LEAD Institute Class of 2026: Opening Retreat

The LEAD Institute Class of 2026 kicked off their journey at The Blair Center in Westfield. The 26 class members dove right in, beginning with inspiring stories from Our Leadership Era Class of 2024 alumni — Dave Yaniga (Medina County Board of Developmental Disabilities), Michelle Kipfstuhl (Catholic Charities), and Piper Morgan (Medina Metropolitan Housing Authority) — who shared about their own LMC journeys. They learned about the extensive leadership development ahead over the next nine months and wrote their own Leadership Letters with guidance from LEAD ’22 alum Brandy Hughes of Cornerstone Organizational Partners.
The class also shared “Bags of You” and Where I’m From poems, and connected through Icebreaker Jenga, led by Need 2 LEAD Class of 2025 members Deanna Copeland (Sandridge) and Natalie Joyce (Ravago). They then took on the Tarp exercise, experiencing how the first-day teamwork compared to the Class of 2025’s effort during their closing retreat. 
We can’t wait to see how the Class of 2026 grows together this year.

A huge thank-you goes to our sponsors — Westfield for hosting and fueling the day, and MODA Gifting for their generous support.