Photo by Benjamin Norman

When the executive director of Leadership Enterprise for a Diverse America (LEDA) stepped down in June 2020, Ilana Goldman (MBA/MPA 2002) stepped up. As chair of the board and a political and nonprofit consultant, she saw it as her duty to fill the role until a permanent executive director could be found to lead the organization, which helps high-achieving, diverse students from low-income backgrounds attend top colleges and universities across the country.

Given the stakes of LEDA’s mission, Goldman realized stagnation was not an option. “I understand we could say that we have enough on our plates. There is a lot of instability; let’s just get the basics done,” she told the board and senior leadership at LEDA. “However, I’ve also heard your desire to make an impact and grow. And if you want to do that, then we will walk through that door together—and we won’t turn back.”

Each year, out of roughly 1,400 applicants, LEDA accepts 100 of the most promising students, with a broader goal of improving and diversifying the national pipeline for the next generation of leaders. “LEDA is very intentional about its selection process. We are looking for leadership capacity that can shape every sector and every community,” says Goldman.

While LEDA has been successful finding and developing leaders, the nonprofit is also still relatively young. Launched in 2003 by Gary Simons, founder of New York City’s highly regarded Prep for Prep program, LEDA has long wanted to grow, and Goldman made that a priority. The more students the nonprofit could reach, and the more donors it could educate, the better the student experiences and the stronger the leadership pipeline for the future.

Goldman quickly identified communications as a roadblock to LEDA’s ambitions. The nonprofit needed to be more vocal in sharing stories of its students and alumni, as well as its programming, including LEDA Scholars, LEDA Career and Alumni Services, and LEDA Policy Project, which is geared toward supporting scholars interested in advocacy in federal policy. But like most young organizations, its staff is small and lacks fully dedicated resources. Goldman realized that if LEDA could not count on effective media placement, social media strategy, and student outreach, funding could dwindle (or worse), and students who might otherwise benefit from the LEDA experience would not know of its successes.

So Goldman turned to Lex Suvanto (MBA 1999) for help. As CEO of a strategic communications unit within Edelman, the world’s largest public relations and marketing firm, Suvanto had teams and skills at hand that could support the kind of communications work the organization needed. “Several people on my team were immediately inspired by LEDA’s mission and eager to help it with PR and digital strategy. This was a win-win, helping advance LEDA's communication objectives by creating space for my team to use their skills and support an organization they are passionate about,” says Suvanto. And Edelman’s corporate sponsorship model gives its employees the ability to work pro bono with sponsored clients. “Because of Lex’s leadership, our partnership is beyond the run-of-the-mill corporate-sponsorship model,” notes Goldman, “and really has become part of the fabric of both organizations.”

From that fabric, Suvanto, Goldman, and their teams created the Media Fellows Program, which gives LEDA Scholars credentialed experience through a year-long program that supports the organization through student-created content. It also gives the Edelman team the chance to coach and mentor students through the process. “It just kind of kept building until we had this whole outline of a program,” says Goldman. “And the next thing you knew, we were talking about having an annual competitive process, reaching our community of 1,900 to become an official Media Fellow at LEDA and culminating in a paid internship at Edelman. Lex has the energy and vision that takes ideas that are just nuggets and turns them into reality.” Given his thoughtful approach, initiative, and passion for the mission, Goldman asked Suvanto to join LEDA’s board, which has further strengthened the relationship and LEDA’s strategic outlook.

As Goldman helps the new executive director transition into the role and steps back into her board position in 2023, she will do so not only with more knowledge of the challenges faced on the ground but also the assurance that LEDA’s story is being expressed, growth will follow, and the next leader will have the tools to guide the nonprofit well into the future. The partnership with Edelman has already started to pay strong dividends: Applications resulting from LEDA’s revamped digital strategy are showing significant increases from prior years. It also built a model for how LEDA can create bespoke partnerships with other corporations to benefit students. “LEDA Scholars are some of the most amazing young people,” says Goldman. “They are smart, hardworking, inventive, and visionary, and they have a strong sense of the impact they can have on this world.”

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