A leadership forum at Shenandoah University will address issues, opportunities and support services available to both veterans and civilians as they transition from military service into civilian life and between careers.

Presidents Day Leadership Forum | Noon to 2 pm,  Tuesday, February 18

Location: Brandt Student Center, Ferrari Room

The event is free and open to the public. Lunch will be served.

12:00 pm Presentation

Taking Charge of Leading Your Life

Presentation by John Norton, Leadership Consultant, East Coast Director of VisionBound International, and Army veteran

Norton, a 23-year combat veteran, will speak about how he applied personal leadership to ensure success in his life’s various employment transitions. His talk covers his experiences working as a leadership facilitator for businesses and government, along with assisting business leaders in Kazakhstan while working as a consultant for the World Bank. Norton is also set to discuss establishing a Center for Organizational Excellence at Shenandoah University and being suddenly let go as a senior vice president of a community bank.

“Personal leadership is the process of keeping your vision and values before you and aligning your life to be congruent with them.”

John Norton, citing author and businessman Stephen R. Covey.

Norton served in the Army from 1970 to 1992. After the Army, Norton was a senior consultant and facilitator for the Covey Leadership Center’s Washington, D.C., affiliate. Since 2017, Norton has been the East Coast director and senior consultant for VisionBound International, working to introduce VisionBound leadership, team building and customer loyalty programs on the East Coast. He is the past chairman for Shenandoah University’s Center for Public Service and Scholarship (now the Center for Civic Engagement); president of the West Point Society of Northern Shenandoah; regional advisor for the Association Of Graduates, United States Military Academy; and the past treasurer of the National Pathfinder Association.

1:00 pm Presentation

Finding a path: Navigating from Basic Training to a Successful Career

Presentation by Elana Duffy, Chief Executive Officer & Founder of Pathfinder Labs Inc and Army veteran

Duffy graduated from Cornell University with a Master of Engineering in operations research engineering. Duffy worked for a year in civil engineering before enlisting in the Army as an intelligence collector, interrogator and counterintelligence investigator. During her 10 years of active service, she was assigned around the world including deployments in both Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. After a roadside bomb left her injured, she was awarded a Purple Heart and medically retired in 2012. She then returned to New York City to build www.pathfinder.vet, a platform using artificial intelligence to assist veterans and families reintegrating after service.

Everyone has gone through a period of transition, be it from the military to civilian life, or student to working life, or even just moving from town to town. As we each adjust, it’s important for those of us who have reintegrated to reach back and lend a hand to others so we can make our communities stronger, more resilient and better-connected.”

Elana Duffy

Institute for Entrepreneurship

This forum is hosted by the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Business School’s Institute for Entrepreneurship.

We are pleased to sponsor this Presidents Day Leadership Forum. This will provide actionable information and support for individuals in transition. Whether they are changing careers or going from military to civilian life—everyone can get some great takeaways from this event.” 

School of Business Dean Astrid Sheil, Ph.D.

The Institute for Entrepreneurship at the Harry F. Byrd, Jr. Business School brings successful entrepreneurs to campus to share their experiences, lessons learned and expertise with students, faculty and the business community.

Thank you to SCORE for your generous sponsorship of this event. 

For more information about this event, contact Harry F. Byrd, Jr. School of Business Assistant to the Dean Stephanie Swaim at 540-665-4572 or sswaim@su.edu.