Connie Cooper Shepherd, executive vice president for strategy and planning, has been accepted into the 2020-21 Leadership Palm Beach County (LPBC) Engage program.
LPBC Engage is a highly competitive 10-month program that unites community leaders, offers a transformative learning experience and provides a powerful new network to improve Palm Beach County.
Participants come from diverse industries and backgrounds. Fifty-five class members were selected for their leadership and service in their professional and civic lives. They will meet each month from September through May to explore program topics such as agriculture, education, public safety and healthcare.
Shepherd joined PBA in 2018. Prior to that, she served as president of Cooper Consulting in Seattle and as executive director for Special Olympics Washington.
In 2012, the University honored Shepherd as an American Free Enterprise Day companion medalist, recognizing her as a leader in her field. Shepherd has worked in leadership roles with some of the world’s top consumer and retail companies, including Starbucks, Hershey, Kellogg’s and Procter & Gamble. Industry-wide, Shepherd has become known for her ability to commercialize world-wide brands, implement innovative go-to-market strategies and build high-performance organizations She is a graduate of Florida State University.
Class members will break up into smaller groups to do community engagement projects benefiting local non-profits and tackling challenges in the region. They will gain a deeper understanding of their own leadership styles and learn how they can make significant improvements in the community.
The Engage Class of 2021 will have the unique opportunity to see first-hand how Palm Beach County is being affected by and responding to the COVID-19 crisis. They will join LPBC at a time when the program’s community involvement is more appreciated than ever.
LPBC said its new class members are being creative and adapting to a world where “meeting” looks different than it has in the past. The adjusted program will bring new opportunities, according to LPBC.
The mission of LPBC is to educate and unite leaders to build a better community. For a full list of members of the Leadership Engage Class of 2021, click here.
