Two Kiwanians stand as examples of the program’s impact on personal and professional leadership. 

By Tony Knoderer

In 2025, Kiwanis International will again offer Kiwanis Amplify — a leadership program for those who want to improve their ability to lead a team within Kiwanis and beyond. Registration will open in January. Kiwanis Amplify is an online course featuring interactive modules led by experts, with peer discussion that helps participants enhance each other’s understanding

Participants will take a deep dive into eight topics:  

• Leadership. 
• Communication. 
• Event planning. 
• Diversity, equity and inclusion. 
• Working with others. 
• Marketing.  
• Strategic thinking.  
• Self-care as a leader. 

Participants can work through the course at their own pace to earn a certificate of completion. 

Two members at a crossroads
When Kiwanis Amplify launched in 2021, two Kiwanians — Angelo Ciardella and Cynthia Blackman — were at a crossroads. Blackman was adjusting to service as her division’s lieutenant governor during the COVID-19 pandemic, and Ciardella was completing his nursing degree. Both found what they were looking for in the inaugural Kiwanis Amplify class. 

Ciardella, current lieutenant governor of Division 3 of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District, was impressed with the quality of the training material, but also with the depth and breadth of the topics. 

“I absolutely loved that the trainings did not focus on Kiwanis at all,” he says, “[but] rather the themes and skills needed to be a successful leader in life, which translate to our service journeys in Kiwanis.” 

Blackman, now governor-elect of the Eastern Canada and the Caribbean District, says the program “forced me to re-evaluate my perspective on being intentional with inclusive leadership and not being afraid to fail as a leader.” 

The skills that resonated most with Ciardella and Blackman were those they could apply to their personal growth. 

“Being given permission to fail was something that I needed to hear so badly at that time in my life,” Ciardella says. “The rigors of university, moving up in leadership in my club and that little thing called the pandemic were really causing me to be down on myself.” 

For Blackman, self-care was the big takeaway. “Oftentimes as a leader,” she says, “we place others before ourselves.” 

Professional impact
Ciardella and Blackman found that Kiwanis Amplify helped their careers. Ciardella partially attributes his job as a nurse at one of North America’s leading hospitals to Kiwanis Amplify. 

“The program helped me hone my leadership and communication skills, setting me above others in my industry,” he says. “Teamwork, communication, DEI, strategic thinking — these themes are so relevant in my work, and Kiwanis Amplify has helped me excel in these areas.” 

For Blackman, the program was a guide toward greater effectiveness in giving presentations — and in engaging with large groups of all kinds. 

“Kiwanis Amplify gave me the tools to adjust my leadership style at the office to one where I was more inspirational,” she says. “The [communication] module enhanced my presentation style and instilled confidence in me that allowed me to engage with various audiences actively and effectively.” 

Blackman found that her communication style was also improved, helping her become more conscious about her choice of words. Ultimately, she found the program so useful that she participated again in 2024. After the success that resulted from participating in the 2021 program, Ciardella got involved with shaping it and helping others. He joined a Kiwanis-led committee to make suggestions for Kiwanis Amplify’s second year, and he served as a program mentor in its third year. 

“These experiences have been some of the highlights of my Kiwanis journey,” he says. 

Get ready to register
To learn more, visit the Kiwanis Amplify webpage. And bookmark the page so you can sign up when the registration period begins in January. We encourage you to spread the word in the meantime: Kiwanis Amplify is available both to Kiwanis members and nonmembers (US$50 for Kiwanis members, US$600 for nonmembers). For everyone who participates, it’s an opportunity to improve your career, your community and yourself. 

Kiwanis International’s president wants to show others their potential for service and growth. 

By Tony Knoderer

From the beginning, 2024-25 Kiwanis International President Lee Kuan Yong was a good fit for Kiwanis — and vice versa. The timing was right. His skills were right. And the way the organization’s mission matched his need to serve his community was right.  

In 1992, Lee returned to Malaysia after spending 17 years away — seven years in England, seven in Hong Kong and three in Canada. He took a job as deputy controller for a listed corporation and soon found himself in charge of organizing a weekend retreat: a “motoring treasure hunt,” which is a popular group activity in his home country.  

As part of his job, Lee was asked to get in touch with a particular person — who turned out to be an old classmate from primary school.  

“He said yes,” Lee recalls. “But he also said, ‘You have to come to dinner at a meeting of mine.’”  

Lee went, returning a favor for his old friend, but as it turned out, that meeting of the Kiwanis Club of Kuala Lumpur also brought back deeper memories.  

“It reminded me of things I did in high school with a similar kind of group,” he says. “Joining Kiwanis was easy because I was having dinner with like-minded people — and they were doing the kinds of things I had wanted to grow up to do.”  

“I made a point of calling every member. I did my job with enthusiasm. That may have given other members the idea that I was a potential leader.”

Connecting with every member
Looking back to 1993, when he officially joined Kiwanis, Lee can see how a successful club goes beyond service and fellowship — it emphasizes integrating new members into its regular operations. For Lee, feeling needed was a big part of feeling welcomed by his club. As a chartered accountant, or CPA, he had talents that the Kuala Lumpur club recognized, particularly since fundraising has always been a big part of its events and activities.  

