OUR STORY

Connecting, Developing and Inspiring Northern Michigan’s Leaders Since 2012

In 2011, when the US was still recovering from the great recession, Leadership Lunch Club founder and host Barbara Jordan noticed many small businesses in the Grand Traverse region who were struggling or had to shut down. 

Barbara had worked as a management and HR consultant and executive coach with large and small organizations on both a regional and national scale. Through her work, she had seen the positive impact those at the helm of small or large businesses can make if they are adequately equipped to help their organizations weather storms, manage change, and motivate their workforce.

Because most Traverse City businesses at the time did not have big consulting budgets or leaders who had lots of time to engage in professional development activities, Barbara saw a need in the community for a gathering of leaders to inspire and learn from each other, and the Leadership Lunch Club was born. Since 2012, the speaker series has grown steadily, averaging 100-150 attendees, and is now supported by several generous sponsors in the Traverse City community. 

When Covid hit in 2020, the in-person series was put on hold, but during that time, the Virtual Leadership Lunch Club was launched, featuring inspiring stories from leaders and business owners who were doing what they could to pivot and help support businesses and our community. 

The Leadership Lunch Club relaunched and has continued to offer high impact messages from three seasoned leaders.  We hope you’ll join us at future events!

The mission of The Leadership Lunch club is to inspire and equip business owners, leaders and professionals by providing them access to great leaders and great books they can learn from.

The Leadership Lunch Club ℠ (LLC) offers busy leaders in business and non-profit organizations an opportunity to learn cutting edge leadership and business practices with minimal time and investment. The principles are gleaned from local and regional business leaders who have applied some of the same principles contained in leading business and leadership books with a high degree of success.  Implementing even one of the ideas from these meetings into your organization could result in huge returns for you as a leader and for your organization.

The Lunch Club series offers:

  • Frequent appearances by local, regional, and national leaders, speakers, authors, and business owners who will share practical examples and tips on how they are integrating featured principles in their organization.
  • Brief presentation reviewing a new or classic leadership or business book authored by an acclaimed business leader and/or researcher.
  • A brief Q & A at the end of the meeting.
  • A great lunch in the convenient and elegant setting of the Traverse City Country Club.
  • An opportunity to network with other leaders in the community.
  • We feature a book or two at each event  to provide participants a speaker-recommended resource related to our event topic.  Our featured books are available locally at Horizon Books and at the Traverse Area District Library in their Leadership Lunch  Club collection.

The Leadership Lunch Club (LLC) was founded in 2012 by Barbara Jordan, out of her passion to help build high quality leaders and organizations that are transforming communities locally and around the world.  Barbara has more than 30 years experience serving numerous businesses and non-profits in a variety of industries and sectors regionally and nationally as a Business Owner, Leadership Coach/Consultant and Workshop Facilitator.  The Leadership Lunch Club is also supported by a team of business advisors, leaders and independent contractors who also contribute their skills and experience to help create a high-quality experience at each of our events.  

OUR TEAM

Barbara Jordan
Founder & Host, Leadership Lunch Club

Sarah Snyder, Event Coordinator
The Marble Rd

Samantha Peterson
Marketing & Social Media Consultant

Kelly Ignace, Web Designer
WorkshopSIX7

Advisory Board

Jen Seman Headshot Blue
Jennifer Seman; Senior Director, Mid-Large and Emerging Markets, Priority Health
Jen joined Priority Health in 2013 as the leader of the Sales & Client Services team in the Northern Michigan Region. Her responsibilities have continued to expand and she currently serves as a Senior Director leading the Mid to Large Market Client Experience team across the state. Jen moved to Traverse City in 2009 and has been very active in the Northern Michigan community. She has served on the Advisory Board since 2015.

Lisa Baker-Lorincz; Regional Sales Manager, Vensure Employer Solutions

For over a decade, Lisa has helped business owners develop high-performing solutions in Human Resources and Technology. A Traverse City native, Lisa combines local insights with global best practices. Lisa is known for being an active contributor in a variety of community organizations including as a founding member of TCNewTech and on numerous boards. Her Midwest network is expansive. She has served one our Advisory Board since 2015.

Laura Oblinger; Senior Manager | Director of Client Success and Growth, Rehmann

Laura, a native of the region, is a passionate leader committed to the talent development and betterment of our community. She uses her skills and experience in strategic leadership to connect people and resources to create meaningful solutions as evidenced in her professional role and her contributions as a Northwestern Michigan College Board of Trustees and numerous volunteer efforts. We’re excited to welcome her as the newest member of our Advisory Board.