The Leadership Venango Class of 2020 met on December 11 at the Cranberry Place in the Cranberry Mall. The third session of the nine-month program was focused on understanding community caregiving.

Joe Croskey & Kathleen Ellwood of Cog Coaching and Consulting connected with the class to explore diversity of thought. They started with a values assessment worksheet which helped the class narrow down a long list of common values into the six most important to them. The class then participated in a few activities that encouraged them to be vulnerable and open with one another while concentrating on the dimensions of diversity and prejudice.

The class then took a break for lunch and filled out a quiz on local statistics around poverty in Venango County. This primed them for the afternoon session led by Kimberly Robertson, focused on understanding power, privilege, and poverty.

Kim’s presentation was interactive and eye-opening, allowing the class to see where their own privilege is and how that affects their lives. Kim talked about the different core values at each income level and the hidden rules among social classes. Much of her presentation was based on the book “A Framework for Understanding Poverty” by Dr. Ruby Payne.

This session was very interactive and had the class on their feet and participating in different role-playing activities. Many class participants felt this session was one of the most impactful and emotional yet.

The next meeting for the class is scheduled for January 8 at Clarion University Venango, where they will focus on the importance of an educated workforce.

This article was published in the Venango Chamber’s January 2020 VenangoWorks! Newsletter.