The UChicago Leadership and Society Initiative offers two pathways for accomplished leaders considering a transition into a next chapter of generativity.
The UChicago Leadership and Society Initiative offers two pathways for accomplished leaders considering a transition into a next chapter of generativity. The Imagine Pathway is a curated experience for Fellows who still have full-time professional obligations but wish to take moments of strategic pause for self-reflection and exploration of what’s next. The Design Pathway is an immersive on-campus experience for Fellows who are prepared to devote themselves fully to activating their next chapter.
As an author, speaker, and global marketing leader, Kate Isler has dedicated her career to championing women’s entrepreneurship and inclusive economic development. After a successful marketing career in the technology and healthcare industries, she became the cofounder and CEO of The WMarketplace, an organization that empowers women entrepreneurs to achieve their goals in the digital economy by providing technical assistance, skills training, and consulting services.
While she continues her career, Kate has also begun to consider how her advocacy work could transform in the next chapter of her life. That exploration brought her to the University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative (LSI).
“Stepping into an institution like UChicago was really appealing to me because I felt like it filled a gap by providing well-rounded exposure on the academic side,” Kate said.
LSI helps accomplished professionals like Kate apply the skills they’ve honed over decades to envision a fulfilling next chapter of driving meaningful change in society. A choice of two pathways makes LSI accessible to Fellows who are at different points in their transition:
Either pathway features a vibrant community of peers, guidance from expert advisors, and a multidisciplinary curriculum focused on establishing an introspective practice alongside exploring strategies for making an impact.
The Imagine Pathway invites LSI Fellows to consider their next chapter while they are still busy working in their primary careers or portfolio lives they’ve already built. During quarterly, four-day residential retreats, professionals take moments of pause to reflect on their motivations, engage with powerful ideas, and refine their decision making. This schedule makes it possible for an active CEO like Kate to participate in LSI by flying from Seattle to Chicago for the retreats, which run from Thursday to Sunday.
“To get a taste for a few days a quarter is so energizing and engaging that I think it’s the perfect scenario,” Kate said. “Your life isn’t devoted only to the program, but you have that opportunity to infuse what you’ve learned in your everyday life as you go, which is exciting and really fun.”
As a non-traditional university graduate who completed her bachelor’s degree only after many years of achievement at global organizations like Microsoft, Kate was initially unsure if she’d fit in with her LSI cohort during that first long weekend in Chicago. Beyond the impressive academic credentials, however, she immediately found a welcoming community of open discussions and mutual support.
“Having spent time with them, it is fantastic to know them and to learn from them,” Kate said.
In LSI workshops conducted by multidisciplinary experts, Kate cultivates the intellectual tools to apply philosophical concepts to real-world challenges, re-examine her core values, and think through opportunities for future growth. Over her time on the Imagine Pathway, she will create a Next Chapter Compass, a capstone project focused on self-reflection and identifying a set of criteria to guide her most consequential decisions. As she began her project, Dean of the Graham School Seth Green arranged for her to meet one-on-one and explore possibilities with other leaders who share her passion for advancing women in the tech industry.
The connections that Kate formed through LSI have been invaluable for thinking through where she currently stands and how she wants to show up for the ideals she believes in over the years to come. Between retreats, she stays engaged in building that sense of purpose by communicating with her Peer Learning Group and an Executive Coach.
“The thoughtful formation of this cohort has made all the difference,” she said. “We don’t share career paths or industries, but we definitely share where we are in our paths together.”
Dev Jain has spent decades leading at engineering firms, currently serving in dual roles as Principal at RSP Architects in the U.S. and as the Founder and CEO of Alexander Design Consultants in India. At the same time, he has begun envisioning the next phase of his life with a focus on how he can build bridges of understanding and knowledge-sharing between older and younger generations.
“There was a need to fill up a space for my future self, what I’d like myself to be going forward, and the energy and drive to learn new things,” he said. “We go to school and study to go to college. We study in college to get a job. We study in the job so we can do better, but we don’t study for the future, the last 30% of our life. And why not?”
Dev selected the Design Pathway, an immersion in critical exploration and open discourse that begins with a one-week Autumn Orientation and runs for three academic quarters. Even though he still has many years of his primary career ahead of him, the support of his family and his professional colleagues enabled him to come to campus for the program. As someone who has maintained longtime friendships with his past university classmates, Dev was specifically interested in the camaraderie and sense of accountability that evolve through spending months in person with his cohort, instructors, and LSI Next Chapter Advisors.
“I was looking for relationships through this process, building a new network in Chicago and building new connections in my life,” Dev said.
Fellows in the Design Pathway undertake a core curriculum of three multidisciplinary, cohort-based courses on the UChicago campus and audit two courses per quarter in topics that interest them from across the University. In Dev’s case, he embraced his intellectual curiosity by supplementing his technical and business knowledge with a deep dive into the liberal arts.
“I’m extremely grateful to the LSI leadership and support staff,” Dev said. “There is a special quality to the way they conduct these classes and treat us. You feel like you’re at home with them.”
During the Spring Quarter, Design Pathway Fellows have the opportunity to visit one of UChicago’s global campuses or centers for a week of travel study. For Dev, that meant spending a week in London to study the topic of democracy with highlights like meeting a Member of Parliament, visiting the House of Commons for a debate about smartphone use in schools, and analyzing the political implications of artwork at the Tate Modern.
By end of their time in the program, every Fellow in the Design Pathway creates a Next Chapter Roadmap featuring both long-term objectives and immediate plans for achieving a next chapter of purpose. Dev’s Roadmap presents his ideas for a co-generational coaching system that he can implement within his current roles, but also the nonprofit work and advocacy he will pursue over the next two decades of his life.
“I am a bridge-builder by nature,” Dev said.
The transition from full-time work into life’s next chapter is different for every individual. To determine whether the Imagine or Design Pathway best fits your needs, ask yourself these questions:
“As leaders decide which Pathway might be best for them, they should consider the time they have available to commit to the fellowship, but most importantly, reflect on what they hope to gain through the learning journey and what depth of learning most excites them,” said LSI Executive Director Diana Petty. “The Imagine Pathway is well suited for those who are looking to take a first bite at the apple, sparking new ideas and gaining clarity around their priorities to help them make purpose-driven decisions. For those who are ready to really flesh out their plans and stress test potential next chapter efforts alongside a breadth and depth of classroom learning, the Design Pathway offers a holistic experience to help chart their future course with confidence.”
Interested in discerning what pathway is right for you? Contact us for more information.
The University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative (LSI) supports accomplished leaders in successfully transitioning from their longstanding careers toward purposeful next chapters. LSI Fellows immerse themselves in UChicago’s unparalleled environment of big ideas and multigenerational dialogue, gaining frameworks for learning from their past and planning for their futures.
Through LSI’s rigorous and customizable curriculum, Fellows engage with eminent faculty and expert practitioners to explore how their next chapter can be meaningful for them and for society. This Fellowship is a commitment to personal growth, enduring wellness, and dynamic engagement with pressing societal issues.
Contact us to learn more about LSI.
Fellows returned to campus for four days of rigorous inquiry, renewed connection, and deepening clarity about the motivations and intentions for future leadership.
At the center of the Design Pathway is a liberal arts curriculum that encourages Fellows to see beyond conventional approaches, engage diverse viewpoints, and develop solutions informed by both reflection and action.
LSI Immersion Days bring Fellows together to discuss climate change and the energy transition.