From success to significance. The Aspen Global Leadership Network was launched with the Henry Crown Fellowship Program in 1997, designed to mentor the next generation of community-spirited leaders to make a greater mark.

The network is comprised of more than 2,100 fellows, who were chosen because of a track record of success, their entrepreneurial mindset, their focus on integrity and high-impact and their willingness to engage in a lifelong partnership with other leaders. Candidates must be between the ages of 35 and 48, and at a career inflection point, ready to consider their next level of contribution.

Aspen fellows include top leaders of Fortune 500 companies, including in 2015 the President of #27, Boeing, and a General Manager of #8, General Electric. However, the goal is a rich mosaic that includes different sectors and backgrounds. For example, the 2014 class included Grammy-award winning rapper and record producer Lupe Fiasco (his stage name).

In July, the Aspen Institute introduced its first health innovators class, and selected 20 leaders, including National Alliance on Mental Illness San Diego’s CEO Shannon Jaccard. Members of the inaugural class also include Johnson and Johnson’s VP of Global Health Policy and the Department of Homeland Security’s Senior Medical Advisor. There are 11 MD’s in the group, and other sectors represented include pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, health care venture capital, and veterans’ health.

Over the next two years Shannon will participate in over a month of focused teamwork on leadership development, core values and action planning. Each fellow develops a stretch plan that includes a proposal for a community initiative that will create a lasting legacy. The Aspen Institute fully intends to impact the US healthcare ecosystem through the efforts of these accomplished leaders.

Shannon recently described to me the energizing and fast-paced first week experience, with 15 hour work days (7 am to 10 pm). Cell phones are left at the entrance, and the visioning begins immediately. Moderated leadership discussions catapult ideas from pre-homework readings, including The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas and Martin Luther King’s Letters from a Birmingham Jail.

The focus is on action. What do you need? And, the global network of leaders will help you. We can make it happen!

Shannon already has a resume of significant accomplishment and vision for the future. NAMI San Diego’s innovative programming and tech café have been nationally recognized. In addition to her CEO role and serving on the boards of directors for both RI International and Meeting Place Clubhouse, Shannon founded Compeer San Diego, a nonprofit organization to provide friendship and support to individuals with a mental illness.

With both an MBA and an intensely personal commitment to advocacy for persons with mental illness, it will be exciting to learn what develops next from the inspiration, connections and support the Aspen Health Innovators Fellowship offers. Stay tuned. I’m confident the world will be a better place because of these leaders’ deliberate efforts and impact.

About NAMI San Diego: An affiliate of NAMI California and the national grass roots, non-profit founded in 1979 by family members, NAMI San Diego is the community’s voice on mental illness. Its threefold mission is to support, educate and advocate. They offer a Helpline, support groups, educational meetings, newsletters, a lending library and classes at various locations throughout the county to end the stigma associated with mental illness.

Posted on December 17, 2015 by davidwcovington

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