By: Ellie McCartney
Former Chancellor of the University of Nebraska at Omaha Dr. John Christensen along with UNO’s Department of Education Leadership, held their fourth Leadership Summit Wednesday to discuss roles of leadership in Omaha.
“These are people who care not only about students, but about people in the community,” Christensen said.
As the fourth Leadership Summit, the Department of Education Leadership developed a panel of two speakers to share their experiences and philosophy surrounding their roles in leadership.
Jamie Gutierrez, the owner and CEO of Midwest Maintenance Company Inc., and Rodrigo Lopez, the Chairman of AmeriSphere Companies, shared how they got into their roles, what the values of leadership are and how to deal with challenges in the work place.
To kick-off the night, Gutierrez shared her story of how she got started in her career. Gutierrez also explained how through leadership she has become an active board member on several committees in the Omaha area.
From there, Gutierrez shared her views on what successful leadership should look like. As a strong female role model for young women in her community, Gutierrez expressed her support for women looking to join leadership roles.
“I am a big fan of women leadership,” Gutierrez said. “I think we need to create more opportunities for women to learn.”
Rodrigo Lopez, the Chairman of AmeriSphere Companies, also shared his experiences in leadership and expressed his opinions on the three traits that those in leadership roles should possess, such as character, commitment and courage.
“Leaders are made. Because we develop those traits and that’s fortunate because we can all be leaders,” Lopez said. “…to inspire our team members, we must have a vision for the organization, a purpose and a direction.”
Overall, the Leadership Summit focused on the opportunities, vision and challenges that those in a leadership roles may face at some point in their career.
“Whatever we do. We can be leaders,” said Lopez.
