Last Friday, United Way of Lancaster County held the first session for Project Blueprint, a transformative training program designed to diversify and strengthen nonprofit board leadership. The program brings together nonprofit staff and board executives to engage in trainings that will help improve workplace practices and diversify boards across the county. The organizations go through a 6-week training program that meets every Friday. The trainings include: Introduction: Communication & Inclusive Leadership, Conflict Resolution, Intergroup Dialog, Board Governance and Inclusive Governance, Intercultural Development, Mission, Vison, Values, & Action Plan.
The nonprofits and representatives participating in the 2025 organizational cohort include: CAP (Community Action Partnership of Lancaster County), Staff Executive Amanda Burn, Board Executive Nicole Pedriani, Elizabethtown Community Housing and Outreach Services, Staff Executive Ashley Bulley, Board Executive Deb Riley, Pennsylvania Furniture Mission, Staff Executive, Pashk Sokoli, and Board Executive Jeanne Cooper, and The Common Wheel, Staff Executive Mackenzie Hand, and Board Executive Catherine Cox.
The first session, led by United Way of Lancaster County board member, Mike Diller and Vice President of Impact at United Way of Lancaster County, Joel Janisewski. The session detailed the importance of empathy, compassion, and meeting people where they are, in various circumstances, in the work environment.
“Sympathy, in and of itself, is not necessarily a bad thing at all. It’s good to have that. It’s almost like that’s kind of a starting point. But again, empathy moves it further. Compassion actually moves it further, even further, in terms of action, beyond just feeling with, you’re actually feeling with, and then being able to do something about to try and help in some way or some capacity,” said Diller.
The cohort discussed the importance of finding the root of the issue, rather than just finding solutions because it is important have inclusive communication strategies to foster collaboration.
“Just gathering understanding of the why, or if there’s a decision that needs to be made to be able to explain the why clearly. Because sometimes decisions are made and team members are like, ‘I have no idea, right?’ I had no say, or they maybe they did, but I don’t understand why we’re doing this, or what that future state looks like, but the more clarity that we can offer, and doing it in some of these ways, but being able to have that curiosity and that pause, I think, can help us along the way,” said Diller.
The session concluded with an in-depth conversation about diversity, equity, and inclusion, shared decision making in the workplace, unconscious bias and the need for self-reflection.