Our Director of Community Impact, Julie Fletcher, recently graduated from Leadership Columbus, a nonprofit that develops and connects community leaders. She joins several other Crane Group grads who are proud to call themselves LC alums. “We have exceptional leaders at Crane Group, and we are proud that they don’t just lead here—they lead out in the community as well,” Crane Group CEO Dan Crane said. “Leadership Columbus is a valuable asset to the city, and we’re grateful for their partnership in elevating leaders here and around Columbus for decades.” We sat down with Julie to talk about learnings and inspiration from her year with the powerful program, which is celebrating 50 years of impact. 

Q: Each month, your cohort of 60 community leaders focused on a different topic—housing, education, safety, the arts, and more. What is one moment from one day that will stick with you?

A: At the Columbus Museum of Art, they divided us into random small groups, and each group went to look at a piece of art. My group looked at a painting. We each recorded what we saw, then shared that with each other. We all saw something different. Once we shared what we saw, everyone looked again with a different lens and saw something new. It was so symbolic of the value of diverse perspectives.

Q: You are walking away with several new colleagues and friends. What impressed you about the group?

A: To see all these different people from different industries caring and wanting to learn how to be good stewards of our city fueled me in an entirely different way. Most of them are at least 10 or 15 years younger than me and in a season of life where they are supporting families with kids at home and working their way up the career ladder, yet they’re still making our community a priority. That was just a great thing to witness. 

Q: Is there a group project or issue that you went deep on that you could share about?

A: ELLA (Empowering Latinas Leadership Academy) was my chosen Community Impact Project. ELLA is a professional development and leadership organization dedicated to advancing Latinas into positions of influence, including executive leadership and board service, across Central Ohio. We learned that empowered mujeres (women) empower mujeres (women), and safe spaces allow people to show up fully and contribute meaningfully. Trusted allyship builds community. I will miss working with my group.

Q: You learned a lot about a lot of topics—even topics you are familiar with. What are a few bits of general inspiration you’re walking away with?

A: Slow down. Be present. Be curious. Learn from leaders in different sectors. And our last presenter, Jen Bowden from IGS Energy, shared something really memorable. She said something like this: “You’re probably all fired up and thinking, ‘What’s next?’ But I don’t want you to be overwhelmed thinking you have to do more. Don’t do more. Just be really intentional about how you spend your time.” I am intentional about how I spend my time both personally and professionally; it’s the slow down part and permission to not do more that really struck me.