Greater Tucson Leadership

Greater Tucson Leadership The mission of Greater Tucson Leadership is to Recognize, Develop And Engage Driven Leaders To Be Catalysts For Change. GTL is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization.
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Our Vision: Create A Thriving Community Through Exceptional Leaders. Since 1980, Greater Tucson Leadership (GTL) has offered impactful leadership programming, community development, providing leaders with a unique understanding of our community's issues and needs. With a network of over 1,000 graduates, GTL has truly given Tucson a depth of leaders that put all their training and lessons to good work, making our community stronger, more vibrant, and innovative-solving problems, and make lasting positive changes in our community.

We love a good field trip! 🙌🏽 This afternoon, GTL staff and our board chair visited the African American Museum of South...
09/18/2026

We love a good field trip! 🙌🏽
This afternoon, GTL staff and our board chair visited the African American Museum of Southern Arizona and Director Nikieia Johnson gave us a wonderfully entertaining and educational tour through their exhibits. We got our crowns, our goody bags, and left with even more appreciation for the history being preserved right here in Southern Arizona.

We even spotted a little Greater Tucson Leadership connection behind the glass: the original 1973 award naming Fred "The Fox" Snowden Tucson's Man of the Year. It's pretty cool to see that tie back to our own community of leaders.

If you haven't visited AAMSAZ yet, go. It's absolutely worth the trip. You'll find it on the UA campus, Student Union Room 244.
https://share.google/Pd5gCrXtLVQe4vQKl

This is what community connection is all about: showing up, learning our history, and supporting the people preserving it. Can't wait for our next GTL field trip! 💙

Meet Karla Bernal Morales, Chief Partnerships Officer of the Chamber of Southern Arizona and our 2025 Woman of the Year ...
09/18/2026

Meet Karla Bernal Morales, Chief Partnerships Officer of the Chamber of Southern Arizona and our 2025 Woman of the Year honoree!🏆

Karla’s leadership bridges industries, cultures, and communities. From advancing Arizona’s tech ecosystem to serving on the Pima Community College Governing Board, she’s a force for innovation, equity, and opportunity.

Tucson is full of women leading, building and lifting others as they go. Who should be next? 💛

The Woman of the Year honors a woman who has distinguished herself through exceptional leadership and service to the Tucson community - lifting others, advancing community well-being, and leading with integrity and respect.

Eligibility: any person who has not previously been honored as Woman of the Year.

📅 Nominations close October 18
Nominate here: https://greatertucsonleadership.org/form.php?form_id=65&c=1



Thank you to our sponsors: Pima Foundation, BizTucson Magazine, Tucson Appliance Company and the Tucson Convention Center.

💜 Throwback Thursday!Throwing it back to our 2022 Alumni Reunion, when GTL officially unveiled our rebranded logo, beaut...
09/17/2026

💜 Throwback Thursday!

Throwing it back to our 2022 Alumni Reunion, when GTL officially unveiled our rebranded logo, beautifully designed by GTL alum Julie Bonner! A new look, same mission, and an exciting new chapter for Greater Tucson Leadership. 💫

Now we’re celebrating 46 years of GTL and bringing our alumni community together again!

🌅 Sonoran Sunset Soirée
📅 Friday, October 9, 2026
📍 The Grand Tucson
⏰ 6:00-9:00 PM
🎟️ $40 | RSVP by October 4

Come reconnect with old classmates, meet new GTL leaders, enjoy food, music, dancing and raffle prizes, and celebrate 46 years of leadership in Southern Arizona. Every ticket supports the GTL Scholarship Fund.

👉 Grab your tickets here: https://gtlreunion2026.givesmart.com

Tag a GTL classmate you want to see there! 🌅

Tucson has no shortage of people making an impact. 💛 The question is: who are you going to nominate?One tip before you s...
09/15/2026

Tucson has no shortage of people making an impact. 💛 The question is: who are you going to nominate?

One tip before you start - a complete nomination needs three things:
✅ The nominee questions, completed
✅ A high-resolution headshot
✅ At least one letter of support (up to five accepted)

Give yourself time to gather them. Don't just tell someone they're making a difference - nominate them.