“I felt I could contribute in my own way,” Lee says. “I’ve always found my career and Kiwanis meshed very well.”  

In fact, he adds, the club has a tradition of engaging new members from the beginning. Early on, Lee was asked to chair the club’s Programs Committee, making him responsible for inviting and arranging guest speakers for meetings. He wasn’t actively looking for a leadership role, he says, but getting one deepened his involvement with the club — and his passion for helping it thrive.  

“The role was just a responsibility,” he says. “But it was useful. It allowed me to be connected with all the other members because part of [the responsibility] was encouraging attendance.”  

Even now, Lee takes pride in the club’s meeting attendance for that year, which doubled from the previous year.  

“I made a point of calling every member,” he says. “I did my job with enthusiasm. That may have given other members the idea that I was a potential leader.”  

He smiles when he thinks back on that possibility. “I seldom say no,” he says.

Photo by Lauryn Ishak

The leadership journey
Lee’s willingness to accept new roles led him up the ladder of club leadership — from treasurer to secretary to president. Once again, the timing was good.  

“When I was club president in 1998, we started to engage with the district, although Malaysia was really a national committee then, not a district,” he says. “We wanted to be a district. The goal was to become a district-in-formation, and you had to have more than 500 members to qualify.”  

For that reason, Kiwanians in Malaysia were looking for fellow members to fill national leadership roles, including treasurer. Lee’s leadership journey beyond the club level began.  

Ultimately, Malaysia became a district-in-formation in 2000 — the year that Lee was elected its first governor. For Lee, the focus on membership and growth that began with his country’s need to hit a membership target became a major part of his vision for all of Kiwanis.  

“Every year since then, I’ve been learning all the time, adding to this objective,” he says. “Even today I’m adding to my knowledge of membership and new club openings. Those two subjects are always front and center in my mind.” 

The message reverberates
As a governor, connecting with Kiwanians from around the world opened new perspectives for Lee. He still draws inspiration from the message — and the memories — of the governor-elect training he attended in November 2000. It was Lee’s first trip to Indianapolis, Indiana, U.S., home of the Kiwanis International Office.  

“After the few days I was there, I came away with the knowledge that growth was Job One. The message reverberated: I need to open clubs when I go back to Malaysia.”  

Lee is proud to note that three other governors from that year — Sue Petrisin, Jane Erickson and Jim Rochford — have also been elected Kiwanis International presidents. Another fun fact: The head instructor was Paul Palazzolo, now Kiwanis International’s executive director. 

“You can imagine the impact all this made on a ‘freshman,’” Lee says with a laugh. In Malaysia, the impact became evident: Over the next two years, the number of Kiwanians in the country doubled, from 500 to 1,000.  

“From a young age, people described me as outgoing. I made friends easily. I picked up leadership positions naturally. I was never the kind of person who said, ‘No, not me.’”

Education and inspiration
With his success in recruiting and club opening, it was only natural for Lee to become a Kiwanis leader at the international level. He served as a trustee of Kiwanis International from 2011-14 — in addition to service on the organization’s Membership Growth and New Club Building committees. He was also a board member and chair of Kiwanis Asia-Pacific in 2016-17.  

Through it all, he has been helping Kiwanis grow. For Lee, inspiration is a key component — as anyone knows once they’ve heard him speak. He says that his upbeat style has long been a part of his personality.  

“From a young age, people described me as outgoing,” he says. “I made friends easily. I picked up leadership positions naturally. I was never the kind of person who said, ‘No, not me.’”  

Lee’s wife, Kon Cze Yan, says that his sociable nature comes in handy — in Kiwanis and in other ways. For instance, the couple are longtime participants in ballroom dancing.  

“It encourages us to be outgoing and flamboyant,” she says, adding that she and Lee started at about the time he joined Kiwanis. “If you’re a public speaker, you have to be engaging. You have to encourage people to look and listen.”  

Lee himself says that he’s still learning how to inspire people, which includes honing any message to “three points or less.” He and Cze Yan both laugh when she throws in some advice: “He needs to know a few more jokes.”

Lee with his wife, Kon Cze Yan.  |  Photo by Lauryn Ishak

“We do a lot of things in Kiwanis, but at the end of the day we’re talking about what to do when we need to act. When I talk, I always end with, ‘What’s next?’”  

What’s next?
For all the talk about inspiration and leadership, the combination of the two is what makes Kiwanis special for Lee. For instance, he likes to talk about inspiring servant leaders. 

“That’s something I’m passionate about, that I practice,” he says. “Why? Because we are leaders who serve, rather than giving orders.”  

Ultimately, he adds, it’s about sharing ideas that other people can use.  

“We do a lot of things in Kiwanis,” he says, “but at the end of the day we’re talking about what to do when we need to act. When I talk, I always end with, ‘What’s next?’”  

Whether he’s talking to fellow international leaders or members in local meetings, Lee hasn’t forgotten where the impact on kids’ lives is made — and where inspiration makes a difference.  

“I still think of my club,” he says. “Even now, after 31 years, I’m always wondering: Who should I call today?”