Monthly Archives: February 2011

Meet the first class of the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy

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Twenty-five future Arizona leaders, drawn from across the state and numerous professions, have been selected to participate in this spring’s inaugural class of the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy. The Academy is one of three core components of the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership.

The 12-session seminar series, which emphasizes the skills and information needed to accomplish state-level goals, will begin Friday, March 11, continuing through May 20.

The nonpartisan Academy’s content is based on the issues facing Arizona’s leaders today and in the near term. Past and present practitioners, scholars, leaders, and experts—from the public and private sectors—will provide facts and figures as well as a wide variety of perspectives and leadership skills. The seminars are just one part of the academy, which also includes mentoring, an individual plan for civic leadership, and an alumni network.

The 25 Flinn-Brown Fellows were selected in a competitive process that involved formal nominations, a written application, and an in-person interview. The Leadership Council of the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership made the final selection of Fellows.

The Academy is presented twice each year–the Fall class will begin in September. Information about becoming a member of the second Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy will be available on the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership’s website no later than March 1.

Spring 2011 Flinn-Brown Fellows

Steve AcevedoSteve Acevedo, Tucson

Police Officer, City of Tucson

 Paul BrierleyPaul Brierley, Gilbert

Director of Organization, Arizona Farm Bureau Federation
Juan CiscomaniJuan Ciscomani,
Tucson

Senior Program Development Specialist, Take Charge America Institute,
University of Arizona

 Dustin CoxDustin Cox, Tucson

President, CM Concordia Consulting, LLC
Kim DemarchiKim Demarchi, J.D., Phoenix

Partner, Lewis and Roca, LLP

 Coral EvansCoral Evans, Flagstaff

Director, Sunnyside Neighborhood Association of Flagstaff;
Councilmember, City of Flagstaff
Robert Fromm, M.D.Rob Fromm, M.D., Phoenix

Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Maricopa Integrated
Health System

 David Garcia, Ph.D.David Garcia, Ph.D., Tempe

Associate Professor, Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College, Arizona State
University
Ben GraffBen Graff, J.D., Phoenix

Attorney, Lazarus & Associates, PC

 Nora HannahNora Hannah, Phoenix

Chief Consortium Officer, Experience Matters Consortium
Jenny HolsmanJenny Holsman, J.D., Tempe

Executive Director, Arizona State University Alumni Association

 Alisa LyonsAlisa Lyons, Phoenix

President, Sloan Lyons Public Affairs
Chad MarchandChad Marchand, Tucson

Community Justice Unit Supervisor, CARGO Director, Pima County
Attorney’s Office

 Patrick Marcus, Ph.D.Patrick Marcus, Ph.D., Tucson

President, Marcus Engineering, LLC
David MartinezDavid Martinez III, Phoenix

Government Affairs Director, Arizona Students’ Association

 Frank McCuneFrank McCune, Phoenix

Executive Director, Valley Leadership
Patrick McWhorterPatrick McWhortor, Cave Creek

President and CEO, Alliance of Arizona Nonprofits

 J.C. Mutchler, Ph.D.J.C. Mutchler,
Ph.D.,
Sierra Vista

Associate Professor, Department of History, University of Arizona
South
Alberto OlivasAlberto Olivas, Mesa

Director, Center for Civic Participation, Maricopa Community College

 Benah Parker, Ph.D.Benah Parker, Ph.D., Mesa

Director of Education Policy, Center for the Future of Arizona
Sara PreslerSara Presler, J.D., Flagstaff

Attorney; Mayor, City of Flagstaff

 Bill RingBill Ring, J.D., Flagstaff

Attorney, William P. Ring, P.C.
Fernando ShipleyFernando Shipley, Globe

Agent, State Farm Insurance; Mayor, City of Globe

 Keri SilvynKeri Silvyn, J.D., Tucson

Partner, Lewis and Roca, LLP
Lisa UriasLisa Urias, Scottsdale

President, Urias Communications

The Thomas R. Brown Foundations: Partner in the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership

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Glance for a moment at the logo of the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the top of this page–Two colors weave in and out to form a vibrant sun-like image.

Those interlocking colors are intended to evoke one of the Center’s primary characteristics: It prizes and depends on collaboration between leaders, organizations dedicated to training new leaders, and all Arizonans committed to the state’s future.

Thomas R. Brown Foundations Logo

The Center also depends on collaboration between two philanthropic organizations, the Phoenix-based Flinn Foundation and the Tucson-based Thomas R. Brown Foundations. The Center is a new initiative for both foundations, but in an area that closely aligns with the organizations’ respective missions.

About the Thomas R. Brown Foundations

The Brown Foundations are the legacy of Thomas Rush Brown, Jr. (1926-2002), who in 1956 co-founded Burr-Brown Research Corp., the most successful homegrown high-tech company in Arizona history. Burr-Brown became a gloval leader in the semiconductor industry and was sold to Texas Instruments in 2000. The Foundations are guided today by his daughters, Sarah Brown Smallhouse and Mary Brown Bernal, and civic associates Michael Hard, John Carter, Gerry Swanson, and Jack Jewett.

