Doolittle Leadership Center Teaches DAF Civilians How to be Better Leaders

August 1, 2024

AFA’s Doolittle Leadership Center (DLC ) taught its first leader development workshop exclusively to Department of Air Force civilians at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling (JBAB) on June 5-6, significantly expanding its outreach.

Led by DLC Director Dr. Patrick Donley the workshop trained 29 civilians from across the base in the Lead Develop Care leadership framework. Participants praised the program for its immediate applicability, with one attendee stating, “This course gave me a framework to act as a leader,” while another remarked, “The practical guidance and useful tools left me with valuable insight and real-world action steps to solve real-world problems.”

Col. Ryan Crowley, Commander of the JBAB’s 11th Wing, expressed his appreciation for the workshop and its impact, noting, “Dr. Donley’s course was a big hit … Thanks for all AFA does for our Airmen and Guardians!” A second workshop is already being planned for JBAB in September.  The event was coordinated with support from Tech. Sgt Lloyd Swede, President of the D.W. Steele Sr. Chapter, who emphasized the importance of supporting military members and their families.

 “We were proud to help make the workshop possible. The Steele Chapter is proud to partner with the 11th Wing,” said  Swede, an Active-duty member of the 11th Civil Engineer Squadron.

Reflecting on the success of the workshop, Donley highlighted JBAB’s efforts.

 “JBAB set the standard for its focus on training civilian Airmen. Military members get a steady diet of professional military education and professional development events, but our civilian wingmen are often left to figure leadership out for themselves,” Donley said. “The students were terrific and took full advantage of the opportunity 11th Wing provided them. I’m really grateful to Tech. Sgt Swede and the rest of the JBAB leadership team for making this happen! Hopefully it’ll be the first of many workshops dedicated to our civilian workforce.”

With more than 1,000 people trained in the Lead Develop Care leadership framework since June 2024 and hundreds more scheduled before January 2025, the DLC continues to accomplish its mission of “Building Better Leaders” across the Air Force and Space Force community.

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