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July 20, 2022

Community Leadership Institute graduates 17 following creation of foundation

The Class of 2022 of the Community Leadership Institute Photo | Courtesy of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce The Class of 2022 of the Community Leadership Institute
By Sadie Leite 

The North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce graduated 17 local professionals as part of the Class of 2022 from its Community Leadership Institute, during which they established a foundation and supported community needs.

The completed program lasted nine months, focusing on topics ranging from social services to history. The lessons prepared the students, who finished on June 9, with leadership skills and knowledge of the surrounding community. 

“For more than 10 years, I’ve worked with the CLI class and each year I continue to be amazed with the dedication, creativity and motivation of our participants,” said Mike Greenwood, professor of business at Fitchburg State University and chairman of the CLI Steering Committee.

Among their accomplishments, the class established a foundation and held a community event. 

The small business relationship manager for TD Bank, Austin Brooks, encouraged the CLI group to help local families impacted by cancer during the holidays. His drive comes from his past. 

“My father, Russell Brooks, was diagnosed with cancer and expressed his feelings to me one day before our last Christmas together that he couldn’t afford gifts for the family,” said Brooks. 

After the idea was introduced, it took the CLI class seven weeks to create the Russell Brooks Foundation Fund. The fund helps families affected by cancer during the holidays. 

Russell Brooks Foundation Fund
Photo | Courtesy of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce
Members of the Community Leadership Institute prepare gifts as part of the support for families impacted by cancer during the holidays, which is the mission of the newly created Russell Brooks Foundation Fund.

“One of the biggest takeaways from CLI is the relationships you develop with your class and also with those people you meet along the way,” said Brooks. 

The class also supported member Christian Lopez, marketing manager at the Fitchburg Art Museum, to establish The Community Cuts Program. The program worked with local professionals to give free haircuts to more than 65 children, right before the start of summer. 

“We had such a diverse group of individuals who were all like-minded in wanting to learn about their community,” said Lopez. 

The seventeen graduates include: Daisy Ayala (Enterprise Bank), Joshua Bedarian (RCAP Solutions, Inc), Austin Brooks (TD Bank), Joseph Ferguson (Fitchburg State University), Justin Goettsch (The Arc of Opportunity), Ramon Gonzalez (Mount Wachusett Community College), Brittany Haley (Leominster Credit Union), Megan Heffernan (UMass Memorial Health HealthAlliance-Clinton Hospital), Kimberly LeBlanc (Resource Management, Inc), Bea Lee (North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation), Christian Lopez (Fitchburg Art Museum), Stephanie LoSasso (Avidia Bank), Hannah Pollan (Aging Services of North Central Massachusetts), Andrea Sampson (Aging Services of North Central Massachusetts), Melanie Sauvageau (Rollstone Bank & Trust), Patricia Wayrynen (Workers Credit Union), and Marcus Williams (Mount Wachusett Community College).
 

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