Learning Today to Lead Tomorrow

With the arrival of the 80s, a group of forward-thinking women at the Junior League of Oklahoma City began brainstorming ways to grow future generations of leaders. They coordinated a leadership conference for members of the Oklahoma City community that saw such success they decided it needed to become a regular program – and Leadership Oklahoma City was born.

In 1983, just two years after becoming a stand-alone program, Leadership Oklahoma City had received so much support that they established an endowment at the Oklahoma City Community Foundation. Though the fund started small, they had big goals in mind: by 1993, Leadership OKC had raised more than $500,000, which elevated their status to an Affiliated Charitable Organization Endowment Fund at the Community Foundation.

Over the years, the organization has expanded from their 10-month signature program that molds local volunteers into community leaders to include training opportunities for youth and young adults, providing leadership and life skills that help participants excel in school, their careers and the community.

Our endowment fund at the Community Foundation has given us a firm foundation of funding, but it’s really more than that. It has helped us expand our programming so we can offer our youth programs free of charge and provide this valuable opportunity to students from all corners of the metro.

said Christy Zelley, executive director of Leadership Oklahoma City.

While it may be hard to quantify the impact the program has on the community, the program’s graduates exercise skills they learned through Leadership Oklahoma City’s programs every day and are making a difference in countless areas of our community as today’s and tomorrow’s leaders.

Leadership Oklahoma City’s Signature Class 38 on a tour of the News 9 studios in 2019.