About Us

Background

The Eastside Leadership Initiative was established in 2021 by the Bellevue Chamber of Commerce with the goal to connect Eastside leaders with service, training, and professional development. ELI is a opportunity board that provides volunteering opportunities, leadership development programs, government commission openings, and board position openings. By serving as this hub-and-spoke model, we aim to bring the community closer together and create well rounded leaders who know our community better than the rest. This program is just one facet of our strategy to build well-rounded leaders who not only understand our communities’ needs, but also know how the public sector works and how to get things done. 

Mission Statement & Values

There’s never been a more important time to develop community leaders. Whether it’s in business, nonprofit leadership, or elected service – the Eastside needs people who are connected, understand the needs in our community, know how the public sector works, and know how to get things done. ELI is one component in building well-rounded leaders who are engaged at a local level and believe that collaboration, kindness, and compromise are more effective tools than partisanship and division.

Vision

We want ELI to become a self-fulfilling, open-source platform where little oversight is needed. When organizations, governments, programs, or institutions have an opportunity or an empty seat, we want to provide them peace of mind. We want them to know they can post their opportunity, and have it filled shortly thereafter with qualified and eager candidates.

Leadership Team

Gavin Haines, Director

Nikki Stuck, Assistant Director