Leadership Eastside (LE) has selected James Whitfield of Kirkland to be the new chief executive for the Eastside’s premier leader development program, effective Jan. 3.
Whitfield has served on a number of non-profit boards, including the YMCA Eastside District, Seattle CityClub and Seattle Works, as well as being a founding board member of LE and co-chairing Children’s Institute for Learning Differences’ capital campaign feasibility study.
He was appointed by the White House in 2005 to be the Regional Director of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and later as Deputy Directory for the agency’s Office of Intergovernmental Affairs. Whitfield also was a senior officer for community relations with the Washington Health Foundation, technology consultant for Fox Industries, and licensed life and health insurance consultant for Kibble & Prentice.
“I’m convinced that LE’s innovative adaptive leadership approach to leader development is the answer to the challenges we face in our communities,” Whitfield said. “I am incredibly proud to be part of equipping and connecting leaders to help the Eastside continue to be an extraordinary place to live, work and serve.”
LE’s three-year program serves the greater Eastside region by helping participants who live or work on the Eastside to develop their skills and connections to make a difference in their local communities through leadership roles in business, volunteerism and public service.
The organization has been a driving force in building community leaders since 2005 when LE evolved out of the former Leadership Institute and Advance Bellevue programs.
LE is now taking applications for its sixth class, which begins this fall.
Whitfield is an honors graduate in communication from the University of Iowa and a 2003 graduate of the Seattle Chamber of Commerce-sponsored Leadership Tomorrow program, where he also served on the curriculum committee.
Whitfield succeeds Stephanie Mapelli, who served as LE’s president for four years.
For more information on Leadership Eastside and its program, visit here.
