CONNECT. INSPIRE. TRANSFORM.
American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley is pleased to announce the official unveiling of our new logo and accompanying tagline, Connect. Inspire. Transform. Coinciding with the 40th anniversary of the first ALF chapter’s founding, these new elements mark an important evolution in our aim to create courageous, diverse networks of cross-sector leaders working towards an equitable and thriving Silicon Valley.
As we move into 2021 and beyond, we’re focused on scaling our impact through more courageous conversations, ALF Insights facilitation, and a more robust Fellows experience for regional leaders – all elements of our most recent Strategic Plan. ALF National Board Chair and ALF Silicon Valley CEO Suzanne St. John-Crane says of our logo update, “It signals the power of weaving cross-sector networks for transformative change and gives a nod to our wilderness campfire conversations where, for so many, a personal transformation takes place. We’re thrilled to be lifting up a new look and tagline while simultaneously launching a strategic plan that meets the moment we’re in as a community and as a country.”
The new logo and tagline were developed through a robust design process spanning several months and involving eight ALF chapters from throughout the country. This workgroup was tasked with producing the visual marks and laying the groundwork for consistent brand fidelity across all of our ten chapters – all of whom will begin rolling out the logo in the first half of 2021.
MEANING OF NEW LOGO & TAGLINE
The intertwining shapes of our new logo icon represent leaders coming together to create impact. Its organic nature reflects the reality of bringing diverse thoughts and perspectives together in dialogue, shaping them into an emergent, shared understanding.
The FLAME represents the wilderness campfire experience that all ALF Fellows share at the beginning of their journey. It stands for light and inspiration, transformation and action. It is a beacon leading the way to new paths.
The colors RED and BLUE tie not only to our American roots, but they tie the rich history of our organization to its bright future. Gold, the spark of hope and transformation that results when we take the time to engage with one another, has been added to highlight that continuity.
CONNECT. INSPIRE. TRANSFORM. is a distillation of the ALF experience into three simple words. It serves as an invitation to all those who want to participate and as a reminder for those who have.
As a visual whole, these concepts echo one another. Together, the three individual flames—those moments of connection, inspiration, and transformation—positively impact the world around us, reiterating our core values and overall mission.
About American Leadership Forum
American Leadership Forum was founded in 1980 on the premise that investing in diverse, cross-sector leaders and putting them in relationship with each other – to expand their perspectives and empathy of different experiences – could help create a more equitable and thriving society. Our founder, Joe Jaworski, made dialogue across differences and unconscious bias cornerstones of the curriculum from day one. He lays out this objective of ALF as follows:
“Build deep trust and respect among the group, and help each Fellow get beyond the devaluing prejudices that we all hold. Foster an experience of how a group of leaders, from many different sectors in a community, can coalesce around issues of shared concern and move to successful resolution.”
American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley builds upon that foundation by putting diversity, inclusion, and equity at the foundation of our organization. When we assemble teams – whether they be staff, board members, Fellows classes, or network gatherings – we design for maximum diversity. For ALF, achieving maximum diversity means not creating silos or “choirs,” but instead bringing leaders from divergent perspectives together to build bridges of understanding across differences through dialogue with deep listening and honest sharing. Leveraging ALF dialogue strategies and expertise in creating impactful convenings, we aim to curate the conditions for learning and empathy by engaging people with a wide variety of experiences and points of view through diversity in age, ethnicity, race, gender and sexual orientation, political orientation, religion, socioeconomic background, and sector. If we are creating and designing relationship building and problem-solving curriculum and containers for the “community,” then it is imperative that “community” be at the table.
Our Mission
ALF joins and strengthens diverse leaders, creating and supporting networks for good.
American Leadership Forum commits to developing and nurturing these core leadership practices in our Fellows:
-Mindfulness
-Inclusion of diverse perspectives
-Building of meaningful relationships
-Being champions of dialogue
-Commitment to serving the common good
Senior Fellow Commitments:
-Take the call & make the call. Use the network.
-Dialogue First. Suspend judgment, be curious, be open, listen.
-Educate, Innovate, Donate. Be a part of systems change.
Be sure to see our new logo and tagline in action on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Instagram.
