Our annual Exemplary Leadership Celebration on April 20th is almost here! It’s that time of the year to honor the outstanding individuals in our network that inspire and motivate other leaders, build bridges across diverse communities, and embody ALF’s core values. Leading up to the celebration, we are spotlighting our two awardees for the 2023 John W. Gardner Award: Kathleen King (Class XVII) and Chris Wilder (Class XXI).
Kathleen King began her career in high tech, but that would all change during her Fellows journey. One day, her classmate, Randy Pond, gave a presentation about the need for improved healthcare coverage in Silicon Valley. This presentation sparked an interest in Kathleen. Along with her son’s two bone marrow transplants, she was inspired to join the board of Healthier Kids Foundation and subsequently became its CEO. Today, the foundation focuses on the health needs of underserved youth of Silicon Valley. It has offered over 525,000 services in the last decade to families through education, advocacy, and preventative screenings. Kathleen has also served as the Mayor of Saratoga in 2005 and 2010 and was elected to its city council in November 2002.
When asked what being an awardee means to her, she had this to say: “It’s humbling. It’s kind of like the Academy Awards for our efforts, and it represents people understanding how important our efforts are. It’s an acknowledgment of paying it forward.”
“ALF Silicon Valley’s Exemplary Leadership Celebration is our opportunity to acknowledge these networks and recognize the good they are doing for our communities. It is our moment to reconnect, nurture the trust we have in each other, and commemorate the vital work that is being done for the common good.”
Chris Wilder has also paid it forward through his lifelong efforts.
He served as the Executive Director of the Valley Medical Foundation for 20 years until 2021, when he suffered from a stroke. During his tenure, the VMC raised millions of dollars and started many new programs to support the growing needs of patients served by the Santa Clara Valley Health & Hospital System. Chris began his 40 years in the public benefit sector as a consumer activist at the Fund for Public Research (1990-1996). He also ran the Vanishing Children’s Alliance and led City Year San Jose/ Silicon Valley before joining the VMC Foundation.
Chris is honored to be nominated for the John W. Gardner Award. When asked about it, he said: “It means a great deal. Like ALF did. Being chosen to participate in ALF was one of the great honors in my life. I was proud to do it. To be selected along with my good friend Kathleen King for the Gardner award is an honor. Being a part of ALF is all a part of paying it forward. The Gardner award is just one more bit of recognition that I’m doing something right.”
Since 1994, the American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley has honored distinguished leaders with the John W. Gardner award. Incredibly, few are aware of his (John W. Gardner) integral contribution to the inception of ALF Silicon Valley. Gardner was the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare under President Lyndon Johnson and founded the following organizations: the citizen’s advocacy group Common Cause, the National Urban Coalition, Independent Sector, and the White House Fellows Program. He then went on to help design the American Leadership Forum and assist in the development of the Silicon Valley chapter.
A dear friend of ALF Silicon Valley’s founder Ann DeBusk, John W. Gardner dedicated his career to reminding people that we are all leaders—and we are the solution to the issues we see in our Valley.
Gardner said, “What we need is something new—networks of responsibility drawn from all segments coming together to create a wholeness that incorporates diversity. The participants must come to be at home with change and exhibit a measure of shared values, a sense of mutual obligation, and trust. Above all, they must develop a sense of responsibility for the future of the whole region.”
ALF Silicon Valley’s Exemplary Leadership Celebration is our opportunity to acknowledge these networks and recognize the good they are doing for our communities. It is our moment to reconnect, nurture the trust we have in each other, and commemorate the vital work that is being done for the common good.
Gardner was passionate about doing good and strengthening our communities. We do this by paying forward the kindness we’ve received from others and committing to being upstanding leaders. That’s what Kathleen King and Chris Wilder have dedicated their careers—their lives—to. We look forward to honoring them at the Exemplary Leadership Celebration on April 20th. Learn more.
Allyson relocated to San Jose from Central California and joined the ALF team in June 2021 where she’s grateful for the diverse communities she gets to work with everyday. In her free time she enjoys writing stories, drawing, and reading the latest fantasy novel on the beach.
