If you want to make better connections to develop and improve your community leadership skills and shape the future of Long Beach, now is the time to join Leadership Long Beach.
The city’s premier leadership organization is accepting applications for the class of 2027. The deadline is July 19, with classes beginning Sept. 3.
Matt Guardabascio, LLB’s executive director, said that, for 37 years, Leadership Long Beach “has been cultivating leaders who make a difference in every corner of the community. We look forward to welcoming a new cohort of leaders who will help shape the city’s future.”
“Today, it is impossible to scratch the surface of any government entity, nonprofit organization, healthcare, educational institution or corporation/business without discovering a graduate of Leadership Long Beach,” said Gina Rushing Maguire, retired president of St. Anthony’s High School and one of the founders of Leadership Long Beach in 1989. “LLB alumni can be found leading and contributing wherever they serve, creating opportunity for others and enhancing the quality of life for all of us who live and/or work within the city of Long Beach.”
The Leadership Long Beach Class of 2026 wears their matching red class shirts. (Photo courtesy of Leadership Long Beach)
Graduation day was held earlier in June at Rancho Los Cerritos for the Leadership Long Beach Class of 2026. (Photo is courtesy of Leadership Long Beach)
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The Leadership Long Beach Class of 2026 wears their matching red class shirts. (Photo courtesy of Leadership Long Beach)
The city celebrated the most recent LLB class of 2026 as members graduated June 4 at Rancho Los Cerritos.
Shouts of “Bow wow wow” could be heard as members spoke and audience members applauded.
“Bow Wow Wow,” a popular song by Long Beach native Snoop Dogg, became the name of this year’s class, according to Pete Marsh, a class member and clean energy investor.
“I enjoyed every minute of this class,” said Marsh, who called himself “the geezer” because, at 66, he was the oldest member of the class. “I discovered a robust network of people wanting to help the city and others. I really accelerated my community connections.”
Marsh moved to Long Beach about six years ago from the San Francisco Bay Area to be closer to his grandchildren. He served in the Coast Guard and worked in the solar energy business before retiring.
“When I moved here, I heard so much about Leadership Long Beach,” he said. “I decided to join to learn more about the city and make community connections. I sure did, and I’m glad I did.”
A key part of the program is developing teams among members to work on projects to learn how to get things done and give back to the community by addressing a local need, such as health, public safety, education, jobs or homelessness.
Marsh’s team worked on Project Haven, making a room at the health department’s Multi-Services Center more comfortable for people using the center. Other class members worked on projects such as immigration resource fair, a youth expo, and a day of sports for national Olympic and Paralympic Day.
Tracey Thorpe, LLB president and member of the class of 2016, called the “Beautiful Class,” commended this year’s class for its togetherness and activity.
“It was wonderful to see such a strong turnout from the graduating class, their family and friends, and so many alumni,” she said. “Cities thrive when people choose to lead, collaborate and serve. Leadership Long Beach has been cultivating those leaders for decades, creating a network of changemakers whose impact reaches every neighborhood and every sector of our community. Long Beach is stronger because Leadership Long Beach exists.”
Tuition for the class year is $4,995. For more information about LLB, contact Guardabascio at matt@leadershiplb.org. For questions about the application process, contact Maria Alderete, director of programs, at maria@leadershiplb.org.
Leadership Long Beach was founded in 1989 by a group of Long Beach leaders who wanted to expand citywide connections in communities and develop leadership. Their vision resulted in an organization focusing on the development of current and emergent leaders coming from all neighborhoods and backgrounds within the city through a 10-month annual adult leadership development program.
The program later expanded to include a youth leadership program and an executive leadership series. To date, through these three programs, LLB has trained more than 2,000 individuals.
The 2027 class will be the 37th since the program started. There was no class in 2020-21 because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peter Ridder, one of LLB’s founders and former publisher of the Press-Telegram, said he was pleased that the program has evolved and grown.
“Many graduates of Leadership Long Beach are well-known leaders today,” he said. “Its success is attributed to the involvement of alumni who have insured its continuity for more than 35 years. My only concern is there needs to be a larger involvement from the business community.”
Rep. Robert Garcia, a graduate of the LLB Class of 2003 and the former mayor of Long Beach, said LLB was “an incredible opportunity to meet people that loved the city and wanted to make it even better. It continues to be a real force for leadership development and lasting friendships.”
He called LLB an organization of doers — and its members are great ambassadors for the city.
“As a proud member of the ‘Small but Mighty’ Class of 2010, I saw firsthand how the program connects leaders and inspires them to make positive changes in the community,” current Long Beach Mayor Rex Richardson said. “The more than 2,000 alumni help lead Long Beach and make our large urban city feel like a connected community.”
Richardson congratulated the class of 2026 and commended LLB for continuing to bring along the next group of community leaders.
Olivia Maiser, a member of the class of 2009 and a member of the LLB Honorary Board of Governors, said the success of this year’s LLB “shows that the magic multiplier of connections is working again. Each grad is now connected to their cohort as well as the business, nonprofit and government leaders they met. Going forward, they are only a phone call or two away from connecting with exactly the right person to help them get good things done for Long Beach.”
This year’s LLB has come a long since it started 10 months ago at its retreat in Loch Leven in the San Bernardino Mountains near Mentone.
The class packed a lot of living and learning in those 10 months. They grew together into a force for good for the city of Long Beach.
Bow Wow Wow! Yippie-yo! Yippie-yay!
LEADERSHIP LONG BEACH CLASS OF 2026
Here are members of the Leadership Long Beach class of 2026:
Amanda Loya, Long Beach Fire Department.
Anthony Montalvo, Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services.
Bernardo Barajas, Long Beach Police Department.
Betty Solares, Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services.
Brenda Sotelo, Long Beach Fire Department.
Charlie Jensen, UCLA Extension.
Dalane Nash, Studio One Eleven.
Daniel Gutierrez, Long Beach Utilities.
Diego Castaneda, Los Angeles Superior Court.
Edwin O’Dell, Long Beach Utilities.
Elisha Whitman, City Year Los Angeles.
Jami Kerr, Long Beach Police Department.
Jordan Gohara, International City Theater.
Jorge Godinez, city of Long Beach, Office of the City Manager.
Julio Miranda, Long Beach Economic Development Department.
Kelli Sylte, EKA.
Lauren Santiago, Long Beach Public Works.
Maria Alderete, Leadership Long Beach.
Marsha Yasuda, City of Long Beach, Office of the City Attorney.
Michelle Fajardo, City of Long Beach, Office of the City Prosecutor.
Mike Harrison, Long Beach Fire Department.
Montanna McDaniel, Hidden Genius Project.
Patricia Cruz, Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services.
Pete Marsh, Vector Green Power, LLC.
Robbie Rivera, Wells Fargo.
Samantha Aviles, Burlington Stores, Inc.
Shamara Banks, Pools of Hope.
Stephanie Anckle, higher education professional.
Stephanie Chmelik, Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services.
Steve Garcia, Lighthouse Escrow.
Tina Cheng, Long Beach Public Works.
Walter Smith, Long Beach Department of Health & Human Services.