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Leadership Philadelphia extends connector project
Category: Business Published Date Written by Ayana Jones Tribune Staff Writer Hits: 531
Leadership Philadelphia is working to shed light on the region’s creative connectors.
The term connector is taken from the book “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell, which addresses how ideas move through society.
“One thing that has to happen for things to get done in society, is that a person who talks to everybody needs to pick up the idea,” said Liz Dow, president and CEO of Leadership Philadelphia.“When I really learned about that, I decided that’s really the kind of leader that Philadelphia needs more of because that kind of leader is a hub of trust and is kind of the glue that holds the community together.”
Five years ago, the organization launched a research study to facilitate a conversation about leadership and connections in Philadelphia. During the first round of the connector project, Leadership Philadelphia collected nominations of the city’s most trusted leaders and released the names of 101 connectors in October 2006.
In 2008, the organization identified the city’s younger generation of connectors. Now the organization is seeking creative connectors throughout the greater Philadelphia region who are using art and design to build community.
“We care about who is the glue that holds Philadelphia together. Who are the people who operate underneath the radar screen, who bring people together for a good cause in Philadelphia,” Dow said.
For example, Dow highlighted Art Sanctuary, an arts organization directed by Lorene Cary. While Art Sanctuary is known for hosting poetry slams and writing conferences, Dow said the organization is really building a community.
Community members can nominate creative connectors by participating in a survey at www.leadershipphiladelphia.org. Nominations will be collected through June. Results will be publicized in October.
To help facilitate the creative connectors project, Leadership Philadelphia has partnered with the Greater Philadelphia Cultural Alliance; the Mayor’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy; Philly360 of the Greater Philadelphia Tourism Marketing Corporation; and WHYY Newsworks.