Leadership Sanibel-Captiva Program Inspires Community Engagement, Unity

Creating a leadership program for Sanibel and Captiva like those run by surrounding communities seemed like a great idea when leaders of Charitable Foundation of the Islands (CFI) conceived it a couple of years ago.

Yet no one could have known just how valuable the 2022 Leadership Sanibel-Captiva Program would prove to be when, just six months after the session concluded, Hurricane Ian’s fury lashed the region, causing unprecedented destruction on the islands.

Now, as residents, businesses and nonprofit organizations work to restore and rebuild, members of the inaugural leadership class are among those taking the lead.

Ralph Clark, who served on the CFI board for a decade before recently stepping down, was among those responsible for creating the program, which took place over six days from January through March 2022.

From left: jim brady, Calli Johnson, annie campbell, bob wiesemann, elizabeth piersol, joey almeida, jane majeski, susan ryckman, ger ronan, john silva and mike wood

Clark, who also credits fellow planning committee member and CFI Board Chair, Chip Roach, said the organization needed new ways to help island nonprofits after its primary annual fundraiser, a golf tournament at The Sanctuary, was discontinued.

“We needed a new strategy where we would fit in and were looking at various things to do to work with all of the nonprofits,” he said. “We were in an ideal position to do something like this.”

A survey of island nonprofits revealed concern that key leaders were retiring and finding new board members to replace them was becoming challenging. The concept of a program to engage new leaders seemed like a natural mission for CFI to take on, Clark said.

The information and access participants receive through this program “is the kind of thing you can’t buy,” he said. “You bring forward all the leaders of the community to teach you about the community in a short period.”

Inaugural class member Calli Johnson is a fourth-generation member of the family that owns and operates Bailey’s General Store on Sanibel and the Island Store on Captiva.

Although she was raised in Jacksonville and trained for a career in mental health, she pivoted after Hurricane Charley in 2004, moving to Sanibel when the younger generations of the family took over the store from her grandfather, Francis Bailey.

The leadership program taught her a great deal about the place to which she’d been connected her whole life.

“I learned about organizations I’d already worked with, but that knowledge was enhanced,” she said. “I learned how the island and county administration work together and made connections with people I wouldn’t necessarily have met. It was cool to have the opportunity to know people who are either new to the island or have been around and have unique perspectives.”

Calli Johnson presiding over her first Sanibel & Captiva Islands Chamber of Commerce meeting as Chair

Her volunteer project this year: serving as chair of the Sanibel & Captiva Chamber of Commerce, which was badly damaged by the storm.

The planning committee recruited 11 candidates for the inaugural class. On different days, the group received deep dives into the islands’ government, environment, business and prosperity, social services, arts and culture.

“It would have taken me years and years to learn about these organizations the way we did in six days,” said Jane Majeski, an inaugural class member and chair of the 2023 leadership planning committee. “It was a unique opportunity to hear directly from the leaders of these organizations, to see their passion and dedication to the mission and for the islands.”

From left: John Silva, ralph clark, tony lapi and bob wiesemann

Bob Wiesemann and his wife bought a Sanibel condo in 2004 for vacations, became residents in 2011 and moved to Captiva in 2014.

He didn’t know exactly what to expect when he received an invitation to the leadership program but it seemed worthwhile to him so he signed up.

“It was an immersion and I have a much better understanding of the organizations and the history of the founding fathers, the challenges they had to set up things the way they did in a sustainable fashion,” he said. “It’s what’s made Sanibel what it is for all these years.”

For Wiesemann, a former corporate CEO and current director of First Illinois Corp., “one takeaway for me was the unbelievable talent and expertise this community is blessed with. I didn’t understand the depth of the talent and expertise and volunteer culture that exists on the island.”

He’s now serving on the planning committee for the next leadership class and has joined the board of BIG ARTS as well.

Majeski, who earned a degree in economics and also has a deep knowledge of marketing, said she knows that Clark’s objective was to inspire and educate future leaders.

“He did just that,” she said. “It exposed us to the challenges and opportunities on the island. Hurricane Ian has presented us with even more challenges. It’s time for our class to step up and challenge other leaders to step up to make sure we preserve these as sanctuary islands.”

Jane Majeski and a crew volunteer at ding darling wildlife refuge

Majeski has been coming to Sanibel since she was 8 years old and bought property in 2019. She spent a few days in January volunteering at the various island nonprofits to learn even more about them.

In addition to gaining a better understanding of the islands and their needs, Majeski said another benefit of the program was forming new friendships. “It brought together this group of individuals. We will be friends forever,” she said. “We all have the same passion for the island.”

Clark is pleased with the outcome of the first class.

“I’m thrilled to have been involved in getting it started,” Clark said. “It’s the right thing at the right time in the right place. It will make a big impact over time. We’re already seeing it with the first class. Half have joined boards on the island. There are a lot of great people on Sanibel and Captiva that haven’t been tapped yet.”

Get involved

Because of Hurricane Ian and the extensive recovery effort, the leadership class planned for 2023 has been postponed, but those interested in learning how to become more involved in island nonprofits are invited to attend the Volunteer Expo planned for Thursday, March 30th from 5:00pm- 8:00pm at BIG ARTS on Sanibel Island.