📅 Nominations close October 18
Nominate here: https://greatertucsonleadership.org/form.php?form_id=65&c=1



Thank you to our sponsors: Pima Foundation, BizTucson Magazine, Tucson Appliance Company and the Tucson Convention Center.

Meet Alejandro Angel, Vice President / Principal at Psomas, and our 2025 Community Impact Awards Man of the Year honoree...
09/11/2026

Meet Alejandro Angel, Vice President / Principal at Psomas, and our 2025 Community Impact Awards Man of the Year honoree! 🏆

Alejandro is a respected engineering and civic leader whose work has shaped critical infrastructure across Southern Arizona - from major transportation corridors to active transportation and safety initiatives. Through his leadership at Psomas and his service as Vice Chair of the Southern Arizona Leadership Council and Co-Chair of the Connect Pima Coalition, Alejandro brings people together to move our region forward with vision, integrity, and collaboration.

That is what this award looks like. So - who should be next?

The Man of the Year Awards honors a man who has distinguished himself through exceptional leadership and service to the Tucson community - investing his time, expertise, and resources to advance community well-being and exemplifying integrity and respect through his actions.

Eligibility: any person who has not previously been honored as Man of the Year.

📅 Nominations close October 18
Nominate here: https://greatertucsonleadership.org/form.php?form_id=65&c=1

Thank you to our sponsors: Pima Foundation, BizTucson Magazine, Tucson Appliance Company and the Tucson Convention Center.

And that's a wrap on Lead Tucson Class of 2027's FIRST Issue Day: Government Day!Class of 2K27 kicked things off with a ...
09/11/2026

And that's a wrap on Lead Tucson Class of 2027's FIRST Issue Day: Government Day!

Class of 2K27 kicked things off with a new framework for the year ahead: systems thinking, from the Waters Center for Systems Thinking. Instead of looking at issues piece by piece, the cohort learned to look at how the parts connect. From there it was straight into Government 101, managing local government, tribal governments, and the 2026 ballot initiatives. The afternoon brought an Elected Officials Roundtable packed with local leaders, a little friendly competition at the Government Scavenger Hunt, and a debrief to tie it all together.

A BIG thank you to everyone who made this day happen!

🏛️Pima Foundation, our Corporate Sponsor
⚡Tucson Electric Power, our Issue Day Sponsor and incredible host
🍴John & Fernanda Wi******er, our Lunch Sponsors
🍪Team Wright Taxes/Lovely Ganthier, our Snack Sponsor
🥂The Monica, for hosting our Happy Hour AND donating a percentage of purchases to the cohort fundraiser!

And thank you to our Issue Day Committee and every speaker who shared their time and expertise.

What. A. Day.💙

One Issue Day down, and a whole lot more learning, connecting, and leading ahead. Let's go, Class of 2K27!

Want in? Learn more about the Lead Tucson program, developing community leaders since 1980, or become a sponsor at https://greatertucsonleadership.org/Lead_Tucson



GTL is a 501c3 nonprofit organization
https://greatertucsonleadership.org/

💎 Throwback Thursday: Sapphire Soirée 💎 Last year, alumni and friends came together for our 45th Anniversary Sapphire So...
09/10/2026

💎 Throwback Thursday: Sapphire Soirée 💎 Last year, alumni and friends came together for our 45th Anniversary Sapphire Soirée... and together we raised more than $4,600 for the GTL Scholarship Fund! Now we're ready to do it all again.

🌅 Join us for the 2026 Sonoran Sunset Soirée
📅 Friday, October 9
📍 The Grand Tucson

Reconnect with classmates.
Meet new leaders.
Support scholarships.
Celebrate everything that makes the GTL community so special.

🎟️ Grab your tickets today before the October 4 RSVP deadline! https://gtlreunion2026.givesmart.com

📸 Share your favorite Sapphire Soirée memory in the comments!

📚 Our 1st ever GTL Alumni Book Club is officially in the books!We dug into Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When...
09/10/2026

📚 Our 1st ever GTL Alumni Book Club is officially in the books!

