Chamber Member Completes San Diego Regional Chamber’s Public Leadership Institute

Christopher Rodriguez with Jerry Sanders, President and CEO of the San Diego Regional Chamber

Christopher Rodriguez from Maximum Real Estate Services recently became the first Oceanside Chamber member to graduate from the Public Leadership Institute (PLI) training program chartered by the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
 
The course met once a month for five months starting this past February in San Diego and on June 21, 25 members from various local Chambers received their letter of achievement for completing the program.
 
“Even though it was pretty intense and right to the point from the very beginning, I thought it was great and just what I needed as my foundation to get involved in local government,” Rodriguez said. 

According to Rodriguez, he found out about the course while reading through one of the Oceanside Chamber’s weekly newsletters.
 
“I’m the type who likes to read everything that’s in front of me and while I was scrolling down the newsletter, I came across the information and clicked for more,” Rodriguez said.
 
PLI started in 2012 and becoming a program under the San Diego Regional Chamber in 2017, PLI is nonpartisan and designed for individuals within the business community who someday might seek elected or appointed positions in government.
 
Courses are designed to teach and train students the necessities to become involved in government. Some of them included are public speaking, fundraising, campaign strategies and political endorsements.
 
So far there have been 150 students that have gone through the program since its inception, and because Rodriguez is the first one locally, Oceanside Chamber CEO Scott Ashton stated he hopes more will follow now that the first person went through it.
 
“I’m hoping that with his success from the course, he will inspire other members from the Oceanside business community to take the course and become more involved in community leadership,” Ashton said.