Rooted in Purpose, Rising in Service

When Executive Director Carli Meurs talks about Leadership Kitsap, her enthusiasm is unmistakable.

“Our purpose really is to empower people to do community work and to lead stronger,” Meurs said. “We educate and empower leaders, and then connect them with other leaders who have the same mindset.”

For more than 30 years, Leadership Kitsap has developed leaders across government, business and nonprofit sectors, building relationships that strengthen both organizations and the community.

More Than Professional Development

Leadership Kitsap isn’t a traditional leadership course.

“We’re not industry-specific,” Meurs said. “One of the things that makes us so successful is that we cater to all people.”

Its flagship 10-month program intentionally brings together participants from government, nonprofits, business, entrepreneurship, and more representing different ages, backgrounds and career stages.

“We have a ratio we work with to fill our cohorts—you can only have so much government, so much nonprofit, entrepreneur, and so on,” Meurs explained. “The deep learning comes from working with people outside of your silo, outside of your industry, gathering each other’s perspectives and maybe learning new communication styles.”

Head of Marketing and Media Anjali LeGrand said that diversity strengthens both learning and representation.

“The more inclusion you have across industries, the more we want other people in the community to see themselves in their leaders,” LeGrand said. “We want people of all industries to feel represented and to feel like there is room for growth and leadership opportunities, regardless of where they work.”

Leadership Kitsap welcomes participants at every career stage.

“Our programs are for anyone at any level of any business or organization,” Meurs said. “That cross-perspective of different ages and job levels is really key to implementing the education we’re offering.”

Rather than focusing on titles, the organization looks for people willing to grow.

“We’re looking for somebody who is open to learning, someone who will let us encourage them to engage and step outside their comfort zone,” Meurs said. “It’s ideal for them to desire growth in all areas, not just one.”

Building a Pipeline of Leaders

Leadership Kitsap was founded on the belief that communities need leaders before leadership vacancies arise.

“Leadership Kitsap was created out of this idea of a need for a continuing pipeline of prepared leaders,” Meurs said. “If nobody is prepared before they step into that role, or before we need somebody to step into that role, we’re starting from scratch.”

Participants leave with stronger confidence, a deeper understanding of community systems and greater awareness of their own strengths.

“Confidence is one of the biggest benefits we hear,” Meurs said. “They say, ‘I get it now,’ or ‘I can do this.’”

“We focus a lot on personal strengths,” Meurs said. “Helping people understand themselves better makes it easier for them to step into roles and take on projects. It’s better for them—and it’s better for their company, their church group, whatever they’re working on, and ultimately for our community.”

Leadership Through Service

Community Impact Projects are central to Leadership Kitsap’s curriculum. Working with nonprofit partners, each cohort identifies community needs, from food insecurity and homelessness to environmental stewardship and education, and develops lasting solutions.

“We really enjoy adding the community impact project component, because not only do we have tangible results for our community partners, but participants get a low-pressure way to put what they’re learning into action,” Meurs said.

Rather than assigning projects, participants work with community organizations to determine where help is needed most.

“It’s not just, ‘I think this is a cool idea,’” LeGrand said. “Partners have a voice in saying, ‘These are the gaps we’re missing—there’s a huge scarcity of food in this area, there’s a huge issue of homelessness.’ Then together, they address them.”

Longevity matters.

“We don’t want one-and-done, performative projects,” Meurs said. “Part of the process is: how will this last beyond your time with the team?”

Since the program began, Leadership Kitsap has completed more than 130 Community Impact Projects.

Meurs recalled one from her own 2017 class: a free dance program for underserved youth in downtown Bremerton.

“It was started in a little shack with the idea that once the Marvin Williams Center was built, the program would move there,” she said. “Years later, someone told me how much that program meant to his community. These projects make differences in ways we may never fully know.”

Leadership Beyond Graduation

Graduation is often the beginning of a participant’s leadership journey.

“Some people, during the program or shortly thereafter, are offered promotions or different jobs because of the development they’ve had over the year,” Meurs said.

Alumni serve on nonprofit boards, hold executive leadership positions, volunteer throughout the county and serve in elected office.

One example is Dedra Miller, Leadership Kitsap’s 2026 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. After completing the program, Miller became a board member and trainer before being selected as executive director of Holly Ridge Center.

“She had demonstrated exactly what the organization needed in an executive director,” Meurs said. “She was able to seamlessly step right in, and she’s done such a good job in that space.”

Meurs’ own path followed a similar trajectory. After graduating in 2017, she joined Leadership Kitsap as a part-time program manager before becoming executive director.

Benefits for Employers

Leadership Kitsap also serves as a talent development tool for employers.

“When an employee feels invested in, they invest back in you,” LeGrand said. “That mutual agreement of ‘you see something in me worth developing, and now I can bring that development back to improve our organization’ is a powerful system.”

Meurs encourages employers to identify emerging leaders early.

“They’re growing and developing themselves for your benefit, and you get to use all the skills they’re learning,” she said. “People who employers see potential in should be sent through the program so those employers can be confident offering them that next promotion. Maybe they’ll run the company one day.”

The cross-sector relationships built during the program also create lasting partnerships.

“You’re also opening up that organization to partnerships they probably wouldn’t have had before,” LeGrand said. “Now you have these relationships with people you’ve worked on very intense projects with over 10 months. We see companies working together because alumni know each other.”

Growing to Meet Community Needs

Since 2020, Leadership Kitsap has expanded beyond its flagship program to include the 20 Under 40 Awards, a women’s leadership program and summit in partnership with the Greater Kitsap Chamber, and the Premier Institute, which offers one-day leadership workshops.

“We kept hearing, ‘I wish it wasn’t such a long program; I wish I could just tap in every once in a while,’” Meurs said. “That’s a community need. So we created one-day workshops people can access as they’re ready, including alumni who are asking, ‘What’s next for me?’”

The organization has also grown from one employee to three, allowing it to expand scholarships and improve accessibility. At its most recent graduation, a dessert dash raised more than $14,000 for scholarships.

“Increased capacity means increased focus on program development, and because of that we have increased resources for accessibility,” LeGrand said.

Leadership Kitsap’s new five-year strategic plan focuses on increasing visibility, strengthening alumni engagement and ensuring programs continue to reflect community needs.

“We want the community to tell us what’s important to them and to us,” Meurs said. “We’re encouraging people to expand their horizons, and we’re looking to expand ours as well.”

That includes strengthening long-standing partnerships with Kitsap’s tribal communities.

“Our tribal partnerships are really important to us,” Meurs said. “Without their support in what we do, we wouldn’t be able to offer quite the exceptional opportunities we have.”