American Leadership Forum Silicon Valley CEO Suzanne St. John-Crane delivered the keynote address at this year’s Exemplary Leadership Celebration on April 18. Read Suzanne’s full speech below.
“What have you been up to this year, Suzanne? How are you?” It’s a big question, isn’t it? Tonight, I’m here to offer us a progress report and a pep talk.
About a year ago, Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy called attention to the public health crisis of loneliness, isolation, and lack of connection in our country. Even before COVID, about half of U.S. adults reported experiencing measurable levels of loneliness.
In February, San Mateo County passed a resolution that declared loneliness a public health crisis.
We can have groceries, alcohol, new pets, and cars delivered to our house without talking to a soul. But it seems we’ve forgotten how to check in on our neighbors. Or strike up a conversation with strangers. It seems we’ve stopped taking care of our social soil.
In 2019, colleagues and I took a trip to Copenhagen on behalf of the City of San Jose to examine public life there. A city administrator shared their RFP process for redesigning a public park. The winning vendor was an artist, who, when asked on the application what the outcome of his design would be – answered very simply – “More love.” More love. He codesigned the park with the super users – the unhoused people – as well as parents and their kids. The process changed their understanding of and love for each other.
I’m so proud that ALF’s very mission is to invest in our civic fabric every day. To create “more love” between sectors, changemakers and adversaries. Here’s how we do it.
Last month, we graduated 26 Senior Fellows of Class XLIII, and they have reported 28 collaborations to date and will undoubtedly have an impact in the Bay Area for years to come.
Last week, 26 brand new Fellows of Class XLIV experienced their orientation retreat and seven-minute stories. Welcome, Class XLIV.
If creating understanding across divides, healing relationships and developing holistic leaders isn’t the most important work right now, I don’t know what is.
We expanded our Fellows program to invite leaders from San Francisco and the East Bay. I want to give a special thanks to the San Francisco Foundation for their support as we build out these networks. I’m so grateful to Fred Blackwell and Khanh Russo for their vision and partnership.
Thanks to Sobrato Philanthropies as well Senior Fellow donors, ALF convened 172 gatherings of Senior Fellows in the last 12 months, including 51 class reunions, San Francisco/East Bay Lunch & Learns, retreats, and speaker events, and 121 Affinity Group circles.
ALF Insights, our facilitation and strategic planning consultancy, walked 14 organizations through deep dialogues or new strategic plans. Through the months-long efforts of ALF Insights and a deep community building process, the town of Los Gatos moved through a painful and divisive period to launch a formal commission prioritizing inclusivity.
Most of what happens at or through all of these ALF circles can’t be shared in a newsletter or a tweet. What I can tell you is that we imperfectly but steadfastly created space to hold the hardest and often most healing and transformative dialogues we’ve ever been a witness to. If creating understanding across divides, healing relationships and developing holistic leaders isn’t the most important work right now, I don’t know what is.
And while it’s impossible to measure the full impact coming out of these conversations and networks, I guarantee you that the social soil is getting richer.
ALF was also honored to fiscally sponsor two remarkable Senior Fellow- led projects this year—Decoded: A Human Atlas captured the stories and DNA of one hundred and one remarkable changemakers from Silicon Valley, including twenty-two ALF Senior Fellows. Take a look at the DeCoded book if you can. And 100 Black Voices—produced by John W. Gardner winner and Senior Fellow Barry Williams, documenting the board experiences of 100 leading black directors.
Have you practiced enough curiosity and generous listening with the other side? Are you willing to be wrong?
Last year, I shared that ALF Silicon Valley became the HQ of ALF National—and this year, thanks to support from the Packard Foundation, nearly 5,000 Senior Fellows from 8 chapters in 46 states have been invited to join ALF Connect, a vibrant online community; connecting us for the first time in our forty+ year history. Over 1000 Senior Fellows nationally have already joined.
And we’re also writing a book. So that’s what we’ve been up to friends growing, weaving, and doing our best to support this incredible network in some pretty trying times so that we all can be better and do better.
So, I don’t know if you heard, but it’s an election year. And in January 2025, ALF will be hosting a national dialogue to process and hopefully, renew our vows to each other as members of the human race. You know, Class XLIII made these t-shirts that have a reassuring message that I think we could all use right now, and they were kind enough to give me one too. They say, “I’m fine, It’s fine, Everything’s fine.” If, in the words of our founder Joseph Jaworski, “we activate our capacity to love” and not just those we agree with.
You have a packet of seeds at your place setting today. My invitation to each of you is, before you plant these, pay attention to the soil.
And before you jump to assumptions or actions—pay attention to your civic soil. Do you have some cleanup work to do? Have you practiced enough curiosity and generous listening with the other side? Are you willing to be wrong?
My wish for you all, despite it all, is that you are courageous enough to love.
—Suzanne
