The annual Flinn-Brown Convention was held on Friday, Aug. 14, from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. at On Jackson in Phoenix. 

The 2026 Flinn-Brown Convention, Living the Network: 15 Years of Leadership in Action, was a celebration with a charge. As the Arizona Center for Civic Leadership at the Flinn Foundation and the Flinn-Brown Fellowship marked their 15th anniversaries, the Convention honored 15 years of Fellows who have served, advocated, and led—and challenged the Network to make the next 15 matter even more.

Download the convention agenda

View list of attendees

Facilitator

Flinn-Brown Fellow Deanna Villanueva-Saucedo, Ed.D. (Mesa, 2014) facilitated the day. A Mesa native whose career spans nonprofit work, municipal government, and higher education, Dr. Villanueva-Saucedo leads the Center for Excellence in Inclusive Democracy at Maricopa Community Colleges—where civic engagement and coalition-building are her daily work.

She opened the morning by moderating a panel of Fellows who successfully moved a state-level policy, then lead Fellows through an afternoon tabletop exercise focused on leveraging the Network to build coalitions of their own.

Morning Panel

The Flinn-Brown Fellowship was built on a simple premise: Arizona’s most challenging problems are best solved when the right leaders find each other and work together. The morning panel put that premise to the test.

Audra Koester Thomas (Fountain Hills, 2011) anchored the panel alongside the Fellows she brought together to pass Proposition 479—a real-world case study in what the Network can accomplish. Structured as a recipe-building exercise, each panelist contributed ingredients drawn from their role in the effort, showing how those ingredients combined to move a policy from idea into law. The conversation was interactive throughout, not just presentational—so Fellows left with more than inspiration. They left with the beginning of their own recipe.

Panelists included Mayor Kevin Hartke (Chandler, 2014), Frank McCune (Phoenix, 2011), Catherine Alonzo (Phoenix, 2013), and Kate Morley (Flagstaff, 2018).

Convention Activities

Living Network

Fifteen years of Flinn-Brown leadership looks like a room full of people who have served, built, advocated, and led across every corner of Arizona. Led by Katie Hurst (Phoenix, 2025), the Living Network activity created a visual representation of the Fellows in the room, making visible the connections, reach, and collective strength of this community. The Flinn-Brown Network is not an archive. It is alive, it is present, and at the 2026 Convention ready to act.

Throw and Receive

At the 2026 Convention, we unveiled the Throw and Receive board, an electronic platform where Fellows offer their expertise or request support on real projects from peers across the Network. The premise is simple: the Flinn-Brown Network grows stronger every time a Fellow reaches into it. It lives beyond Convention day, giving Fellows an ongoing space to stay engaged, share what they know, and tap into what others bring.

Pre-Convention Activities 

Aug. 13 Evening Reception 

The 2016 Flinn-Brown Fellows gathered for a cohort reunion at the FOUND:RE Hotel the evening before the Convention. It was followed by a reception for all Flinn-Brown Fellows. 

We presented the regional Arizona Champion (Northern, Central and Southern) Flinn-Brown awards at the evening reception, with the Jack Jewett and Network Builder awards presented at the convention. 

Aug. 14 Morning Yoga and Meditation

On the morning of the Convention, Fellows were invited to a yoga and meditation session at the Flinn Foundation, organized by Fellow Sarah Rose Webber (Prescott Valley, 2017). Coffee and light refreshments were served. 

2026 Flinn-Brown Awards 

Five awards honoring high-impact leaders are granted each year at the Convention: Jack Jewett Award, Network Builder Award, and three Arizona Champion (Northern, Central and Southern Arizona) awards. 

The deadline for submitting nominations was 5 p.m., Friday, June 5. 

Nominations are shared with members of the Fellows Council for the final selection. Fellows Council members are ineligible for awards while on the Council. Previous winners are not eligible for an award category they have previously won. 

Award Artist

Daniel Janssen of Alchemist Craft Works, located in Prescott, was selected to design the 2026 Flinn-Brown Fellow Awards.  Daniel transforms discarded metal into lifelike wildlife sculptures.

In Daniel’s own words, “My art is both inspired by the creatures I’ve encountered and driven by a desire to reduce human impact on these beautiful landscapes. Being able to celebrate and protect the natural world brings a much deeper meaning to each piece. To me, this feels like real alchemy: turning trash into treasure, turning rust into gold.”

---

Meet The 2026 Planning Committee 

Thank you to the members of the 2026 Flinn-Brown Convention planning committee for their invaluable assistance in the planning and execution of this year’s Convention.