Common Ground: Building Buffalo Niagara's Next Generation of Community Stewards
Common Ground represents a pivotal moment for our region’s future. As Buffalo Niagara stands at the threshold of a generational shift in community leadership, we recognize the critical need to bridge the gap between established leaders and emerging voices who will shape our community’s tomorrow. Aleron, in partnership with Leadership Buffalo, founded this initiative.
Why We Started This Initiative
Our region faces a unique challenge: how do we ensure continuity of purpose, vision, and stewardship as longtime community leaders transition their roles to a new generation? The answer lies in creating intentional spaces for connection, mentorship, and collaborative planning.
Common Ground was born from the understanding that effective community leadership doesn’t happen by accident. It requires deliberate cultivation, thoughtful succession planning, and meaningful dialogue between those who have guided our community and those ready to carry the torch forward.
What We’re Building Together
Through a series of four foundational conversations, we’re exploring the essential questions that will define our region’s leadership landscape:
What does community leadership and stewardship truly mean in Buffalo Niagara today?
How can we navigate the generational transition while preserving institutional knowledge and vision?
What will motivate emerging leaders to step up and take ownership of our community’s future?
How do we build sustainable systems for developing and supporting new community stewards?
An Invitation to Shape Our Future
This initiative is more than a series of events—it’s a commitment to ensuring that Buffalo Niagara’s legacy of community engagement continues to thrive. Whether you’re an established leader with decades of experience or an emerging voice eager to make your mark, Common Ground offers an exceptional opportunity to contribute to our region’s development, growth, and progression.
Together, we’re not just planning for stewardship transition; we’re actively creating the collaborative foundation that will drive our community forward for generations to come.
The next Common Ground is in the works. Our newly formed Advisory Council is shaping what comes next, and we will share the date soon.
Stay tuned.
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Common Ground Events
Our most recent event on March 31, 2026, at the Northland Workforce Training Center moved the Common Ground series into its action phase. A nearly full house gathered for four facilitated breakout discussions on cultivating interest, information access, mentorship, and leadership development, turning earlier conversations about Buffalo Niagara’s leadership transition into concrete ideas for what comes next. A summary of the event can be found below.
Common Ground 3/31/26 Event Summary:
Key themes, breakout takeaways, and where we go next.
The third Common Ground discussion was held on March 31, 2026, at the Northland Workforce Training Center, rescheduled from late January after a Buffalo snowstorm. Despite the move, a nearly full house turned out, a powerful reminder of how deeply this community cares about Buffalo and its future. The evening brought together a true cross-section of our region, all working with intention to meet our shared challenges head on.
What We Heard
Building on the conversations from our earlier gatherings, the evening reaffirmed a clear set of themes:
- Many people want to get involved in stewardship and leadership, but feel excluded or unsure where to begin.
- Pathways to engagement are not always visible, accessible, or easy to navigate.
- The power of having someone champion a person’s development is viewed as critical to growing the next generation of stewards.
- Practical leadership training, including financial literacy and governance, would strengthen readiness for stewardship roles.
Breakout Takeaways
Our four facilitated breakout discussions sparked some of the most candid and energetic conversations of the series. Each group surfaced concrete ideas:
- Cultivating Interest (Sam Hill) — Meeting people where they are through personal invitations and grassroots outreach, and helping more people see themselves as part of this work, regardless of background.
- Information Access (Hadar Borden) — A centralized, easy to use hub that brings opportunities, organizations, and entry points together in one place.
- Mentorship (Christine Stolzenburg) — Models that are structured yet flexible, that remove barriers of time and access, and that extend beyond the workplace toward long term development and sponsorship.
- Leadership Development (Thea Pecht) — Practical preparation in governance and financial literacy, along with clearer, better supported on ramps into stewardship roles.
Where Do We Go Next?
These conversations and insights set a clear path forward. By prioritizing mentorship, expanding access, strengthening leadership training, and fostering hands on engagement, we can turn ideas into action and ensure Buffalo’s community stewardship ecosystem continues to grow, thrive, and include the next generation of leaders.
While we had initially envisioned this as a closing chapter, the energy and input from participants reshaped that plan. Future Common Ground discussions are ahead. Stay tuned for details, and for ways you can contribute your intellectual capital as we build a better, stronger, more inclusive Buffalo.
The real, transformational work starts now.
The Common Ground Advisory Council
To carry this momentum forward, we have formed the Common Ground Advisory Council, a group of regional stakeholders committed to designing, building, and nurturing a sustainable model for community stewardship and leadership in greater Buffalo. The Council held its inaugural meeting on June 26, 2026.
- Scott Stenclik — Chief Executive Officer, Aleron
- Morgan Hardy — Chief Executive Officer, Leadership Buffalo
- Sam Hill — Vice President of People & Culture, The John R. Oishei Foundation
- Hadar Borden — Director, Startup & Innovation Collaboratory and the WNY Prosperity Fellowship Program, University at Buffalo
- Christine Stolzenburg — Audit Principal, Withum
- Thea Pecht — Senior Vice President, M&T Bank
- Pete Petrella — President, TalentRise
- Michael Ulbrich — Certified EOS Implementer®, EOS Worldwide
- Dr. Steve Turkovich — President, Golisano Children’s Hospital of Buffalo
Resources
Community Commons is a comprehensive platform for community development resources.