Jessyca Leach
Chief Executive Officer
Prisma Community Care
Sector: Healthcare
We live in an uncertain climate, both literally and figuratively. Today’s leadership must be compassionate, proactive and focused on building resilience within our teams so people can continue to do meaningful work while maintaining their mental and physical health.
For me, that also means being willing to adapt, to be transparent when I don’t have all the answers and to have the courage to make difficult decisions when they are needed. I’ve learned that leadership isn’t about always knowing the right path forward. It’s about listening to the people around me, being willing to change course when circumstances call for it and staying grounded in the values that guide us. Sometimes that means acknowledging uncertainty or admitting when something isn’t working. Those moments can be uncomfortable, but I believe they are also where trust is built.
Most importantly, leadership today requires humanity. People need to know they are valued not simply for what they produce but for who they are. When leaders create environments where people feel respected, supported and connected to a shared purpose, we build stronger teams and organizations. In uncertain times, our responsibility isn’t to eliminate every challenge, as that’s impossible, but to create the trust, stability and sense of belonging that allow people to navigate those challenges together and continue moving forward.
Jessyca Leach is CEO of Prisma Community Care, bringing more than 20 years of executive leadership in strategy, finance and operations. A mission-driven leader, she advances health equity, organizational sustainability and community impact across Arizona. Leach is known for building collaborative teams, driving sustainable growth and aligning organizations around shared purpose, strong values and long-term strategic goals.
Amy Patel
Tax Managing Partner
Deloitte Arizona Office
Sector: Financial
Right now, perhaps more than ever, I think leadership is less about having the right answers and more about asking the right questions. We are living through a profound technological shift — AI is not coming, it’s here — and I believe leaders have a responsibility to lean into that, visibly and authentically. Not as the person who has mastered every tool but as the person who is willing to learn out loud. That means modeling experimentation. It means celebrating the attempt, not just the outcome. When your team sees you try something new, stumble, adjust and try again, you give them permission to do the same.
And that’s when remarkable things can happen — new voices emerge, new ideas surface and the next generation of leaders begins to reveal themselves. In this moment, one of the most important things a leader can do isn’t just help their teams navigate change — it’s creating the conditions where others, who may have been hesitant or unsure about the change, emerge as the true leaders, innovators and changemakers.
Amy Patel is the Deloitte Arizona Office Tax Managing Partner. Her practice is focused on consulting multinational businesses, both public and private, on complex tax matters. She serves clients in a variety of industries, including renewable energy, energy climate tech, semiconductors and technology. Patel is an active board member of the Boys & Girls Club of the Valley, Phoenix Public Library Foundation and University of Arizona School of Accountancy.
Denise Resnik
Founder, President & CEO
First Place AZ & First Place Global
Sector: Community Services
These times require perspective, maturity, trust, authenticity, listening and the discipline to build with others. We need leaders who can read the whole constellation — not just one star, one issue, one funding stream. Existing gaps are real: in housing, healthcare, employment, belonging and communities at large. But so is the talent, courage and commitment that surrounds us.
Leadership is not about shining alone. It’s about leveraging relationships and trust to connect what has too long remained divided. This requires maturity — not merely what comes with age — and the wisdom to regard the whole picture with the capacity to face dissent without becoming reactive or paralyzed.
Listening is a key form of action. Authentic leadership aligns what we say, what we value, what we fund with how we decide, design, develop — and show up.
None of us can do it all. But each of us can build one bridge, through authentic collaborations, toward one next step. Twenty years from now, we will not be judged by what we understood and experienced — but by what we built.
Denise D. Resnik is the mother of an adult with autism; founder, president and CEO of First Place AZ and First Place Global; co-founder of SARRC; and founder and CEO of DRA Collective, a marketing and communications firm. An international leader, Resnik has raised awareness and a lifetime of resources in support of individuals like son Matt, inspiring PBS NewsHour to recognize Phoenix as “the most autism-friendly city in the world.”
