The Leaders Among Us

By SVP Partner Larry Fox 

SVP’s Lead Partners are the linchpins of success. As a current Lead Partner, I know firsthand how crucial it is for the success of an SVP partnership, and how fulfilling it is for Partners who step up to serve in this important leadership role.

Our investments are complex, requiring multiple skills and areas of expertise to build community capacity so that all children have equitable access to high-quality, culturally-relevant early learning experiences. I recognize that to be truly transformational, great care to organize the capacity building work with our Community Partners is required. As a result, the role of Lead Partner is of special significance.

Lead Partners are the primary contact with our Community Partners. Their job is to bring together a team of Partners to create mutually-shared goals with the Community Partner, to ensure that resource needs are communicated to SVP staff, to monitor progress, and to suggest adjustments as necessary… but the role is so much more. Their overarching goal is to establish a relationship of mutual trust and respect with the Community Partner’s leadership team in order to generate a cooperative and open working relationship. As the linchpins, Lead Partners are also accountable for reporting progress back to SVP’s Portfolio Management Team. They work collaboratively with the team to identify best practices, challenges, opportunities, and success metrics—both on behalf of the Community Partner’s relationship with SVP and with respect to our larger goal of increasing equitable access to “preschool."  The opportunity to know you are a close and trusted Partner helping community leaders work to their full potential is priceless. It is a rare and unique opportunity to expand yourself and your learning around equity, culture, social issues, and justice. In my experience, it makes you feel you have invested your time and expertise in a way that is incredibly valuable for our community.