We dug into Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are High by Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al Switzler, and had one of those nights where good people, good snacks, and a good topic just click.

Because leadership isn't just about showing up when things are easy. It's about how we communicate, listen, and respond when the stakes are high.

A few takeaways from the discussion:
🧠 Reframe your thoughts and the stories you tell yourself.
✍️ Retake your pen. You have more control over the story than you think.
👂 Are you listening to understand, or listening to reply?
👂 Listen more.
🎯 What do you actually want? And are you having the right conversation to get there?
🌵 Be curious, not furious.
✋ Stop the knee-jerk reaction. Pause. Get curious. Then respond.

These aren't just communication skills, they're leadership skills. Whether you're leading a team, serving on a board, running a business, or navigating a hard conversation closer to home, how we show up in these moments shapes the change we're able to create.

Which is exactly what GTL is about: recognizing, developing, and engaging driven leaders to be catalysts for change.

And alumni also reached one very important conclusion tonight... when's the next book club?! 😂

Stay tuned. The next one is coming soon 📚



GTL is a 501c3 Non-Profit Organization www.greatertucsonleadership.org

Last week, our newest Tucson Youth Leadership Academy leaders gathered at Mountain View High School for Class Day One - ...
09/08/2026

Last week, our newest Tucson Youth Leadership Academy leaders gathered at Mountain View High School for Class Day One - the start of a semester spent discovering what leadership really looks like, sounds like, and means to them.

They opened with Leadership Paradigms & Definitions of Leadership, pushing students past the title and into the choices, behaviors, and responsibility that actually make someone a leader.

Then came a Young Professionals Leadership Panel that pulled back the curtain on real careers and real paths: Axana Merckx (CPLA 2025, Southwest Gas Corporation), Lovely Ganthier (Lead Tucson & CPLA 2026, Team Wright Taxes), and Makenna Markley (Lead Tucson 2027, Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce) - three different fields, one shared message: your path doesn't have to be a straight line.

TYLA isn't about telling students what leadership should look like. It's about handing them the tools, the access, and the room to start defining it for themselves. 💙

And this was just Class Day One.

TYLA runs on community investment in our youngest leaders. Thank you to our FY26–27 partners - especially Pima Foundation - along with Pima County School Superintendent's Office, United Way Cradle to Career, Pima County Outside Agency, PICOR Foundation, Arizona Complete Health, Pima Federal Credit Union, Tucson Electric Power, Hughes Federal Credit Union, Caterpillar Inc., Marana SD 2340 Foundation Board, The H.S. Lopez Family Foundation, Stone Canyon Community Foundation, and Union Pacific's Community Ties Giving Program.

💙 10 cohorts. 200+ young leaders. One community investing in their future.

Learn more about TYLA or become a sponsor by visiting https://greatertucsonleadership.org/Tucson_Youth_Leadership_Academy

Our Sonoran Sunset Soirée is open to the entire community.Bring your coworkers.Bring your spouse.Bring your neighbors.Br...
09/04/2026

Our Sonoran Sunset Soirée is open to the entire community.

Bring your coworkers.
Bring your spouse.
Bring your neighbors.
Bring your future GTL classmate.

If you care about building stronger leaders and a stronger Southern Arizona, this evening is for you.

Enjoy:
✨ Great food
🍹 Your first drink on us
🎶 Music & dancing
🎟 Amazing raffle prizes
🤝 New connections
🌅 A beautiful evening celebrating 46 years of leadership

Every dollar raised supports the GTL Scholarship Fund and helps develop the next generation of community leaders.

Special thanks to:
💛 Pima Foundation
💛 University of Arizona Eller College of Management
💛 First Citizens Bank

Want to showcase your business? Become a sponsor or donate a raffle prize today!

🎟 RSVP by October 4:
https://gtlreunion2026.givesmart.com

Address

5049 E. Broadway Boulevard
Tucson, AZ
85711

Opening Hours

Monday 9am - 5pm
Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 5pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 5pm

Telephone

+15202092734

Website

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