GLF launched its first cohort in 2012 and gained its nonprofit status in Washington State in 2016. GLF relies on a distributed leadership model in which the program's co-founders, Bob Ness and Peter Blomquist, and Managing Director, Kim Rakow Bernier, work in tandem to make strategic programmatic decisions. A small and mighty board of directors supports the organization through governance and individual advice and expertise. The GLF Alumni Community is facilitated with the support of volunteer GLF alumni.
Guest faculty bring fresh and diverse practitioner and expert perspective to the cohort in alignment with participant leadership and organizational challenges and growth edges. Past guest faculty have included:
LueRachelle Brim-Atkins, Founder and Principal Consultant of Brim-Donahoe & Associates
Therese Cauoutte, Co-Founder, Move92; Partners Asia, past Executive Director
Kristen Dailey, Executive Director, Global Washington
Obed Kabanda, MPH, Ph.D, ACODEV Uganda, Founder
Bindiya Patel, PATH, Managing Director of Programs and Innovation
Tim Schottman, Sightlife, past Chief Glolal Officer; Social Venture Partners, past CEO
Sachi Shenoy, Co-founder & Chief Impact Officer, Upaya Social Ventures