1998–2002 #LT30for30
Since 1992, Leadership Triangle has been a convener, educator, advocate, and amplifier for some of our region’s most engaged leaders and organizations. To celebrate our 30 year anniversary, we’re telling the stories of 30 Fellows from 30 years of programs. Each Fellow highlighted will represent one year of impact: from 1992, to 2001, to 2022.
Mark Molitor (1998)
Mark Molitor is a Leadership Triangle Hall of Fame recipient, leadership development consultant and Faculty member at Leadership Triangle. He serves as a designer and instructor for a variety of leadership development programs. He consults with teams of all sizes and coaches executives.
Mark has served in leadership roles throughout his life, such as president, CEO, chair, managing partner, cofounder, and team lead. In this phase of his career, he finds the deepest fulfillment in investing in others to enhance their leadership effectiveness and be the best they can be. Mark believes that people are essentially good, innately creative, and able to continually learn and develop their skills.
A quick note on his time with Leadership Triangle:
In 1998, the program curriculum was mostly about the region — what made it unique, the challenges it faced, and some of its less-obvious assets. There wasn’t much on actual leadership development though. When Winkie La Force, LT’s first full-time Executive Director, decided to start a new program — initially named the Personal Leadership Development Program and later Transforming Leaders — I was asked to contribute to the program’s design. Subsequently, I was invited to serve as a coach and instructor. That was 20 years ago and the beginning of a more fulfilling career trajectory for me.
There’s a saying that if you want to learn something, teach it. Well, being an instructor and facilitator for Leadership Triangle has been a productive developmental journey for me. I have learned so much from others. I have been so fortunate to have worked directly with three special and uniquely qualified individuals who have served as LT’s executive directors — Winkie, Jes Averhart and now Kristine Sloan. I have been so fortunate to have served on the design and faculty team with outstanding colleagues, like Joe LeBoeuf, Tom Stevens, George Smart, Peter Anlyan, Doris Barksdale, Kathleen Crabbs, and now Chimi Boyd-Keyes…to name just a few. I have been so fortunate to have had the pleasure of interacting and learning from our numerous program participants. Leadership Triangle has brought together richly diverse groups of gifted individuals who care about the region, who give of their time and talents, and who are truly making a difference. I learn from every single class. For me, Leadership Triangle has been a gift that keeps on giving. — Mark Molitor, 1998 Goodmon Fellow
Brenda Howerton (1999)
Commissioner Brenda Howerton is the chair of the Durham Board of County Commissioners. She was elected to the Durham County Board of Commissioners in 2008 and has served on the board for 15+ years. She is presently in her fourth term. On August 12, 2017, Commissioner Howerton was sworn in as President of the North Carolina Association of Counties. She is the first Durham County commissioner to be elected to a statewide senior leadership office. Brenda also serves or has served on many boards such as Durham Technical Board of Trustees, Convention & Visitors Bureau Tourism Authority, Downtown Durham Inc., Chair of the City/County Planning Committee, Juvenile Crime Prevention Council, Public Health Board, Triangle J Council Center of the Region, Durham City-County Committee Member, Durham Partnership for Children, Durham History Hub and the Workforce Development Board. She is the recipient of the Human Relations Commission Award for commitment to inclusion from the Durham Human Relations Commission.
Winkie La Force (2000)
Winkie La Force is a force for leadership excellence in the Triangle. She is an impactful leader, a connector, Triangle resident, and pickleball coach. Starting in 2000, Winkie operated as Leadership Triangle’s first full-time President for over 15 years. She helped build the organization as one of the region’s premiere leadership development platforms through her initiative, creativity, and leadership. She is passionate about excellence on the pickleball court. Read our longer conversation with her here.
“Leadership Triangle started as just the Regional class, but then we realized we could add much more leadership development to LT. We had the Triangle part covered with our program in different parts of the region. Now we wanted to make and discover Triangle-wide leaders.” — Winkie La Force, 2000 Goodmon Fellow
Gabriela Zabala (2001)
Gabriela is the former Director of the Governor’s Office of Hispanic/Latino Affairs in North Carolina. For 13+ years in this role, she advised the Governor on policies impacting Hispanic/Latino communities, collaborated with organizations to improve the Latino population's quality of the Latino population, and spoke publicly on behalf of the Governor. She is originally from Ecuador and is fluent in Spanish, English and Portuguese. In retirement, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren and relaxing in her garden. Read our longer conversation with her here.
“In the beginning I was the type of a leader who thought that I had to do everything myself. I did not delegate. The other thing that I learned was self-awareness — in leadership and in life. If you don’t know yourself you are incapable of having compassion for yourself or others. And that is the reason that we have so many problems in the world right now.” — Gabriela Zabala, 2001 Goodmon Fellow
Ironside Forum — in memory of Linda Ironside, Leadership Triangle’s first Executive Director (2002)
In 2002, Leadership Triangle paused our programming to manage our growth as an organization. Instead of core programs, Leadership Triangle hosted a Triangle-wide morning bus tour that took leaders around the region. In the afternoon, hundreds of leaders came together to convene during the Ironside Forum, named in memory of the organization’s first Executive Director, the late Linda Ironside. A banquet followed in the evening, celebrating Linda’s life life and impact as well as announcing that years Goodmon Awards.
