About Us

“Our tendency to create heroes rarely jibes with reality that most
nontrivial problems require collective solutions” – Warren Bennis

ALF is a national, nonprofit organization dedicated to building stronger communities by joining and strengthening diverse leaders to serve the common good. ALF was established in 1980 to provide a new model for community leadership, based on cross-sector collaboration and establishing a strong network that can leverage the knowledge and talents of diverse leaders. This is accomplished through the ALF Fellows Program and Senior Fellows Network in each of the communities ALF serves.

Today, there are eight active ALF chapters located throughout the United States. Each chapter tailors the Fellows program and Senior Fellows activities to the region that it serves.

November 28, 2018 Statement on Civil Discourse

As our country continues to witness the escalation of blame-fueled rhetoric, anger-and-hate-driven violence and amplified acts of unprecedented divisiveness, we as Senior Fellows of the American Leadership Forum feel compelled to step up and speak out.

There has never been a better time to double down on living the ALF ideals of dialogue. We know how to do this; this is what we stand for. In that spirit, here are some ways we can all “show up” in this world:

• Use your network to bring diverse thinkers together.
• Practice the art of transformative dialogue.
• Prioritize acts of intentional kindness and education over isolation.
• Seek out rational commentary on opposing views, then seek to understand.
• Avoid the impulse to react and escalate. As Rabbi Oren Hayon of Houston’s Congregation Emanu El recently said, “We cannot disregard anyone’s humanity if we hope to have our own humanity preserved.”
• Speak out against hateful speech and behavior targeted against any group.

Live the ideals of ALF and encourage others to join you on that preferred path. It is time to model the principles of our mission, established nearly 40 years ago, that encourage us all to be leaders in bringing people from all corners of our diverse communities together.

We must ask ourselves, “How am I showing up? What will I do to help facilitate change?”

American Leadership Forum – National Board of Trustees

Beth Boggs, Tacoma, WA                            Albert Najera, Sacramento, CA

Debra Brown, Portland, OR                       Cyndee Patterson, Charlotte, NC

Gina Carroll, Houston, TX                           Rolanda Pierre-Dixon, San Jose, CA

Troy Christensen, Tacoma, WA                 Kimberlee Sheng, Portland, OR

Sam Cook, Myrtle Beach, SC                     Dan Snare, Houston, TX

Louis Cooper, Tacoma, WA                         Wendy Spencer, Merced, CA

Dee Dee Dochen, Houston, TX                  Suzanne St. John-Crane, San Jose, CA

Bonnie Ferreira, Sacramento, CA             Pam Stewart, Sacramento, CA

Reagan Flowers, Houston, TX                    Harriet Wasserstrum, Houston, TX

Kathy Halsey, Modesto, CA                         David Williams, Memphis, TN

Chrystal Joy, Charlotte, NC