About the “CIVIC Couples” series
Did you know CIVIC Leadership Institute’s alumni include several married couples who have both gone through the program, often years apart and at different stages in life? As part of our 30th anniversary reflection and in celebration of Valentine’s Day, we’re highlighting a few of these CIVIC Couples and the unique connections they share through their individual CIVIC experiences.
For some colleagues, “Best Class Ever” isn’t just a saying, it’s a running competition between cohorts. When that competition exists within a marriage, it tends to carry a little more staying power. In this case, it also happens to involve the organization one alumna now leads (and whose cohort has already claimed “Best Class Ever” once) and a rivalry that’s still up for debate at home. That dynamic plays out for current CIVIC President & CEO Mary Kate Andris (‘18) and her husband, Kevin Andris (‘23).
Mary Kate went through CIVIC first, at a formative moment as the new CEO of YWCA, when building relationships and learning alongside other leaders was especially critical. Reflecting on that timing, she shared, “For me, being a new CEO, the networking part of it and getting people to know what the YW was, and who I was, was the critical part for me. The timing was really important.” Going through CIVIC alongside other leaders offered a rare opportunity to observe, learn, and begin shaping her own leadership identity.
Kevin followed five years later, encouraged by both Mary Kate’s experience and colleagues who saw value in investing in leadership development. At the time, Kevin had been hired to help build out a law department at DroneUp, and participating in a long-term leadership program offered both perspective and connection. Certain days stood out for both. Kevin noted, “The two that jump out the most are probably the poverty simulation and the base,” a reflection Mary Kate readily shared. The poverty simulation offered a deeper look at the systemic challenges facing individuals and families in the region, while seeing the scale of military operations at Naval Station Norfolk made a lasting impression.
When asked to complete the sentence CIVIC taught me that leadership is…, Kevin answered simply, “Complicated.” He expanded on that idea, noting that the program “gives you different perspectives on leaders and the different issues they face,” and a deeper appreciation for challenges that aren’t easily solved. That theme carried forward when looking to CIVIC’s future. Kevin shared that what he hopes never changes is the intentional mix of voices in the room: “You continue to get a diverse group of people in a room… from the military, from the private sector, from nonprofits,” adding that hearing perspectives that are unfamiliar “kind of broadens your horizons, you start to see things with a little bit of a different lens.”
Together, Mary Kate and Kevin’s experiences reflect CIVIC’s role as a shared point of reference, one that invites conversation, comparison, and continued learning long after the program concludes.