This article is part of the Presidential Precinct’s “Leaders Investing in Leaders” series – offering regular spotlight stories about the champions who enable us to further our mission to invest in leaders and transform our world.
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Throughout a career of more than 30 years in infrastructure and the AEC industry, Anne Ellis has prioritized and accomplished the art of spanning boundaries – relationally, culturally, and literally as a structural engineer. Anne has served as a Fortune 500 business executive, an independent consultant, and now a nonprofit leader, heading the Virginia-based Charles Pankow Foundation. Her work continues to have deep impact on communities around the world.
Anne’s introduction to the Presidential Precinct came while she was serving as Vice President responsible for the advisory boards at AECOM in the summer of 2014. That year brought the very first “Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders” (now the Mandela Washington Fellowship) and the promise of 500 of the world’s top civic leaders coming to the United States for six weeks of leadership training and immersive cultural experience. The Fellowship Institute at the Presidential Precinct was sponsored by AECOM.
Without a question, that summer was made possible by partnership. All began to see the Precinct’s partner institutions come together as a united force for warm hospitality, good dialogue, and our oft-quoted “Power of Place”. For arguably the first time, there was undeniable proof of concept in this young nonprofit model.
We relied on both the financial investment of AECOM and deep personal engagement of Anne and her team in all aspects of the program. From a corporate perspective, there was much to gain – AECOM’s investment in the Fellowship was based on the belief that their work around the globe required careful listening and learning about other country contexts. At the Precinct, AECOM could find first-hand perspectives on localized challenges and needs. But it was also clear that this team’s investment was marked by their own personal commitment to supporting and learning from the 2014 Fellows.
Recently, Anne insisted: “We went [to the Precinct] thinking we were investing to help fill their vision. My job was to ensure a return on investment, and that was achieved. But the bonus was that personal impact of engaging with the YALI Fellows. My heart was touched in so many ways.”
Now in our seventh year of hosting young African leaders, we know there is no shortage of “lessons learned” in a six week leadership curriculum. Top takeaways from this program range from the infamous Design Thinking model to various monitoring and evaluation methods or even constitution drafting! Yet when asked at the end of her Fellowship about foremost takeaways, Alumna Toyosi Ogunseye immediately reflected on the personal impact that Anne had imparted. Toyosi shared: “Anne listened intensely, and when any fellow asked her questions, she knew the person’s background and history. She had spent time reading our biographies,” later adding, “I’m always eager to learn from women who have broken barriers in their industries.”
Anne’s support of the Presidential Precinct has not slowed in the least since the conclusion of AECOM’s sponsorship. Today, as an individual supporter, she remains among the Precinct’s most consistent donors. Why? “I know this money is well invested,” Anne told us. “I know that it is going directly towards the purpose and change that we want to see in the world, and I want the Presidential Precinct to scale as much as possible and continue to develop these incredibly personal experiences.” Now knocking on the door of 1,200 program alumni, the Precinct has certainly scaled since hosting that first class of Fellows. Anne beautifully sums up a program at the Precinct as “an opportunity to touch more hearts and minds.”
In her words and longstanding professional commitments, Anne challenges us all to become better global citizens. Adapting Simon Sinek’s concept in The Infinite Game, she said, “so many are focused on winning and losing” – that is, in business, politics, or even relationships. Her recommendation to those of us looking to grow in our leadership journey is to move from this finite thinking to a more infinite model, trusting our own convictions, and shifting our focus away from winning and instead towards resilience to thrive.
Thank you, Anne, for your steady support of our staff, our alumni, and our programming alike. The Presidential Precinct is better and thriving, just, and free societies become a closer reality because of your support.
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The Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders is a program of the U.S. Department of State with funding provided by the U.S. Government and administered by IREX. The Presidential Precinct is a sub-grantee of IREX and is implementing a U.S.-based Leadership Institute as a part of the Fellowship. For more information about the Mandela Washington Fellowship, please visit the Fellowship’s website at www.mandelawashingtonfellowship.org
