2023 SLG Impact Champions

This May, we pause to celebrate our volunteers and their accomplishments.  You will see their collective impact in our 2023 Impact Report. Here are a few that stood out this past year as they supported, developed, and expanded the number of courageous leaders among us. 

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‍Service Champions - Sig Berg, Joe Fougere, Mark Germano, Ray Rottman, Mike Murphy

Logging over 600 hours this team of board members and cohort program managers did the lion’s share of incredible work. 

Our Founder and Board Chair, Sig Berg, worked tirelessly to catalyze the SLG Board of Directors, writing, speaking, and connecting like-minded individuals and teams to catalyze the movement of virtuous leaders. 

Joe Fougere, Mark Germano, Mike Murphy, and Ray Rottman finished our new SLG Certified Program Manager and Facilitators course in 2023 and paved the way for future certified PMs and facilitators. They expertly led our cohorts and shepherded our mentors and fellows through the programs in 2023. With a focus on excellence, they diligently delivered and made recommendations to the curriculum and session materials, strengthening our curriculum.

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‍Mentor Champions - Bruce Engelhardt, Michael Loftus, Tracy Neary, and Art Gibb

Our Fellows continue to give us feedback that their relationship with their mentor is one of their favorite parts of our program!  It’s no wonder when we have such dedicated Mentors supporting them.  Bruce Engelhardt, Michael Loftus, and Tracy Neary all mentored during both the fall and spring cohorts with Bruce supporting both the Annapolis and Virtual Cohorts.

Art Gibb did double duty as a Mentor and facilitator for the Annapolis cohort in 2023.  As a seasoned mentor, Art was able to support our Annapolis Program Manager by facilitating sessions and delivering the curriculum.  He also supported a Fellow in the fall and fostered a relationship with our partner First Command to cater our Annapolis meetings!

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‍Network Champions - John McGaha, Lisa Datka, and Terry Benedict

Each year we have volunteers who help us expand our network and grow the number of courageous leaders across industries and our nation. This year we are recognizing a few who have helped us grow and stretch at SLG!

John McGaha has been with SLG since our start as an advisor to the founders. Since joining the Board in 2021, he has connected his vast network of leaders to become mentors, fellows, and board members with SLG. In 2023, he spearheaded our growing participation of organizations that sent teams and individual leaders. 

Lisa Datka joined SLG as a Fellow in 2022. In 2023, she invited her team to participate as fellows and joined the SLG Board. As a new Board Director, Lisa hit the ground running by assisting SLG’s staff with our marketing refresh. She helped us partner with a marketing firm, The Swell Company, who supported our efforts pro bono.

Terry Benedict began as a mentor with SLG in 2012. Since then he has supported SLG as a mentor, guest speaker, and ambassador. In 2023, with the launch of the new SLG Teams Program, he catalyzed the program as an advisor to some amazing leaders and teams. 

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Excellence Champions - Judy Farrell, Kristen Earp, Ray Rottman, Aaron Thieme, Mike Murphy, Mark Germano, Art Gibb, Joe Fougere, and Don Vinci 

2023 saw some major changes as we put our updated curriculum into practice. To expand our cohorts we needed new program managers and facilitators. The PM/Facilitator Certification was born! Judy Farrell led this huge endeavor and developed the certification curriculum along with our Adult Education/Curriculum Development expert, Kristen Earp. Together they piloted the SLG PM/Facilitator Training with a cast of extraordinary mentors. Special thanks go to our first SLG Certified PMs and Facilitators: Ray Rottman, Aaron Thieme, Mike Murphy, Mark Germano, Joe Fougere, Art Gibb, and Don Vinci who persevered and started leading cohorts in the Fall of 2023.

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Consider-it-Done Champions - Bob and Tina Young

We round out our Hall of SLG Champions this year with our most versatile volunteers.  Bob and Tina Young supported SLG in many different ways.  Bob served as a mentor in 2022 and 2023 for 3 cohorts in a row sharing his experiences and walking alongside Fellows.  He also donated his expertise as a photographer and captured our Annapolis commencement as well as other events.  Tina and Bob generously opened up their beautiful home in Annapolis in October 2023 for our Volunteer Appreciation Event.  They welcomed our volunteer “stars” with a social evening for our network (that was live-casted across the US).

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Collective Impact

View our 2023 Annual Report to see the collective impact these individuals had on the Severn Leadership Group community and beyond.

Impact Report Link

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