Every second Friday of the month, a group of Lake Nona residents meets at 7 a.m. at GuideWell Innovation Core to hear leaders in the community speak and to come together with like-minded people. For 20 minutes, leaders, usually from the Lake Nona area, share their insight and valuable skills with attendees. The remaining 55 minutes is used to allow the group to interact with the content and with each other. 

Co-founded by Linda Travelute, Erik Butz, Greg Stoughton and Sam Eckerson, the Nona Leadership Network is a faith-based network that exists to connect, inspire and develop leaders for greater influence and impact. Travelute, Butz, Stoughton and Eckerson combined their skills, passions and experiences in leadership to create this community-based leadership development event for Lake Nona residents. 

Operating with the intention of creating a community of vibrant leaders for Lake Nona, the Nona Leadership Network is a community where residents who want to grow personally and professionally can come to hear content from qualified speakers. The Nona Leadership Network team ensures that attendees are receiving the highest quality content by personally searching for and selecting each month’s speaker. 

Previous speakers include community leaders such as Andre Bailey, CEO of Change Everything; Don Long, President of Lake Nona Chamber of Commerce; Mike Fischer, Captain of Osceola County Sheriff’s Office (Ret.); and Dr. Linda Travelute, CEO of Travelute Leader & People Development. Each speaker brings their unique approaches to leadership and leaves attendees with something to contemplate and potentially implement in their day-to-day lives.

The monthly meeting is more than just a networking event. Lake Nona community members join together with people who are just as ambitious and determined to be leaders as they are. Following the speakers’ presentation, attendees are given the chance to ask the speaker clarifying questions and discuss what they learned. 

Lake Nona residents are empowered to be leaders in their workplaces, their homes, and their communities. Lake Nona is still growing, and new businesses, ideas and opportunities for involvement are developing every day. The Nona Leadership Network provides a space where community members can come to learn and interact with others who are well-versed in leadership and encourage growth and development. 

The Nona Leadership Network is suitable for anyone who is hungry to learn and develop their leadership skills. “Our desire is to see people grow personally and professionally,” says Erik Butz, one of the co-founders and the vice president of Global Operations at Cru. 

It is clear that Lake Nona residents will learn content that inspires them to be better people and leaders. Looking forward, the Nona Leadership Network hopes to expand its efforts by creating a leadership masterclass among other leadership development opportunities. Their vision includes a mentorship program in which professionals would mentor and share their insight in a more intimate version of their current monthly event. 

Each event takes place on the second Friday of the month at GuideWell Innovation Core from 7-8:15 a.m. First-timers are welcome to attend free of charge. Regular attendees can purchase a ticket to any event for $10. Tickets to each event can be found by searching “Nona Leadership Network” on www.eventbrite.com. 

The Nona Leadership Network is also seeking out more local speakers and leaders. Anyone who feels that they have the qualifications to share their insight with the community can reach out to the Nona Leadership Network via their website at https://www.nonaleadership.net/.