Wednesday, May 9, 2001, marked the graduation of Class #1, of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department/California State University Los Angeles Leadership Continuum. This event served to reinforce the Department's commitment to the development of its members, by offering what has come to be described as "a groundbreaking leadership development program which will set the standard for other law enforcement agencies." The ceremony was dignified with the attendance of Sheriff Baca, Chief of the Los Angeles County Office of Public Safety Bayan Lewis, Captain Richard McGinnis for Chief James Butts of the Santa Monica Police Department, and other Department executives, professional staff, and family and friends. While the usual pomp and (convivial) circumstance was observed, the moment was distinguished by the remarks of class speaker Mona Whittouck. Mona's comments were not only reflective of the class camaraderie, but were exceptionally poignant of the Leadership Continuum experience.

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Thank you, distinguished guests, family and friends, all of you here today, for joining us as Class #1 celebrates our completion of the Deputy Leadership Institute Continuum. I'd like to share with you some of the learning experiences and the impact that this program had on our lives. As we received our certificates, you probably noticed our diversity – differences in age, ethnicity, and gender. But there are differences that are not visible - our educational background, the law enforcement organizations that we belong to, and our roles within those organizations – from law enforcement support staff to captain. Yet, we have two common desires –to become more effective leaders for personal and professional growth and to continue our education whether working towards a certificate, bachelor's or master's degree. These desires led us to take responsibility for our future and choose to enroll in this innovative, exciting program. We are fortunate to be the first class, paving the way for the many to follow.

As we started our first sessions in November, we learned about choices – we read Man's Search for Meaning by Viktor Frankl, a concentration camp survivor and psychologist. His life served as a reminder that the human spirit is only held back by choosing to give up. We had the privilege of having Dave Carey, a former Vietnam prisoner of war, sit with our group one afternoon. He intimately discussed his book The Ways We Choose. We heard of the choices Mr. Carey made that enabled him to survive his captivity and come out better for it. We also learned from our guest facilitators about mentoring, leadership in community policing, and diversity and tolerance.

We read books, dissected them, and made connections to our lives. We watched movies then analyzed the characters, their values and leadership skills. But, somehow, when we watched movies, it was not the same as being in the comfort of a movie theater eating popcorn! One movie we'll remember is the "Dead Poet's Society." Those of you familiar with the film may remember Robin Williams' character telling his young students in the boy's prep school, "Carpe Diem. Seize the Day. Make your lives extraordinary." "Seize the Day."- you can't seize what you can't see…Through paradigm shifts, similar to the students in the movie, as they courageously stood on top of their desks, we also learned to see and courageously stand. This DLI program made our lives extraordinary.

We learned in subtle, though important ways, from each other: from the reserve and wisdom of Laura, Kevin, and Mike; Patrick's youthful enthusiasm; John and Alex, the voices of reason and their counterparts, Teri and Brenda. From Larry with his capability of saying something thought-provoking to generate dialogue and Eddie's quiet, simple, statement "I thought they were good," which took us into an hour's dialogue! We learned that when dialogue is good, it is open-ended. Our learning was not without humor – we could always count on Joe to say something witty. We learned that the boundaries that separate people rarely serve a positive purpose. Judy, Gary, AnnMarie, Debbie and Lisa showed us that it's possible dissolve the boundaries of gender, age, and law enforcement organizations and roles. We learned by sharing our emotions and feelings. We shared Doreen's joy in anticipating the birth of her daughter, Amber. We know Amber will grow into one of our future leaders, following in her mother's footsteps. We were touched when Ernie shared with us his experience and feelings when his daughter, Gabriela, a courageous fighter, was born prematurely. That Ernie shared the experience was truly a gift to us all. We learned about caring about others from Vesta, who took a sincere interest in each and every one of us. We admire Robert for his strong family values. We had classmates that played dual roles. From Sal, we learned about perseverance when facing bureaucratic challenges. He took charge of our Cal-State LA paperwork, our tuition, and enrollment, making sure everything was in order. Excuse me, Cal-State, but I hope you agree with me, when I say that this was not an easy task! But with your help, everything worked out. From Roberto, we learned about organization and planning as he took care of our logistics. Roberto and Debbie handled the creation of our Class #1 logo and jackets, which we will wear proudly. And Kim, our auditor…quietly clicking away on her computer keyboard summarizing our sessions so we wouldn't forget what we learned. And, our facilitators, Gil and Jeff. There is a Zen saying that describes both of them, "A leader is best when people barely know that he exists…a good leader, who talks little, when his work is done, the people will say ‘we did it ourselves.'" Gil and Jeff launched us into dialogues, let us take the topics down our own path, guided us if we went astray…and then let us think "we did it ourselves" …but we knew better. Gil and Jeff, [were] true leaders and role models.

I'd like to share an eloquent and comprehensive quote that Larry gave me on the definition of leaders – "those individuals who, in their inimitable ways, inspire confidence, undermine despair, fight fear, initiate positive and productive actions, light candles, define the goals, and paint brighter tomorrows." By this definition, Class #1, individually and as a group, is a leader. With our unique ways and personalities, we gained confidence in each other, resulting in mutual trust. We lifted spirits undermining despair. We supported and encouraged as we fought each other's fears. We will light those candles within the members of our organizations, by being mentors, role models and future facilitators. We'll paint brighter tomorrows for ourselves personally and for our organizations. It has been said "Organizations don't change, people change." We have learned and we have changed. Through our positive and productive actions, we will change our respective organizations, developing more leaders, making our organizations greater than they already are, and improving the quality of life in the communities we serve. We know that today, our completion of this program, does not signal an end to our learning, growing, and developing. To continue this process is a goal that we have defined. In that effort, we need to seek and find opportunities to put our leadership tools and skills into practice, to apply them. We need repetition so that leadership becomes a part of our nature, our character.

I want to take you back to my earlier comments about choices. We had a learning exercise that demonstrated that there are some things over which we have no control – our heritage, our upbringing, our circle of concern. Yet, to a certain degree, these uncontrollable factors have influenced our place in life, where we stand. On the other hand, there are things over which we do have control – our circle of influence and our choices. We have responsibility to ourselves to make the choices that will elevate our place in life, so that we can stand in front. Class #1, each and every one of us, by choosing to participate in the DLI continuum program, made the choice that can elevate our place in life, to stand in front. And to Class #1, a sincere thank you for giving me this very special honor to stand in front with you and for you.

Finally, I want to thank our families and loved ones for the sacrifices you made so that we could participate in this program. Without your love, patience, support, and understanding, we would not have been able to complete this program. And to my 92-year-old father, the leader in the Rivera family, and to my husband, who has supported me in my educational endeavors these last few years, I dedicate this achievement to you both.

In the words of Stevie Nicks, as she introduced her song Landslide, "this is for you, Daddy."

Thank you