Launched in September, 2023, under the guidance of its founder and executive director, Fr. Kramer Cameron, LC, the Florence Leadership Academy is an initiative designed to form, train, inspire, and accompany young people towards their leadership potential. The program offers training in ethical, sustainable, and inclusive leadership through monthly meetings where participants have the opportunity to meet prominent leaders in a wide range of fields, such as the arts, culture, architecture, fashion, technology, sports, healthcare, education, and business. Through talks and workshops, members of Florence Leadership Academy learn from the personal experiences of leaders across a variety of disciples, while meeting and networking with other young people from around the world, creating what Fr. Kramer hopes will launch a “leadership renaissance” among today’s youth, and tomorrow’s leaders. “We believe that young people have unlimited potential and an infinite desire to do good and have an impact,” says Fr. Kramer. “We want to tap into this potential and create a movement which changes leadership forever.”
Florence Leadership Academy held its inaugural event on October 27th of this year. The “Leadership in Sport” evening was held at Palazzo Gondi in downtown Florence. The event featured talks from a number of speakers, including Dejion Lynch, a former NCAA Division 1 football player for Southeastern Louisiana now playing for Guelfi Firenze, Florence’s own American football team, along with Edoardo Cammi, the GM of Guelfi Firenze, and Andrea Barzagli, a former professional Serie A soccer player who won the World Cup with the Italian team in 2006. “I think it’s fundamental in life, in any field, to have a goal. While you work, you can think about reaching it, and so you make sacrifices, the sacrifices needed to get there,” shared Andrea. “Then there are many other directions, and many other opportunities that open up, by going down that path towards that goal.”
Each event begins with a panel discussion on leadership in a particular area of interest, followed by small group workshops led by experts in the field. The evening ends with dinner and a DJ. While the program currently offers monthly leadership evenings directed towards high school students, Fr. Kramer and his team plan to soon host intensive weekend and week-long courses with leadership experts across all areas of society. The Academy also offers a certificate for those who complete the program. In the future, Fr. Kramer also hopes to connect the Academy’s participants with internships where they can put into practice the leadership lessons they have learned through the talks and events, and to ultimately provide networking opportunities and mentorship relationships for the youth that will continue to foster their leadership qualities.
Florence Leadership Academy is open to high school students ages 14-18 years old of any faith who can speak and understand English, and who want to have a positive impact on their community and society. Applicants to the program must provide a letter outlining why they would like to participate, how they would define a leader, and why they want to be one, and must be accompanied by a letter of recommendation from an adult teacher, coach, or mentor.
This initiative is a response from the heart of the Regnum Christi charism to form and launch apostles to make a real
difference in their communities and in the world. “Working with young people from around the world, I see that there’s a real desire in the hearts of many young people to change the way that things are, and believe that things could be better,” says Fr. Kramer. “There are a lot of young people who want to make that difference, so I really feel called to be part of that and to help the young people make that difference. We believe that all people have the ability to become leaders and have an impact on society.”
The most recent monthly event held by Florence Leadership Academy was called “Leadership in Philanthropy,” where participants learned the importance of helping the most vulnerable on the margins of society, and what they can concretely do to have an impact. “Helping those most in need and on the peripheries is an essential expression of true leadership. At times those most in need are by our side. At times they are on existential or physical peripheries. True leaders recognize and encounter those most in need and act to make a difference.” The event took place at Palazzo Ximènes Panciatichi, a historic Florentine palace and private residence, on December 1st, and featured talks from a number of leaders in philanthropy, like Fernando Lozada, executive director of WeCare, an Italian non-profit organization that carries out humanitarian projects; Vittorio Torrisi, of Volunteers, an international humanitarian organization whose goal is to feed, care for and educate the world’s poorest children; and Bonnie Campos, a Consecrated Woman of Regnum Christi who runs Gioventù Missionaria, Mission Youth Italy. There was no cost to December’s monthly event, thanks to the generosity of the program’s sponsors.
One of the event’s speakers was Marilis Pineiro, the Legislative and Diplomatic Relations Liaison for Vulnerable Peoples Project, whose mission is to defend the vulnerable from violence by promoting human dignity and inspiring solidarity. “My main role is to primarily help refugees escape from specific war zones and get them to a safer location, but we also do things like build hospitals or build wells to provide clean water, so in my organization, leadership means being able to take the initiative, to say yes to a mission, and to set goals in order to meet whatever the finished product is in that mission,” shared Marilis. “I think it is so great that young people can come here and are able to meet other professionals, have network opportunities, and group sessions to then discuss the panels. It’s an absolutely wonderful organization, and I wish I had had something like this when I was their age!”
Fr. Kramer was ordained a deacon July 27, 2019, in Michigan City, Indiana. Since then, he has been working in Florence, Italy as Director of the English-Speaking Catholic Community, Director of ECYD, and doing Youth and Young Adult Ministry and Catechesis, based in the Parish of Santi Apostoli. Fr. Kramer was ordained a priest of the Congregation of the Legionaries of Christ on December 21, 2020, in Florence, Italy, where he continues his ministry.
You can find highlights from Florence Leadership Academy events on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. To learn more about the academy, upcoming events, and how to donate or get involved, visit their website at florenceleadershipacademy.com. You might also consider the Christmas gift of sponsoring a student for the Florence Leadership Academy; all support will help train future leaders and create a renaissance of leadership. Sponsorship and donations are tax-deductible in the US.
