- September 23, 2026
- Posted by: LWB
- Category: News
Leadership Northeast celebrated the graduation of the Core Class of 2026 on June 4, and presented the Distinguished Leadership Alumni Award to Cassandra Coleman of America250PA.
The event, held at Mohegan Pennsylvania, was led by master of ceremonies, Rabbi Larry Kaplan, and also welcomed the incoming Core Class of 2027 in a room of more than 300community leaders.
“The 2026 Annual Dinner and Graduation marks 45 years of empowering leaders, strengthening community, and driving change,” said Jessica Cronauer, executive director of LNE. “We are sincerely honored to celebrate the fantastic accomplishments of the 48 dedicated servant leaders of the Class of 2026, and the incredible contributions of Cassandra Coleman of America250PA. Cassandra’s ongoing commitment to supporting and advocating for Leadership Northeast and her decades-long history of contributions to the entire Commonwealth of Pennsylvania make her an excellent choice for this year’s Distinguished Leadership Alumni Award.”
The 2026 Class speaker, Jacob Savitsky of Martz Bus, addressed the incoming participants with a special message.
“We didn’t just talk about leadership,” he said. “We practiced it. We showed up for each other. We learned how to collaborate, how to adapt, how to move forward, and how to build a consensus.”
Seven Community Impact Projects were highlighted by team members and videos produced by Park Multimedia, including, The Barkitects’ Small Dog Dog Park in West Pittston; Warriors in Wellness’ installation of a clean water fountain and reusable welcome kits for Volunteers in Medicine; Furrever Friends’ revitalization of the SPCA of Luzerne County’s pet cemetery; Bytes for Hope’s computer room transformation at Ruth’s Place; Renew and Restore’s laundry room revamp at Clem-Mar House’s new women’s only halfway house; Sanctuary Sisters’ Domestic Violence Service Center collaboration and renovation of the children and teens’ play room; and Fostering Hope’s provision of essential care packs to CASA of Wyoming Valley.
The Distinguished Leadership Alumni Award was presented to Coleman by Lucy Honeywell and Kathryn Koss, both Junior Leadership Northeast graduates and former America250PA interns. The Pennsylvania Commission for the United States Semiquincentennial appointed Cassandra Coleman as Executive Director for the America250PA initiative in September 2019, making her the longest-serving state 250th director in the nation.
“I’m humbled to be recognized as a distinguished leader by an organization that played a crucial role in my journey,” said Cassandra Coleman. “LNE programming firstshaped my sense of service and purpose during college.”
Applications are still available for the 2027 Leadership Northeast program year. Visit leadershipnortheast.org or call (570) 270-5323 for more information.
With alumni base of over 3,000 servant leaders, Leadership Northeast was foundedin 1981 as a community leadership development organization. A nonprofit organization,LNE is dedicated to developing informed and committed leaders from all segments of thecommunity who will serve, strengthen and improve Northeastern Pennsylvania.
2026 Core Class members include Ashley Antolik, Department of Veterans Affairs; Rachel Brutosky, Sovereign Commercial Services; Jessica Buickus, Wilkes University; Irving Castro, CVS; Rebekah Cleary, Luzerne County Head Start; Katie Cobleigh, Building Blocks Learning Center; Alysha Davis, WellSpan Health; Dominick de Matteo, Misericordia University; Marc Dixon, MAD Consulting, LLC; Kyra Fauerbach, King’s College; Tara Giarratano, Hourigan, Kluger and Quinn; Scott Gomb, Step by Step, Inc.; Will Grabinski, Mohegan Pennsylvania; Kristin Grow, Fidelity Bank; Chloe Guerra, Geisinger; Dominick Gulius, Gallagher/AssuredPartners of NEPA; Kaitlin Humenansky, Wilkes-Barre Law and LibraryAssociation/Selingo Guagliardo, LLC; Steve Husted, Knot Just Any Day; Carla Jagodzinski, Jag Financial Boutique; David Kale, Family Service Association of Northeastern Pennsylvania; Nicole Kapp, Wells Fargo; Eileen Kelly, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies; George Korn, The Hershey Company; Crystal Kotlowski, Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania; Lisa Malarkey, Luzerne County Head Start Inc.; Siria Matos, Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania; Clarissa Meade, First Keystone Community Bank; Anthony Melf, PA Inclusive; Jared Melochick, Peoples Security Bank and Trust; Melissa Moore, Clem-Mar House, Inc.; Alice Morris, Benco Dental; Timothy Morris, Restored Church; Jeremy Nelson, Pennsylvania American Water; Amanda Nicotra, UGI; Helene O’Boyle, Northwest Bank; Tanya Osenkarski, Building Blocks Learning Center; Amy Paddock, Kronick Kalada Berdy and Co.; Jack Parente, Two Jacks Cycle and Powersports; Megan Rogers, Benco Dental; Erica Sadowski, Geisinger; Jacob Savitski, Martz Bus; Holly Spece, Johns Hopkins University; Emma Thompson, North Branch Land Trust; Justin Topa, Mohegan Arena at Casey Plaza; Molly Walsh, F.M. Kirby Center for the Performing Arts; Patricia Wilmot, Peoples Security Bank and Trust; Shelby Yoh, Berkshire Hathaway GUARD Insurance Companies; and Gregory Zukosky, Verdantas