“This program has really been an eye opening experience of how diverse we are as a state and across our state agencies, yet how similar we are in some of the challenges that we face. This process has provided an in-depth look at the different levels and structures we work within as well as new opportunities to collaborate, which has been fantastic! SALC gives us a group of peers where we can share that human moment where we're like, 'Oh, my gosh, I can't believe what we're facing' but then immediately pivot and engage really smart people to share ideas and solve problems. I highly recommend this program for leaders who are looking to gain new perspective and make connections across the state with indiviuals who are passionate and committed to serving Arizonans in so many different capacities.”

Jakenna Lebsock – AHCCCS

“It was a wonderful experience. I think it was a great opportunity to come together with other leaders from around the state. Different agencies, see different perspectives, see what people are going through, recognizing that we have a lot of the same things that we deal with on a daily basis. But the opportunity to connect and bounce ideas off each other and make improvements that maybe we wouldn't have done on our own. So it was an excellent opportunity.”

Howard Wykes – ADJC

“So, it was just an amazing conference. We got to meet a whole bunch of leaders who came from many different walks of life. However, they all have identified several key qualities of leadership and what makes a good leaders. And that was striking; it almost seemed coordinated because everybody was saying the same thing despite having vastly different carreer paths. These leaders also provided us with many amazing stories and a lot of different ways of thinking outside the box. We made valuable connections with the people here, and I'm already putting that to work. It was really an incredible opportunity."

Lisa Querard – ADOR

“Super excited to be nominated by Director Simplot to participate in the leadership program, and I have always been enamored with moving up through my agency at housing. And this just fueled that fire to want to learn more about the civic side of the state and then also the interaction with the directors and their perspective of tools and attributes that are consistent with leadership in Arizona were such key takeaways, and I'm super excited to take that back to housing and see how I can level up at the agency and hopefully move up into a director position in the near future.”

Ruby Dhillon-Williams – ADOH 

“I thought that it was an excellent experience. It was valuable in terms of getting the opportunity to connect with other leaders throughout the state and to connect with leaders in positions that we may aspire to statewide. It was great to not only get an idea of their thought process and situations, but also just their general philosophy on leadership and how a young leader can further develop in the future. I really appreciated the opportunity.”

Art Smith – ADJC