Thomas Rush Brown, Jr., Thomas R. Brown FoundationsBuilding on Tom Brown’s decades of civic service and dedication to improving Arizona, primary focal areas of the Brown Foundations are education, research and economic analysis of current issues, and strategic community-building initiatives. Mr. Brown took individual responsibility to heart and practiced sustainable commitment. Now the foundations that bear his name are following suit.

The Foundations have pursued these interests in several ways–from its signature Economics in Public Policy Project, to economics-education programs for K-12 teachers and students, to support for public-health initiatives, to university scholarships. In 2010, the Foundations issued a $2 million grant to support the Arizona Assurance Program, a need-based scholarship program for in-state students to attend the University of Arizona.

The Brown Foundations and the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership

With an established record of supporting initiatives that enhance Arizonans’ capacity to thrive, and a commitment to bringing nonpartisan, fact-based perspectives to public-policy debate, the Brown Foundations represented an ideal partner for the Flinn Foundation in developing the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership. The two foundations began their formal collaboration in 2010.

“The Brown Foundations are committed to the long-term health and prosperity of our state,” said Sarah Brown Smallhouse, the Foundations’ president. “As issues and politics become increasingly intertwined and complicated, it is critical to make a concerted effort to educate and enable our future state leaders on the multi-dimensional challenges they will surely need to face and overcome.

“The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership is organized precisely toward this end,” Smallhouse continued. “We believe this is a strategic move that will make long-term planning and efficient government possible. We are proud to be a founding partner.”

Reflecting the Brown Foundations’ essential role in creating the Center, its leadership-training component is known as the Flinn-Brown Civic Leadership Academy, and the participants the Academy are known as Flinn-Brown Fellows.

Centennial Watch: Arizona’s 100th year begins

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Arizona Centennial logoArizona Statehood Day has arrived, and it’s a big one, kicking off a year-long series of events and commemorations that will lead up to the state’s centennial on Feb. 14, 2012.

Many of the dozens of events and projects that will mark the coming year are being tracked on the website of the Arizona Centennial Commission. The commission’s website also features a pre-statehood timeline of Arizona history, educational activities for teachers to employ with K-12 students, and a selection of oral histories and essays by Arizonans about the state.

The state’s largest newspaper, the Arizona Republic, has dedicated a section of its own website to marking the centennial via Arizonans’ personal stories. The Arizona Storytellers project, produced with the Republic‘s sister outlet, 12 News, and in collaboration with South Mountain Community College and Arizona State University, features an expansive collection of videos–some professionally produced, others produced and submitted independently by residents.

Southern Arizona’s largest newspaper has also created a special centennial section on its website, but is taking a different approach. Over the coming year, the Arizona Daily Star‘s Arizona at 100 project is each day reprinting a story or story excerpt from the past century’s archives of the Daily Star and the Tucson Citizen. The articles vary broadly, from a short note about Tucson’s efforts in 1912 to control smallpox to a police-beat report on the capture of members of a notorious boxcar gang.

Meanwhile, the East Valley Tribune published several articles this weekend to mark the beginning of Arizona’s 100th year, including a set of thumbnail profiles of important figures in Arizona’s history, a history timeline, a catalog of distinctive Arizona historical trivia, and a narrative retrospective on the most important drivers of the state’s historical development.

As an accompanying news article in the Tribune notes, more elaborate plans to celebrate the centennial that had been in development for years by local governments and the state have been trimmed back because of continuing budget shortfalls. The Arizona Legislature, for example, was forced to sweep a $5 million allotment for centennial events to close the state deficit.

One signature project, the restoration of the Arizona State Capitol’s copper dome, has become an educational effort targeting K-8 students, with an accompanying fundraising component. The Arizona CENTennial Penny Drive is aiming to collect at least $45,000, one coin at a time, between now and April 11.

The Arizona Center for Civic Leadership will follow this initial glance at coverage of Arizona’s centennial commemorations with additional reports about our state’s first 100 years and what today’s civic leaders are doing to ensure a stronger Arizona in its second century.

ASU President Crow and longtime sports executive Colangelo discuss leadership on Horizon

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Jerry Colangelo, co-chair of the Arizona Commerce Authority, speaks about leadership with Ted Simons on the PBS public affairs program Horizon.

On the Feb. 7 broadcast of Horizon, the public-affairs program of KAET television, Arizona State University President Michael Crow and business executive Jerry Colangelo joined host Ted Simons in a wide-ranging discussion of leadership.

Themselves two of Arizona’s most well-known leaders, Dr. Crow and Colangelo, who co-chairs the Arizona Commerce Authority, spoke about how they define leadership and what they see as the most important characteristics of strong leaders. They concluded by discussing how current civic leaders should prioritize the diverse and complex range of challenges that they presently confront.

Historically in Arizona, Colangelo said, leaders “found a way to work together for the betterment of the community, for the betterment of this state.” Today, he continued, “we need people to come together, to compromise, with the common good in mind. Our state is faced with a number of issues right now: We need jobs, we need to bring in companies, we need to improve our educational system, we need transportation infrastructure.”

Dr. Crow suggested that many institutions, including the state’s universities, hold the capacity to demonstrate in a competitive environment that they can provide Arizona with some of the leaders and leadership it needs.