Overview of the program

Leadership Rockland...

Our Vision:

Prepare an informed, energetic and visionary leadership base to serve Rockland County.

Our Mission:

Identify, Inform and Inspire leaders to better serve our community by increasing their awareness of the many facets of Rockland County.

Program Objectives:

At the end of the ten-month program, participants will:
Have gained enhanced knowledge of Rockland County
Have been inspired, challenged, encouraged and enabled to bring positive change to our community
Have connected with people and ideas from all walks of life to create a focused energy that can bring Rockland County forward.

"Our goal is to attract and nurture exceptional leaders and to provide opportunities and structure for a continuum of professional development activity which will enhance their knowledge of Rockland County" said Roberta R. Zampolin, the elected chairwomen of the Leadership Rockland Board of Directors.

"You will see a number of changes over the next year developed by a Board Committee who have put in a great deal of thought into restructuring and aligning our cirriculum to include the changing face of our diverse community in Rockland County" Zampolin added.

The monthly sessions are lead by knowledgeable and dedicated coordinators, many of whom have graduated from Leadership Rockland, whose expertise in their field makes this the best educational program on the County of Rockland.

The Honorable C. Scott Vanderhoef, Rockland County's Chief Executive and a founder of the Leadership Rockland program, served as chair from 1990-92. Succesive chairs of the program have been:

• Mark Rothenberg, former Vice-President with United Water New York and Chapter Chair for Rockland SCORE, served as chair from 1992-94.
• Dr. L. John Durney III, Provost & Vice President for Academic Affairs at St. Thomas Aquinas College and also a founder of  Leadership Rockland, served as chair from 1994-96.
• Dohn Harshbarger, Retired Vice President of Student Development at Dominican College, served as chair from 1996-2000.
• Bill Madden, President of  Madden Communications & Marketing, LLP served as chair from 2000-2003.
• Frank Borelli, Jr., a Principal with the Ducey Insurance Agency, served as chair from 2003-2006.

The first class graduated in 1991 and over 460 participants have graduated from the program since its inception. 

Leadership Rockland, Inc., is governed by a volunteer board of directors consisting of 30 members of the for-profit and not-for-profit communities (many are Leadership Rockland alumni). 

There are several committees assigned by the board of directors. The program committee selects volunteer coordinators for each of the programs, based on their expertise in the issues (i.e., education, media, etc.). Each coordinator then selects speakers, panelists, etc., in order to provide participants with a variety of experts to discuss and lead discussion on the issues.

Tuition...

Tuition for the program is $1,000. Employers often sponsor participants by expending the tuition and/or providing the professional time needed for the monthly daylong sessions. Tuition includes all materials, meals, and transportation by bus from one site to another during a program. The estimated full cost of the program without in kind donations from coordinators and volunteers would be $2,000 annually per participant. The tuition, then, is actually discounted by $1,000 per participant through volunteer efforts on behalf of our team of 100 coordinators and speakers. 

Scholarships...

When available, the Leadership Rockland Board of Directors allocate partial tuition scholarships for applicants who request financial assistance and are not eligible for corporate sponsorship through their employer. In addition, applicants should consider other funding sources. It is important to meet the deadline for application materials first and then explore funding options. 75% of all alumni listed have been sponsored by their employers. Additionally, 10% received small scholarships from Leadership Rockland. 10% fully funded their own tuition and 5% received funding from sources other than their own employer (one example is of an individual who received private funding from a member of their own board of directors. The board member was familiar with the LR program and felt the agency would prosper from representation and the individual would grow professionally. Although the agency could not afford the tuition, the individual was provided the professional time and the funding was created by the board member to assist the participant.) 

Application...

Visit our application page for information on the application process and to download an application to the program.