Great leadership starts with a spark and great connections! The new Louisville has some big shoes to fill for the next generation of corporate and community leadership. Fortunately, a great pool of talented young professionals stands ready for the hand-off. The starting point is the Leadership Louisville Center's Ignite Louisville program. If you are between the ages of 25 and 39 and are looking for a way to fuel your enthusiasm, increase your value and enable you and your company to maintain a competitive advantage, then Ignite Louisville is for you. About Ignite Louisville The Leadership Louisville Center's Ignite Louisville program is 6 months of one-day leadership development designed to increase your individual leadership effectiveness and inspire you by allowing you to share successes, ideas and experiences with your peers. You'll spend one day a month shaping your personal leadership style, connecting with community leaders, improving your communication skills and, essentially, grooming yourself to blaze your leadership trail. Make Your Mark Challenge In addition to monthly program days, class members participate in the "Make Your Mark Challenge". This competition involves Ignite Louisville teams partnering with a nonprofit agency to combine the principles learned in Ignite Louisville with each participant's professional experiences and expertise to create and implement solutions for making the community a better place. Learn more about the Make Your Mark Challenge and how local nonprofits can benefit. Making connections The curriculum is only one part of the program. In fact, the investment in Ignite Louisville starts to pay off before the six-month program ends. The connections made with classmates, interaction with top community leaders and realization of leadership potential adds value to this program well before graduation. If you're ready to be the spark, Ignite Louisville is for you! Ignite Louisville program information This program is held on Thursdays. Program Locations Meeting locations vary based on topic. Program Tuition $3,500 Limited scholarships are available based on need.  Program Contact For more information, contact Angela Osting at 502-561-5232 or email.

Presenting sponsorship of Ignite Louisville is provided by: Ignite Louisville was developed in partnership with the Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL).   The Louisville Urban League Young Professionals also support Ignite Louisville.   Applications for Class of 2009 closed on May 19. When and How to Apply Nominations We gladly accept nominations for Ignite Louisville applicants. Please forward the name, email address and phone number of the candidates to Angela Osting. Class of 2009 Program Calendar This program is held on Thursdays. September 25 (Orientation at 4:00 p.m.) October 23-24 (Mandatory Opening Retreat) November 6 December 4 January 8 February 5 March 5 April 9 (Graduation)     Ignite Louisville Class of 2008 Jason Adler, Chase; Candace Allen, Anthem Blue Cross & Blue Shield; Tyler Beam, Brown-Forman Corporation; Eric Bow, Fifth Third Bank;  Shannon Burnett, Integrity Asset Management; Kendra Carter, CitiCards; Suzette Carty, Brown-Forman Corporation; David Cosby, LG&E - E.ON U.S. LLC; J.P. Davis, Owsley Brown Frazier; Beth Davis, Bellarmine University; Mark Drennan, Make-A-Wish Foundation;  Melanie Gonsalves, Messer Construction; Reid Hafer, Heaven Hill Distilleries, Inc.; Betsy Hall, Jewish Hospital & St. Mary's HealthCare, Inc.; Kaelyn Hardy, Churchill Downs Incorporated; Michelle Harper, Woodward, Hobson & Fulton, LLP; Hal Hedley, Ronald McDonald House Charities of Kentuckiana; John Hill, Ernst & Young LLP; Jill Horn, Metro United Way; Angela Hosch, Jefferson County Public Schools; James Hutcherson, BB&T; AJ Johnson, University of Louisville Athletic Department; Matt Kamer, Bandy Carroll Hellige; Charles Keckler, Wyatt, Tarrant & Combs, LLP; Todd Lanham, Marsh USA Inc.; Kristen Jordan Leggett, Doe Anderson; Hilary Mattingly, GE Consumer & Industrial; Tammy McClanahan, Norton Healthcare Inc.; Kenya McGruder, Louisville Metro Council (LULYP); Kevin Muench, Norton Healthcare Inc.; Chris Padgett, Humana Inc.; Patty Payette, University of Louisville; Allison Pullen, QK4 Architecture Engineering Construction; Kimberly Reed, Louisville Water Company; Ashley Roberts, Young Professionals Association of Louisville (YPAL); London Saunders, KFC Corporation; Marijn Smit, AEGON Institutional Markets; Abraham Solano, Jefferson County Public Schools; Chase Speiden, National City Bank; Eric St. John, CBRE/Louisville; Andrew Stosberg, Greenebaum Doll & McDonald PLLC; Jason VanDiver, Norton Healthcare Inc.; Brenda Wallace, Republic Bank & Trust Company; Betsy Warren, Humana Inc.; Amy Wheeler, Stoll Keenon Ogden PLLC; Merritt Williams, MedVenture Technology Corporation; Ziggy Zubric, Marketing Endeavors.