A couple of years ago, Janelle Meyers, housing manager at Ecumen Prairie Lodge in Brooklyn Center, was feeling a little pressure and a lot of anticipation.  An elite group of aging-services professionals from all over the country were descending on Ecumen Prairie Lodge to take a close look at the Enhanced Memory Care Program she had developed.  The program was beginning to build a national reputation for its innovative approach to caring for people with especially difficult dementia behaviors.

The visitors were Leadership Academy Fellows, a group of about 35 up-and-coming  aging-services professionals chosen by LeadingAge to spend a year enhancing their leadership skills.  “It was an experience I will never forget,” Janelle said.  “This was such a wonderful group of people—full of enthusiasm and insight and willingness to learn.  I was honored to show them our program.”

Since that site visit, there have been many more.  Aging services professionals from all over the world have come to observe the program and learn from Janelle.

Now it’s payback time.  Janelle will get her chance to travel around the country and observe the most innovative work others in her profession are doing.  She has been named to the prestigious Leadership Academy herself and will begin her fellowship in October at a kickoff during LeadingAge’s annual meeting in Dallas.

“I couldn’t be more excited,” Janelle said.  “This is such an opportunity to learn and grow and work directly with some of the best people in the industry.  I really appreciate Ecumen’s willingness to sponsor me, and I’m committed to getting as much as possible from this program. I want to improve my leadership skills and bring back lots of ideas for innovating at Ecumen.”

The fellows get together five times during the year and work intensely together.  They are divided into four teams and assigned a coach who guides individual projects, facilitates team-based exercises and provides ongoing mentoring.   Teams check in through monthly calls with the group, and Fellows can talk to their mentors anytime.    

Over the course of the year, there are site visits to innovative organizations across the aging services spectrum, along with exposure to visionary leaders known for enabling transformation.  Plus, Fellows translate leadership theory into action by working on a group project as well as a long-term individual project to champion innovation in their organizations.  LeadingAge says the project aims to help Fellows “expand their comfort zone, experiment with new leadership styles, embrace uncertainty and become more self-aware.”

The fellowship ends in November, 2014, at LeadingAge’s annual meeting in Nashville, where fellows formally present their vision, passion and learning over the course of the year.

Two other Ecumen employees have been Leadership Academy fellows—Julie Murray, vice president of sales and marketing and new ventures, and Janet Green, executive director at Ecumen Detroit Lakes. Both report outstanding experiences.

Janet was in the very first Leadership Academy class in 2006. She was so moved by the experience that she came home advocating that Ecumen start its own local version of the academy.   That was the seed for what is now Ecumen’s Velocity Program. “This was such a diverse mix of people from all over the country coming together to improve long-term care and to improve themselves,” Janet said.  “The energy and commitment was so motivating. I wanted as many of Ecumen’s leaders as possible to have this kind of opportunity.”

Julie’s experience was similar.  In fact, she still has a monthly call with her fellows’ network.  “You get very close to your colleagues,” Julie said.  “We help each other solve problems. We talk about everything from issues at work to work-life balance.  They are a very trusted network.”

Janelle has been with Ecumen for eight years and has been in the aging-service field for 17 years, where she has held jobs in therapeutic recreation, memory care, marketing and customer relations.  At Ecumen Prairie Lodge, Janelle has been housing manager for almost her entire tenure.  In addition to the memory care program, she is especially proud of the work she has done on culture change and employee engagement, which has cut turnover in half. 

“I work in aging services because I love older adults,” Janelle wrote in her Leadership Academy application. “I see the value in each and every person at every stage of their journey.  My dream is to live in a world where growing old is a privilege and not a burden.”