Launch of The Leadership Center for Democracy and Social Justice + new VOICE video
In this issue, we feature two great organizations.
First, we’re thrilled to announce the launch of The Leadership Center for Democracy and Social Justice, a new national center to train, support, and develop early- and mid-career leaders in social change! The Center focuses on supporting people of color, women, people from working-class and low-income backgrounds, and LGBTQ folks. The Center brings together world-class faculty including well-known practitioners to teach on topics like power and strategy, campaigns and organizing, the inner arts of leadership, political economy, and management. The Center is based at two schools at CUNY, the School for Labor and Urban Studies and the Colin Powell School for Civic and Global Leadership.
You can read more about the Leadership Center at its website, which is now live: https://socialjusticeleadership.org/
We’re now accepting applications for the inaugural “Movement Leader Fellowship” which will be open to social change practitioners with 10-15 years of experience. Details and a link to the application are below and here: https://socialjusticeleadership.org/movement-leaders-fellows-apply/
The program is designed for organizers and campaigners, communicators, policy or electoral specialists, managers, and for people doing vital operations, finance, or fundraising work for organizations.
We’d be very grateful if you could forward this announcement to your networks and encourage people to apply by the December 13th deadline or to join an informational call about the program on December 2nd.
Here’s the full announcement:
Join The Movement Leader Fellowship!
Launching January 2022
Deadline to apply: December 13
The Leadership Center for Democracy and Social Justice at the Colin Powell School and CUNY School of Labor and Urban Studies invites applications for the inaugural cohort for our Movement Leader Fellowship, a program designed to give established professionals in the social justice sector an opportunity to hone their leadership skills, immerse themselves in theory and practice, and expand their community in movement work. This year-long program provides an intensive cohort experience, granting people the chance to connect and build relationships across issues, take space for reflection, and prepare themselves for the next level of leadership. The program offers a unique combination of academic coursework to expose practitioners to relevant fields in political economy, policy, and organizing with practical skills such as management, communications, and strategy development to support participants’ growth.
The Movement Leader Fellowship is for leaders in labor, advocacy, and community organizing with approximately 10-15 years of experience in social justice work. We are especially seeking applicants from historically marginalized backgrounds such as Black Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC), women and nonbinary people, LGBTQ+ people, and people from low-income, working-class, and immigrant backgrounds.
The program includes three week-long in-person gatherings at the beginning, middle, and end of the year, focusing on cohort and community building, practical skills-building, discussions about career pathways, and navigating personal and inner dimensions of leadership. It also encompasses two 3-credit graduate-level classes, a required course on Power and Strategy in the Spring semester, and a choice of courses in the Fall semester taught by nationally renowned movement leaders and academics. Participants will be paired with seasoned mentors, peer coaches and receive other forms of support. We are in the process of developing a graduate-level certificate program so that participants who wish will eventually be able to convert their participation in the program into an academic credential.
We welcome applicants from across the country for this inaugural pilot program. Travel costs for in-person gatherings will be covered, and the academic courses will take place on Zoom. Tuition costs for the academic courses will be shared between the Leadership Center and the sponsoring organization, on a sliding scale dependent on budget.
The deadline to apply is December 13 but we welcome early applications as we will admit people on a rolling basis. We request a letter of support from your current employer so that they are prepared to support you through this immersive experience.
Questions? Want to Learn More?
Join us for an Info Session on Thursday, December 2 from 6-6:30 pm ET
Further questions can be directed to info@socialjusticeleadership.org
Our second shout-out . . .
is for VOICE, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement, an alliance of 52 mosques, synagogues, churches, and civic organizations in Virginia. This week Harry finished producing a 5-minute video for VOICE that we hope you’ll watch and share. In a state that has been notorious for evictions, VOICE won one of the strongest eviction moratoriums in the nation as well at $80 million in rental relief so people could stay in their homes durig a deadly pandemic. The video highlights many other impressive victories and VOICE’s new campaign to build Crisis Receiving Centers for people suffering from addiction and mental health emergencies.