2^nd Year of Executive Leadership Program Launches in Fall 2011; Applications Now Being Accepted

(Burlington, VT - March 2, 2011) Champlain College's Center for Professional and Executive Development (formerly the Workforce Development Center) and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce will launch their second year of Excellence in Executive Leadership (ExcEL).  The Center for Professional and Executive Development is also launching its fourth year of Management Excellence Seminar Series this year. With the Center's new name, website, and two flagship programs, it will reach more managers and senior executives. The Management Excellence Seminar Series is offered twice a year in the fall and spring, and Excellence in Executive Leadership (ExcEL) program delivered annually, started last fall. In its inaugural year, ExcEL graduated 23 senior executives from some of the best and fastest growing companies in Vermont, including Dealer.com, Green Mountain Power, MSA, NRG Systems, and others. For a complete list of graduates and group photograph, see attached.

The Excellence in Executive Leadership (ExcEL) program, jointly delivered by Champlain College and the Lake Champlain Regional Chamber of Commerce, is accepting applications for fall 2011 beginning on March 15. This selective eight-day intensive program enrolls a limited number of senior level executives and provides an executive peer learning group, one-on-one coaching opportunities, dialogue, and an experiential, reflective learning environment that supports executive leadership development. The core components of the program are: strengthening emotional intelligence, building strategic capacity and influencing systems.

In the words of one graduate, Rudy Chase, the Plant Manager at MSA in Newport, "The ExcEL program is a must do experience for senior leaders in any organization. The material is presented with such intelligence, flair, and mastery that one will leave the sessions greatly enlightened. The instructors expertly craft the material into an enjoyable, fun, insightful, experience. It was truly a game-changer for me, and an experience not to be forgotten."

Stephanie Mapes, Esq., Director at Paul Frank + Collins PC, another ExcEL graduate, states, "The content of the program, the instructors, guest speakers from around the world, and my fellow program participants were all amazing. It was a transforming and inspiring experience, about compassion, hope and renewal. I know I will be a better leader for it, in all walks of life."

Applications for the fall class of 2011 are available starting on March 15 with early tuition rates available until May 1. For more information contact Cari Kelley at the Chamber at (802) 863-3489 ext. 227. For more information about the Center for Professional and Executive Development go to: cped.champlain.edu or (802) 865-5402.

Excellence in Executive Leadership - Class of 2010-2011

• Craig Abrahams, National Sales Manager, Bio-Tek
• Don Baker, Senior Vice President, Key Bank
• Meredith Birkett, Senior Manager, Chittenden County Transportation Authority
• Yves Bradley, Vice President, Pomerleau Real Estate
• Rudy Chase, Plant Manager, MSA
• Chris Clements, Director, Food & Beverage, Sugarbush Resort
• Chip Dillon, Vice President, Neagley Construction
• Robert Dostis, Director, External Relations, Green Mountain Power
• Wayne Elliott, Partner, Forcier & Elliott Engineers
• Erik Glitman, CEO, Fletcher/CSI
• Julie Goodhart, Director of Human Resources, NRG Systems
• Tom Holmes, Partner, hmc2 Agency
• Jim Howard, Director of Marketing, Twincraft
• Bryan Landerman, Vice President of Technology, Dealer.com
• Elizabeth Madigan, Senior Director, Labor Relations, Fletcher Allen Health Care
• Stephanie Mapes, Esq., Director, Paul Frank + Collins PC
• Karen Marshall, Chief, Connect VT at State of Vermont
• Stephanie O'Brien, CEO, O'Brien Brothers Agency
• Steve Pontbriand, General Manager, Flex-A-Seal
• Mark Redmond, Executive Director, Spectrum Family and Youth Services
• Brigitte Richie, Director, External Relations, Citizens Bank
• James St. Peter, Vice President of Technology, New England Federal Credit Union
• Kathleen Shirling, Vice President of Marketing, People's United Bank