Leadership Ontario

Leadership Ontario healthcare day exercised our minds as the class learned about the healthcare systems serving our community, ACEs and mental health, emergency preparedness, conscious leadership, and ways to regulate the nervous system for calm and control. Thank you to our panelists: Ontario County Public Health Director Kate Ott; UR Thompson Health Executive VP & Chief Operating Officer Kurt Koczent; Finger Lakes Health Chief Operating Officer Lara Turbide; Clifton Springs Hospital & Clinic Associate Chief Operating Officer Hannah Smith; Finger Lakes Community Health Chief Clinical Officer Ellen Hey; and Rochester Regional Health's Eastern Region Chief Medical Officer and family physician Dr. Robert Cole. And to panel moderator and Leadership Ontario graduate Ashley Tomassini of Partnership for Ontario County, Inc. Thank you to Ontario County Mental Health Director Dr. Jessica Mitchell for sharing how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and toxic stress impact the brain. And to Christy Richards and Michael Megalo of the Ontario County Public Health team for leading the class through an emergency preparedness activity where they had to plan a?response to a hypothetical anthrax outbreak.

Next up for Leadership Ontario is Taking Care: Healthcare in Ontario County. The class will hear from leadership of the various healthcare systems serving Ontario County, including UR Thompson Health, Finger Lakes Health, Rochester Regional Health, Finger Lakes Community Health, and Ontario County Public Health. They will learn about important aspects of mental health and practice their skills in an emergency preparedness activity. Coach Kristen will complement these topics by engaging the class in conscious leadership and regulating the nervous system. Thank you to our coordinators for their support: Kate Ott, Ontario County Public Health Director, Gwen Van Laeken, Executive Director of Partnership for Ontario County, Inc., and Ashley Tomassini, Director of Prevention Programs for The Partnership and a 2023 Leadership Ontario graduate. Here's to good health!

The Leaders Showcase Conference Day shined a?spotlight on the best part of the Leadership Ontario program - our participants! Cohort 3 members had the opportunity to share with each other more about their work and personal passions, explore collaborations, and develop their presentation skills. They also participated in workshops on strategic thinking and change management.

"Effective leadership takes many forms," says leadership coach Kristen Fragnoli. "It combines deep self-knowledge and self-trust with openness to other perspectives so you can lead with genuine care, clear purpose, skillful action, and?respect for diverse needs." Kristen designed the February Leadership Ontario Conference Day to engage participants in strategic thinking, planning to lead change, and?skill building to be the leaders they are meant to be - all while having fun!

"Everybody can be great because everybody can serve." These words from Dr. King connect with the spirit of our Leadership Ontario program - cultivating leaders committed to serving our Ontario County community.

Leadership Ontario government day left us filled with knowledge and gratitude for the important work of our public servants across Ontario County. The class heard from Deputy County Administrator Alissa Bub and Undersheriff Mike Rago, toured the 911 Center with Chief Stephen DeChick, and got a behind-the-scenes look at the Board of Elections from Democratic Commissioner AJ Magnan. They also learned about opportunities to get involved in government from Todd Campbell, West Bloomfield Town Supervisor and past Chairman of the Ontario County Board of Supervisors; Sam Casella, Chairman of the Ontario County Soil and Water Conservation District Board of Directors; Diane Olivet, Ontario County Office for the Aging Advisory Council and S.A.L.T. Council Member; and Ruth Cahn, member of the West Bloomfield and Ontario County Planning Boards and the recently created Ontario County Housing Ad Hoc Committee. Thanks to County Administrator Chris DeBolt for spending time with us while the class practiced making a persuasive pitch and giving effective feedback. We are thrilled to have 5 Ontario County employees in the cohort this year.

We're excited to kick off 2025 with our January program day on Ontario County government. Supreme Court Justice Louis Brandeis said, "The most important political office is that of the private citizen." The class will learn the many ways County government serves our community, how to be an effective advocate for their ideas, and how to get involved. Thank you to Ontario County for its sponsorship of Leadership Ontario and to Deputy County Administrator Alissa Bub, a Leadership Ontario graduate and member of our steering committee, for her support facilitating this day.

May the new year bring you new opportunities and continued growth and success. Here's to 2025!

Wishing everyone in our Ontario County community a joyful and peaceful holiday season.

At Leadership Ontario program day 5, the class participated in the ALICE Experience to better understand the challenges many families in our community?face to make ends meet. ALICE?is an acronym for Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed - households earning more than the federal poverty level but not enough to afford the basics where they live. In Ontario County, 1 in 4 households is an ALICE household. The class also met some of the community leaders and organizations working to support local residents, and learned about the volunteer opportunities available to each of us to help make a difference. Thank you to our facilitators, Kari Buch of United Way of Greater Rochester and the Finger Lakes and Sheila Greene of Canandaigua National Bank & Trust. And to John Astles, Executive Director of The Arc Ontario, Major Pam Rhodes, Corps Officer for The Salvation Army Canandaigua, Wanda Martinez-Johncox, Founder of Re-lief Corp, Jennie Erdle-Krampen, Director of Student Life at Finger Lakes Community College, and Caitlin Farnung with United Way. We appreciate the Ontario County Emergency Management team for hosting us at the Ontario County Safety Training Facility.