Leadership Sunnyvale History

Lynn Briody
at Leadership Sunnyvale
20th Anniversary Dinner

Al Reynolds
at Leadership Sunnyvale
20th Anniversary Dinner

Leadership Sunnyvale's origins date back to 1984 when then-Mayor Lynn Briody first proposed such a program patterned on a model designed by the National Association for Community Leadership (NACLO). With impetus from Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce President Van Freidin and Executive Director Al Reynolds, a year-long, broad-based steering committee was formed to study similar programs in other cities and their potential for the Sunnyvale community. This followed shortly after Stockton started the first California leadership program.

A year later, in the Fall of 1985, Leadership Sunnyvale's Inaugural Class was launched with Ann Hines serving as Founding Executive Director. Sunnyvale's program was blessed from the very beginning with its sponsorship being jointly by both the City of Sunnyvale and the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce (most programs are C of C based).

For the first five years (Classes 1986 - 1990), class members engaged in monthly, full-day Public Affairs Seminars and concluded their year with a Public Service Project addressing some pressing issue in the community. Although the program was successfully informing citizens about government, health services, education, the non-profit sector, business, the environment and community development issues, a nagging question was arising: "Where's the LEADERSHIP in Leadership Sunnyvale?".

That question was responded to with significant change; change that continues to mark Leadership Sunnyvale as an exceptional program today. The curriculum was increased 50% with design of a dual track program -- eight Public Affairs Seminars complemented with the addition of eight Saturday morning Leadership Skills Workshops.

Starting with the sixth year's Class of 1991, leadership development skills became more deeply imbedded in the curriculum, resulting in a whole new impetus for the program. In addition to valuable information, the program was now delivering practical skills that transferred directly to the volunteer sector, the workplace, public service, and participants' personal lives.

Leadership Sunnyvale participants graduate with not only broad knowledge about the community, but with increased effectiveness in their ability to "make something happen" in whatever area of endeavor is pursued.

Leadership Sunnyvale has been widely recognized as a pioneer program in the South Bay/Peninsula, and for its combination of both Public Affairs & Leadership Skills program components. The program's joint sponsorship by both the City and the Chamber has also been noted.

A group of the alumni during the 1998-1999 time frame worked together to create an independent non-profit version of the program that would be able to continue providing classes into the future. These alumni hired a full-time Executive Director, Jim Telfer, and proceeded to seek sponsorship of the program by the local business community. As a side note, at the same time that Leadership Sunnyvale was graduating its first class in 1986, Jim initiated the leadership program in the city of Manteca. Jim's hiring in April of 2000 was pivotal, as was reaching the goal of becoming a 501c3. What was achieved in this process and time frame, was saving a program that was known for its day and a half class each month for nine months; familiar to past alumni. Class sizes have been set to be a minimum of 15 to a maximum of 30 students.

Since 2000, Leadership Sunnyvale has been a program of SVL. SVL is the merger of all services provided to the Silicon Valley area, including the Alumni Association. SVL today has partnered with the City of Sunnyvale as well as providing specialized training for other organizations and companies.

The Leadership Sunnyvale program is now poised to surpass 500 graduates, from a city size of 134,000 people. Many of our strongest supporters come from alumni of the program and alumni of other leadership programs around the United States. The volunteers to this program have greatly valued enhancing our community through the greater involvement and increased effective leadership. The impact flows to family life, local business, community organizations and local government. All of this history ties into the by-line of Leadership Sunnyvale:

In 2005, a new program was added under both the SVL and City of Sunnyvale banner. A cooperative training program was launched that is four, two-hour training sessions on being more effective with government. The goal being to be better able to address community issues. This program has it's inception from a conflicting project that City of Sunnyvale was planning that duplicated much of the Leadership Sunnyvale program. In trying to reduce duplication of services between the Public and Non-Profit sectors while meeting the needs of the community better, an 18 month series of meetings held every two weeks produced the concept that later became City Skills. This has become a true partnership where the City of Sunnyvale produces half of each class with the other half taught by SVL volunteers.

Leadership Sunnyvale's History

The Proof is in the Pudding...

Executive Directors