Goldenwood

Living Stones Leadership Lab 26-27 | Enlivening Emerging Managers
2026-09-25 - 2027-03-27
Registration for the Fall 2026 – Spring 2027 cohort will open soon. Please click here to express interest in the next cohort and receive updates when registration opens.
Rooted in Love. Growing in Wisdom. Leading with Impact.

Stepping Into Leadership, Grounded in Purpose
You’ve excelled in your craft—the engineer everyone relies on, the teacher people trust, the healthcare worker who carries responsibility, the nonprofit leader holding things together behind the scenes.
Then one day, someone says: “You should lead.”
Suddenly, new questions emerge: Am I ready? Can I lead others without losing myself in the process? How do I lead with both conviction and care?
The Living Stones Leadership Lab is a six-month, in-person leadership journey for emerging managers and team leaders navigating this pivotal transition.
Developed in collaboration with Ben Grizzle (Managing Director, Goldman Sachs) and Belinda Neal (Managing Director, Anthropic), LSLL combines leadership formation, spiritual attentiveness, mentorship, and peer community to help participants grow in clarity, courage, and wisdom as they step into leadership.
Leadership ability doesn’t arrive with a title—it is formed through practice, reflection, and relationship. Whether you are leading your first team, preparing for your next role, or seeking to grow as a manager, Living Stones offers a fellowship rooted in faith, grounded in wisdom, and shaped for this moment of transition.

What Last Year’s Fellows Shared
Participants consistently spoke about deep trust, spiritual clarity, honest reflection, and meaningful community.

We quickly were able to trust one another and got to a level of vulnerability that was really helpful.”
“It felt like the Holy Spirit really met us in each of our hot seats.”
“We’re just grateful that we got the opportunity to build trust with people in a city where it can feel like you don’t actually need to trust anybody.”
“The Lord used this cohort at exactly the right time in my life.

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A Glimpse Into Last Year’s Cohort
Conversations around vocation, leadership, trust, and spiritual attentiveness shaped last year’s inaugural gathering in New York City. Read the recap from last year’s kickoff gathering.

What Fellows Can Expect

Kickoff In-City Retreat: Launch the fellowship through a dynamic in-person gathering in New York City featuring keynote talks, fireside conversations, and shared meals with senior leaders across industries – Friday, September 26 – Saturday, September 27, 2026
Bi-Weekly Cohort Meetings: Meet regularly in small peer cohorts of 8 emerging leaders from sectors such as finance, tech, healthcare, nonprofits, and education. Together, fellows workshop real leadership challenges, reflect honestly, and support one another’s growth throughout the journey.
Mentor Dinners: Share meals and conversation with experienced leaders who offer wisdom, perspective, and candid insight from their own leadership journeys – 3x gatherings throughout the fellowship
Devotional Journey & Spiritual Formation: Follow a guided devotional rhythm rooted in Scripture, reflection, and spiritual attentiveness—cultivating a deeper, more grounded approach to leadership amid the pace and pressures of city life.
Skills-Based Workshops & Fireside Chats: Develop practical leadership skills including delegation, strategic communication, feedback, conflict navigation, and vision-casting through interactive workshops and conversations with experienced practitioners.
Final Gathering — The Legacy Session: Conclude the fellowship by reflecting on the journey together, hearing from senior leaders about long-term impact and vocation, and celebrating the cohort’s growth and friendships – date TBD

What You’ll Gain

Practical Leadership Skills – Build essential management capabilities through workshops, mentorship, and real-time leadership practice.
Spiritual Attentiveness – Cultivate rhythms of listening, discernment, and reflection that deepen your awareness of God’s presence within your leadership and daily work.
Biblically-Rooted Vision for Leadership – Explore leadership through Scripture and thinkers like Augustine, learning to lead faithfully within complex systems while remaining rooted in eternal values.
Mentorship & Cross-Industry Perspective – Learn alongside peers and experienced leaders across finance, tech, healthcare, nonprofits, education, and beyond.
Cohort Community – Walk with a trusted group of peers navigating similar transitions, challenges, and questions of vocation and leadership.

Who Should Apply
This fellowship is designed for professionals who:

Are stepping into (or preparing for) their first or second management or team leadership role
Want to lead with greater clarity, integrity, and spiritual grounding
Are open to learning from peers across industries
Value a safe space for honest reflection and skill-building
Live in the Tri-State area and can travel for the various in-person weeknight and weekend gatherings (in & around Midtown Manhattan)

Logistics & Format

Location: In-person gatherings in NYC (venues TBD)
Timeline: 6 months (kicking off with in-city retreat 9/25-9/26
Cohorts: 4–5 groups of ~8 participants each
Cost: to be announced

Application Process

Step 1: Submit the Fellowship Application (to open soon)
Step 2: Acceptance Notification & Cohort Matching
Step 3: Prepare for the Kickoff In-City Retreat

Please click here to express interest in the next cohort and receive a notification when registration is open.
Questions? Email info@goldenwoodnyc.org with “Living Stones Leadership Lab” in the subject line.

Meet the Hosts
Ben Grizzle & Belinda Neal | Managing Directors
With decades of experience mentoring leaders on Wall Street and in ministry contexts, Ben and Belinda bring depth, wisdom, and a calling to form leaders who serve with conviction and clarity. Their vision: to cultivate the next generation of managers who lead with integrity and leave a lasting legacy.

David Kim | CEO and Co-Founder, Goldenwood

Over the past several decades, Rev. Dr. David Kim has trained, consulted, and counseled hundreds of leaders and organizations in developing a robust, meaningful integration of faith and work. David’s past experiences as VP of Faith and Work, Executive Director of the Center for Faith & Work, Director of the Gotham Fellowship, and editor of the NIV Faith and Work Bible have given him a breadth of exposure to the challenges of integrating faith and work. His expertise as a key thought-leader in the faith and work space has been well-established having addressed prominent institutions and churches around the world. David’s passion is to help people and organizations see the unseen realities that give rise to the world we create.
Goldenwood
Goldenwood cultivates spiritually attentive communities to envision work that is enlivened by hope and expresses the fullness of our humanity. A nonprofit organization, Goldenwood fosters life-giving spiritual rhythms through individual and communal programs, as well as unconventional organizational consulting. Their vision is to see work revived by love.
