LEARNING TO LEAD
Published in the Jan. 10, 2026 issue.
A diverse group of 27 Eastside business and nonprofit professionals recently graduated from an intensive leadership development program sponsored by the Eastern Sierra Business Resource Center in Bishop.
The five month long, 42-hour training featured sessions on building emotional intelligence, navigating difficult conversations, cultivating resilience, and crafting a long-term, sustainable vision and strategy.
“It’s the most ambitious content-filled program we’ve done so far,” said Allan Pietrasanta, board chair of the Sierra Business Council.
The leadership class included longtime Bishop business owners, such as Karen Schwartz of Sage to Summit and Robin Bolster of Great Basin Bakery, along with heads of successful nonprofits, such as Erin Dews of C5 Community Art Studios and Laura Beardsley of Whitebark Institute. Local economic development professionals, including Sara Alves and Daniel Anderson from the Bishop Paiute Development Corporation, were also among the graduates.
“These leaders care, they have compassion, and they have understanding,” Pietrasanta said. “They are going to go forward to build an even more vibrant community on the Eastside.”
During the ceremony, each of the graduates discussed how they would implement the training in their roles at a wide range of local businesses and nonprofits, including the Looney Bean (big and little), Cloudripper (food truck), High Sierra Energy Foundation, Papich/Granite Construction, Alta One Federal Credit Union, Friends of the Inyo, Eastside Sports and Sierra Mountain Center.
Many leaders pointed to learning about their strengths and weaknesses, identifying goals, communicating with team members and leading while enforcing an overall, shared mission.
One graduate noted that the group represented a solid cross-section of the community, with a good contingent of young professionals and more experienced hands. It also had a even distribution of men and women. That sort of diversity was a strong point during the training.
“The takeaway has been getting to know my fellow community members and how well we all got to bond,” Dews said. “Any one of you who has a goal, know that I have your back, because I know you better. It feels really, really important to have that kind of community building in the leadership business.”
After the graduation ceremony, a graduate pointed out it’s easy to feel isolated at work, so being around enthusiastic people trying to improve their management and leadership skills can be encouraging.
Plus, sharing common problems and getting different perspectives about solutions was also helpful.
Another pointed out the group hung out together over monthly sessions and opened up about the challenges they faced and other personal and professional issues, making the classes inspiring as well as educational.
There were some immediate benefits people took from the class, related to JaRae Birkland, owner of Bishop-based Maitri Leadership, who facilitated the sessions. One participant said using the skills from the sessions in a recent staff meeting generated enthusiasm, a deeper understanding of goals and basically led to the best staff meeting the group has ever had.
Birkland said being able to provide a local training session for current and future leaders will help the community in the long run as more businesses and nonprofits succeed and expand.
