End of Year Message from MLT Founder and CEO John Rice
By: John Rice, MLT Founder & CEO
As 2014 comes to a close, I wanted to reflect on how far MLT has come and look forward to where we are headed. We are very grateful to each of you for joining us on this path.
In May, we celebrated our 10th Anniversary with over 2,000 partners, supporters, friends, and Rising Leaders at our first ever Gala and Rising Leaders Conference. We are privileged to partner with innovative, world-class organizations, and this year we brought more than 50 of them together for our inaugural Partner Symposium. Together, we have gained unique insights into what individuals need to do to realize their potential, as well as how employers and graduate schools can crack the code on diverse talent recruitment and retention.
I deeply appreciate the Rising Leaders, partners, board members, donors, and staff who have united around our common belief that diverse leadership in America matters – for individuals, for organizations, and for society. Together, we have expanded the leadership pipeline to include 4,000 Black, Hispanic, and Native American high performers who are now on career trajectories to senior roles in the private, public, and social sectors.
We are executing an aggressive growth plan to develop 1,000 senior leaders and 10,000 more coming behind them, which will result in a powerful network of leaders who are tackling society’s most daunting challenges and transforming the talent pipelines at major corporations, non-profits, and start-ups.
We have three key priorities over the next five years:
- Grow our fellow footprint by 3x and provide all of our Rising Leaders with continuous access to MLT’s playbook and coaching.
- Leverage our powerful network of passionate executives, partners, and supporters to drive better outcomes for our Rising Leaders.
- Expand our capital base so we can build out our team and infrastructure to deliver on our growth plan.
Developing people to reach their full potential is a key priority for our country. Get involved. Whether it is spreading the word about our programs & initiatives, mentoring Rising Leaders, partnering with us for talent recruitment and retention, or making a donation, it will take supporters like you to help us achieve this vision. I look forward to working with you in 2015 and beyond.
With thanks and best wishes for a joyous new year,
John