Winchester Minority Leadership Initiative 

The Winchester Minority Leadership Initiative was developed in 2022 when a friend of Clark County came to Blue Grass Community Foundation with a dream and a plan: to make Winchester/Clark County a more equitable and inclusive place to live, work and play.  A collaboration was formed between Blue Grass Community Foundation, Clark County Community Foundation, the Greater Clark Foundation and the Clark County benefactor. This team, along with facilitator Colene Elridge, developed the Winchester Minority Leadership Initiative with a goal of empowering the next generation of diverse leaders for Winchester/Clark County. The initial cohort of 21-45 year-olds will participate in a 13 month facilitated group program, with the additional opportunity to receive one-on-one personal development coaching from Colene. Sessions, outlined below, will focus on leadership building in the professional and community space. Following completion of the program, participants will have the opportunity to develop grant proposals from a pool of $100,000 in funding for needs and opportunities in Winchester/Clark county.

Programming

  • Orientation

    Leadership 101

    Public Speaking Part 1

    Public Speaking Part 2

    Networking and Personal Branding

    Emerging Opportunities

    Building Trust

    Effective Communication

    Agility and Resilience Building

    Negotiation Skills

    Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

    Stress Management

    Navigating Change

  • Each participant will have access to up to two one-on-one coaching sessions with Coach Colene.

  • Participants will be provided with the following books for participation in book club discussion:

    • Good Is Not Enough

    • Seven Habits of Highly Successful People

    • Think Again

    • DARE To Lead

  • Description All sessions will be held from 9:00am-4:00pm at the Clark County Extension Office, 1400 Fortune Drive, Winchester, KY.

    Session dates are below; any changes in a session date will be communicated to participants in advance.

    January 19, 2023

    February 15, 2023

    March 16, 2023

    April 20, 2023

    May 18, 2023

    June 15, 2023

    July 20, 2023

    August 17, 2023

    September 14, 2023

    October 19, 2023

    November 16, 2023

    December 14, 2023

    January 18, 2024

Colene Elridge

About Coach Colene

Colene Elridge, aka Coach Colene’s decade-plus of HR experience, led to her being known as “the fixer”- she’s called to help organizations and leaders create better workplaces, productive teams, and aligned results. Her career in government focused on Affirmative Action, EEO, and Diversity. She was a successful investigator of harassment and discrimination complaints and implemented strategies that resulted in more diverse and inclusive workplaces. She is the CEO of Be More Consulting, a boutique agency designed to support organizations in creating cultures of inclusion, and developing women leaders. Her first book, Monday Morning Pep Talks, was named by Success Magazine as a top book for professional women. Colene is the founder of EmpowHer Conference, a women's leadership event that focuses on building women into leaders both at work and in their lives. Colene has a bachelor's degree in Cultural Anthropology from Transylvania University, where she currently serves on the Board of Regents, and an MBA from Sullivan University. She loves yoga, her family, movies, and laughing!

The Winchester Minority Leadership Program is a collaboration between a Clark County benefactor, Blue Grass Community Foundation, Clark County Community Foundation and the Greater Clark Foundation.

  • Blue Grass Community Foundation

    www.bgcf.org

  • Clark County Community Foundation

    www.bgcf.org/clarkcounty

  • The Greater Clark Foundation

    https://www.clarkambition.org/