the institute includes roundtable discussions of various policy initiatives, exposure to overseas governmental practices and developing original research. “We look forward to eventually growing the institute into a full-fledged think tank,” Francis said.

More information about the institute is available by visiting www.ncfli.org.

This article originally published in the July 7, 2014 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.