SAHUARITA, Ariz. (KGUN) — A new program from the Green Valley/Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce is working to shape the next generation of community leaders by offering a behind-the-scenes look at how the region operates.
The initiative, called Elevate SGV, launched last month with its first class of 16 participants from a variety of professional and personal backgrounds.
Over the course of eight sessions, the group is exploring key sectors that keep the region moving, from education, business, and government to mining, through hands-on tours and conversations with local leaders.
For Fatima Issa, who moved to Sahuarita two years ago for a career in aerospace, the program has been an eye-opening way to get connected.
“Especially for me, not having kids, I don’t really know what’s going on,” Issa said. “So this is a way for me to get exposed to what’s happening in the community.”
That sense of connection is exactly what chamber president Randy Graf says the program is designed to provide.
“You get busy with your day-to-day job and you don’t know what else is going on in the community,” Graf said. “Hopefully it gives these folks a good idea of what’s happening and encourages them to be part of the community, whether that’s serving on the school board or the Town Council.”
During the program’s third session last week, participants heard from superintendents of the Sahuarita and Continental school districts and toured Sahuarita High School’s new programs and technology.
This included shop and automotive classes at Sahuarita High School, along with a tiny home, built by Sahuarita students. Dr. Valenzuela also presented tech enhancements, such as Chromebooks for every student, new energy-efficient lighting for the football fields and anti-ballistic glass installed in classrooms.
“Our goal was to share the great things our schools are doing,” said Continental School District Superintendent Roxana Rico. “If we don’t tell our story, someone will make up their own version.”
Sahuarita Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Manuel Valenzuela said that as more funding is lost to budget cuts and competition from private schools, the district needs to better market the needs it fills.
He says the concept of public education helps define a community.
“Public education is truly a public investment,” Valenzuela said. “It’s an investment in our American ideals of giving every student an opportunity to fulfill their potential.”
Both Valenzuela and Rico spoke of the challenges facing the public school system, from demographic changes to private school vouchers, that have resulted in flat or declining enrollment in public schools.
Dr. Valenzuela added that bringing people together from different walks of life helps spark collaboration and potential solutions to the challenges facing the area’s public school system.
“We can find the things where our ideas intersect and leverage those to do more collectively than any of us could do by ourselves,” Valenzuela said.
The first Elevate SGV cohort will graduate in December at a ceremony held at Sahuarita Town Hall. Organizers confirm the program will return in 2026 with a new class of participants.
More information about Elevate SGV is available at the Green Valley/Sahuarita Chamber of Commerce website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
