The Giving List

Leading From Within

Leading From Within runs four different programs aimed at improving leadership in nonprofits and other social sector organizations

by Steven Libowitz

Ken Saxon had a clear vision when he founded Leading From Within (LFW), the Santa Barbara nonprofit that supports leaders and staff of other local nonprofits.

“I came to Santa Barbara from the business world, where our most important investments were the ones we made in our people,” Saxon said. “But when I started serving on nonprofit boards here, I saw some amazing people doing really critical work. But in general, they were operating in silos, and not being invested in, supported or connected to others. Leading From Within was created to take the cadre of civic leadership, professional and volunteer, and invest in them in a deep way so that they can be more impactful in addressing these really difficult problems in the community and revitalize them, so they can keep doing it.”

Fifteen years later, Leading From Within has four fully thriving programs: Courage to Lead, a reflective retreat-based program to reinvigorate executive directors and experienced nonprofit and other social sector leaders; Emerging Leaders, designed to empower, elevate, and connect mid-level and new execs. that form the next generation of nonprofit leaders; the Katherine Harvey Fellows, which invests in community-driven leaders hailing from outside the nonprofit world; and the Leading for Community Impact program that engages northern Santa Barbara County nonprofit professionals to develop their leadership skills and explore management strategies to make a greater impact.

“We’re proud to have had an impact on all of these people who are choosing to make their career in the nonprofit sector who typically had not benefited from high-quality investment before,” Saxon said. “We really go deep with them and help them get connected to each other.”

Among the nearly 600 past participants in the programs are a passel of powerful figures in the Santa Barbara nonprofit world, from Bucket Brigade’s Abe Powell and Pacific Pride Foundation’s Development Director Tyson Halseth to Carpinteria Children’s Project’s Teresa Alvarez and Good Samaritan Director Sylvia Barnard Even COVID couldn’t put the kibosh on LFW’s impact.

“When the pandemic hit, we weren’t sure if people were going to have the time or the money, or even still have a job to be part of our programs,” Saxon said. “But the reality was that the demand for all of our programs grew, and now they are as full as they’ve ever been.”

But resting on its laurels isn’t an option for Leading From Within.

In fact, the nonprofit has emerged from the pandemic with an even more ambitious agenda for amping up area nonprofits’ effectiveness.

“After 15 years as the only local organization that is laser-focused on building and supporting civic leadership in the region, we’re ready to step up to the next stage,” explained Saxon, who is Leading From Within’s board chair. “We have a full-time executive director who is top-notch, and we have a new strategic plan developed after engaging with the community for a year and a half to find out what’s needed. We’re ready to engage at that level to support the sector that works on our

In the 15 years since its founding, Leading From Within has had nearly 600 participants in its leadership programs