Leading Through Uncertainty: Strategies for Nonprofit Resilience
Event Description
Leading a nonprofit organization in today’s climate requires more than just resilience - it demands clarity, connection, and the ability to lead with a steady hand in the face of considerable uncertainty.
In this interactive workshop, Laura Elmore LeBlanc and Julia Cuba Lewis bring their signature blend of expertise and candor to help Executive Directors navigate the unknowns of federal legislation, economic shifts, and the daily realities of nonprofit leadership. Through personal storytelling and shared strategies, we’ll explore what has worked - and what hasn’t - when leading through crises, from COVID-19 to funding cuts and major transitions. We’ll identify what is within our control, how to use your influence effectively, and why fostering connection and momentum can turn uncertainty into opportunity.
We’ll also discuss emotional intelligence as a leadership asset and reframe self-care as an ethical obligation, not a luxury. Expect a session that is grounding, solutions-focused, and rooted in possibility - giving you both the confidence and concrete next steps to move forward with clarity and purpose, facilitated by two community leaders who have decades of experience and an incredible amount of respect for both you and each other. This event is free of charge.
Event Details
- Who: OVCT Members and other leaders within OVCT organizations
- When: Friday, April 4 from 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
- Where: UFCU Plaza - 8303 N Mopac Expy, Austin, TX 78759 (large UFCU building off Steck and Mopac)
Once registered, you will be added to the calendar event! Snacks, coffee/tea, and water will be provided.
Our Speakers
Laura Elmore LeBlanc, LMSW-AP
Laura currently serves as the CEO for the Sobering Center of Austin/Travis County, a brief intervention aimed to curb usage of jails and emergency rooms. She has brought her operational thinking and social work ethics to leadership positions in treatment centers, jails, schools, public housing projects, and government agencies. The Sobering Center is her third executive leadership role and she has become known for being a ‘turnaround leader’ specializing in revitalizing organizations and businesses during times of transition.
Laura has served as Chair of One Voice Central Texas, a coalition of over 100 non-profit leaders and Secretary of the Board of Directors for the National Sobering Collaborative. Under her leadership, Crime Prevention Institute won a Ring of Honor award from the Mental Health Association of Texas and a Non-Profit Excellence Award from Greenlights for Nonprofit Success (now Mission Capital). She was nominated in 2017 for an Austin Under 40 award in the category of non-profit leadership and in 2018 for Mentor of the Year. Laura was the 2020 recipient of the McLester Champion of Recovery award. She holds a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and a Master’s of Science in Social Work. She is a licensed master social worker with an advanced practice designation. In addition to her full time gig, she is a practiced executive coach and organizational development consultant. See more on her LinkedIn and her Website.
Julia Cuba Lewis
Julia Cuba Lewis helps leaders grow so their organizations can too. She is a transformational leadership coach and consultant working with for-profit and non-profit organizations around the nation. From 2006-2023, Cuba Lewis woke up every day driven by her mission as the CEO of Girls Empowerment Network, a Texas organization which helps girls discover they are powerful. Over her 17-year tenure, she tested various progressive leadership models, ultimately crafting a unique blend of distributed power and purpose-driven leadership. She and her team transformed the fledgling organization from serving 250 girls in central Texas into a statewide movement impacting thousands of girls and marginalized youth, delivering programs with statistically significant results. She not only facilitated exponential growth, but also ensured financial and cultural sustainability, culminating in a seamless, thoughtful transition to new leadership.
Julia Cuba Lewis is the recipient of numerous professional and academic awards, including Austin Under 40. While earning her master’s degree at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work at UT, she was honored as the NASW Student of the Year for the City of Austin and again for the State of Texas and was the student commencement speaker for her graduating class. She served as past Secretary and two-time Chair of the Austin Commission for Women and is a graduate of Leadership Austin and Leadership Texas. She is an adjunct professor at the University of Texas where she teaches a master-level course on nonprofit management at the Steve Hicks School of Social Work. She also serves as the Treasurer on the board of IGNITE National, a nonpartisan nonprofit on a mission to build the largest, most diverse movement of politically engaged young women in the U.S. See more on her LinkedIn and Website.
Event location and amenities generously sponsored by UFCU - thank you!
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