Leadership Howard County Announcements

February 2024

“Live life as though nobody is watching, and express yourself as though everyone is listening.” 



― Nelson Mandela

More details about tickets and registration will be announced soon!

Leadership is excited to bring to our membership one of the highest-rated presentations from the Premier 2023 program year. Join us on Thursday, February 22, from 8:45 to 10:30 a.m., at the HUB Spot, 6724 Alexander Bell Drive, Suite 105, Columbia, to hear Dr. Matt Levy, Chief Medical Officer for the Howard County Department of Fire & Rescue Services, talk about "Just Culture" which is at the heart of the Department's foundational mindset and learning culture that aims to continually improve its work environment and can be applied to all workplaces.

LHC is looking ahead to Leadership Premier 2025. Do you know someone who may be a great candidate? Encourage them to learn more at LHC's next Information Session on Tuesday, February 20 from 9 to 10 a.m.. Join us as we virtually explore the many layers of the Leadership Premier program, as well as Merriweather's Art & Culture Center, led by Ian Kennedy, LE '08, and Executive Director. Details at LHC events.

Leadership U (LU) is LHC's impactful leadership program for high school juniors who reside and/or attend school in Howard County. Applicants for the 2024 program should be entering their junior year during the 2024–2025 school year. Applications are now available online and are due April 1, 2024.

Visit the LHC website/LU Program for more details and to access the online application and related documents. Upcoming Information Sessions are scheduled for the following dates:

• Thursday, February 29 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. (virtual)
• Wednesday, March 13 from 5:30 to 7 p.m. (in-person/location TBA)

Visit the LHC website for updates; contact Emily Mccoy Bish, Program Coordinator, for additional information.

Upcoming Service Fridays

LHC is excited to be collaborating with Respite Retreats and Making Change for LHC's Service Fridays in February and March, respectively. Details, along with registration links are noted below - we hope to see you soon!

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Join us at the Respite Retreats offices on Friday, February 23 from 9 a.m. to noon, 6021 University Boulevard, Ste. 175 Ellicott City. Efforts will be directed to Respite's ReTreat Yourself program; volunteers will be filling boxes with uplifting and therapeutic items designed for cancer patients and their caregivers to take their minds off their diagnosis. Please click here to register (volunteers are requested to park in the back of the building and use the rear entrance).

Email or call Wendy Letow, Executive Director, with any questions, at 301-252-4403.

Be the change with MakingChange on Friday, March 22, from 1 to 3 p.m. Come learn more about MakingChange, Inc., a nonprofit organization that changes lives through financial education. Learn more about the organization's programs and counseling services. Attendees will also take part in some hands-on volunteering to ready Making Change for their upcoming kickoff to Money Matters Month – Passport to Financial Literacy Event, planned for Saturday, April 6 from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Harriet Tubman Cultural & Education Center. 

In addition, tax season is fast approaching. Do you have an interest in learning more about becoming a MakingChange Volunteer Income Tax Assistant (VITA)? Training is provided and did you know that you do not need to have a financial background? Please contact  Jasmine Brewer to learn more about the process! 

Leadership Essentials (LE) 2024 continued last week with a session centered around "High-Performing Teams". Stages of team development were explored, along with the attributes of what it takes to be a high-performing team, with the cohort even doing a little team building of their own. Thank you to Kelly Brooks, LE '17, for joining us!

Like Leadership Premier, LE supports local non-profits through their Community Impact Project component and looks forward to working with the following organizations on projects this year: Care for Your Health, Community Ecology Institute, Heritage Housing Partners, Howard County Historical Society, Maryland Humanities, and Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Columbia. Thank you to the Community Impact Project Committee, chaired by Rochelle Jackson, LE '16, who helped select the projects and will continue to serve as project liaisons.

The Community Foundation of Howard County recently awarded $200,000 in grants to 49 nonprofit organizations in Howard County. Special thanks to CFHC for selecting LHC as one of this year's recipients. Click here for a complete list of recipients.

Change is on the horizon. The Horizon Foundation invites you to learn more about its new strategic direction and get involved in its work to build power and advance equity by participating in a community conversation on one or more of the following dates: February 5, 8, or 12. Learn more.

The Howard County Chamber of Commerce will host the Howard County Business Outlook Luncheon on Thursday, February 15, from 11:15 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Turf Valley Resort. Click here for details.

Applicants residing in District 3 are sought to serve on Howard County's Board of Appeals, to represent the District, along with four other appointed residents from other Districts, who all serve overlapping, five-year terms. These members are paid $5,000 per year, $110 per official public session, and reimbursement for reasonable expenses, up to a maximum cumulative total payment of $16,125 per year. Please click here to learn more.

Volunteers are needed for the following opportunities:

Volunteer to judge 3rd through 5th-grade student presentations, displays, or performances on minority innovators in American History as part of HCPSS's Unheard Perspective Showcase, on Saturday, February 24th from 8:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. (inclement weather date is Saturday, March 2nd), at Hammond Middle School, 8100 Aladdin Drive, Laurel, MD 20723; register here; email Kimberly Eggborn for more information.

Passport to the Future, HCPSS' high school student workplace preparation program, needs volunteers on Thursday, March 14, from 8 a.m. at Howard Community College, 10901 Little Patuxent Parkway, Columbia, MD 21044, to conduct a practice job interview with students. Click here to register; email Tonia Ziegler, for information. Special thanks to Howard Community College, Bright Minds Foundation, Educational Systems Federal Credit Union, and Sheehy Toyota of Laurel for helping to support this event.

The Horizon Foundation, United Way of Central Maryland, Women’s Giving Circle, and Community Foundation of Howard County are igniting and recognizing new and continued innovation in our community with the Changemaker Challenge, the biennial event that will award funding for a dozen promising project ideas designed to make a difference in Howard County will share $100,000 of seed money.

Applications are due on or before February 20; click here to learn more.

Save the Dates for these upcoming Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center Foundation events.

Heroes in Healthcare: Thursday, May 2, 2024, from 6 to 9 p.m., at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab, Kossiakoff Center |

Golf Tournament: Monday, May 13, 2024, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., at Cattail Creek Country Club.

More details will be posted on their website as the dates near.

The next Class Connections will be distributed in mid-February. Remember to let LHC know how you are staying connected... please share your news/updates/photos with Karen Bryant.