| It's with a tender heart that I inform you that the Authentic Leadership Center (ALC), in its current form, will close on August 31, 2020. In order to focus more directly on contemplative learning in higher education, Naropa has made the strategic decision to place attention and resources on undergraduate and graduate programs at this time.
For the last 18 years Naropa has offered authentic leadership, coaching and mindfulness programs for thousands of participants. For the last five years it has also hosted ALIA (Authentic Leadership in Action) programs on the West Coast and in Europe and provided leadership programs and consulting services for the Natural Products Industry.
Although the Center itself will dissolve, I know the energy and spirit of Authentic Leadership will continue. The transformational learning journeys provided by the ALC fundamentally shift how a person sees themselves and the world. I've witnessed so many leaders find the courage to join head, heart and hands to be of benefit to the world. These leaders, in turn, touched their families, communities, and organizations in profound ways. Interdependence reminds us that the ripple effects of good leadership are far and wide and can have ongoing impact. I am proud of all that we have accomplished over the last 18 years.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the many people who have participated in the Authentic Leadership, ALIA and Mindful at Work programs over the years. First, a deep bow of gratitude to the ALC team who were passionate and deeply committed to our mission. As a new chapter opens, Rachel Rambo will be expanding her leadership coaching and consulting practice (rachelleighrambo@gmail.com) and Mary McHenry will offer her skills to a variety of undergraduate and graduate programs at Naropa (mmchenry@naropa.edu).
A special thanks goes to Jim Marsden, Lyn Ciocca, Sheldon Romer and Bob Wing who provided excellent instruction and coaching for many of our programs as well as Susan Szpakowski and the late Michael Chender who ignited the creative spark of ALIA. And thanks to Mark Wilding, Chuck McCaffree and Dove Weissman-Shtein who supported the center through its various phases. I also thank our esteemed guest faculty, including Peter Senge, Otto Scharmer and Meg Wheatley who championed this work and helped to foster a strong, safe and inspiring container for learning and social transformation.
I'm also grateful to the regional teams in Europe and the west coast of North America for fanning the ALIA flame during its time with the ALC. Many thanks to Jane Allen and Erik Van Roon who guided European teams and JoAnn Schindler, Steve Byers and Scott Perret who stewarded the west coast team, To this day the ALIA West Coast community of practice continues to meet on a regular basis and welcomes new members and guests (scott@newnow.net).
Personally, I will continue to work on special projects and programs through Naropa (sskjei@naropa.edu) as well as offering consulting services through my company SaneSystems (susan@sanesystems.com). The path of authentic leadership is in my bones and it will manifest in new programs and plans for the future. Stay tuned!
All my best to you as you continue to practice authentic leadership and mindfulness in your lives and work.
With love and appreciation, Susan | 
