Resident Leadership Program

Make a difference today! Be a leader in your community.

“I know a lot of things, but when it comes to certain things like leadership, I know that in order for me to reach a broad amount of people, I need a team.”

Eshe Ward participated in the 2022 Resident Leadership Program. She’s lived in Fair Haven for 25 years. Eshe has already acted to bring positive changes. She has started her own non-profit group – P.O.W.E.R. “People of Wealth Excellence Royalty,” and aims to continue helping the homeless and youth in New Haven.

ENROLL IN THE NEXT RLP PROGRAM

A past graduate of the Resident Leadership Program, Doreen Abubakar has a history with NHS and our staff dating back to the early 1990s. NHS has also helped Doreen with her development of the Learning Corridor/Shelton Triangle in Newhallville while she started her nonprofit, CPEN. Since her graduation from the Leadership program, Doreen has become a regular facilitator.

SEE PAST RLP PROGRAMS

The primary goals of this program are to transfer concrete leadership skills to New Haven residents, create a space for participants to share their experiences with one another and increase their sense of being agents of change. One key to achieving these goals starts with the fundamental belief that participants and the communities they represent are assets. Oftentimes leadership programs are built to fill in the “missing gaps” in emerging leaders rather than to hone the strengths they already possess or allow time to build confidence and skills. This program aims to change that paradigm.

Our 2022 Resident Leadership Program is just wrapping up, but please take a look at what we offered this year and let us know if you are interested in our 2023 RLP. Please click on the blue box below to express your interest!

Resident Leadership Program

Identify your community’s strengths.

Advocate for positive powerful change in your neighborhood.

Our 2022 Program included the following sessions:

Welcome Session

Introductory class led by Leslie Radcliffe includes icebreakers, asset-mapping, and breakout rooms.

Leadership in Real Life

Led by Doreen Abubakar. After this training, participants will: recognize leadership skills in themselves and others, have ideas for how to support growing leaders in your community, and understand why it’s important to apply your leadership skills to situations at work, home, school, etc.

Power in the Neighborhood: Using Community Organizing to Create Change

Led by Lorena Venegas. After this training, participants will: understand the four core elements of community organizing: Leadership Development/Political Education, Base Building/Member Recruitment & Retention, Organizational Development & Campaign Development, know the five steps to building an effective campaign, know concrete examples of community organizers who made a difference in their community and in the world.

Leading Great Meetings

Led by Leslie Radcliffe. After this training, participants will: know ten facilitation skills that help meetings go well, be able to make adjustments in challenging meeting situations, know ten strategies for helping to get meetings back on track, have experience using a meeting planning tool.

Keeping Cool in Conflict

Led by Jamie-Lee A. Bradshaw. After this training, participants will: have concrete strategies for de-escalating conflict in a group, understand the positive impact that conflict can have on a group, understand the stages of conflict and how to intervene in them.

Join Us! Staying Strong Through Recruitment & Retention

Led by Jamie Myers-McPhail. After this training, participants will: have developed an effective “pitch” to engage new members, understand the importance of investing in your membership, have simple strategies for both recruiting and engaging members to address a community problem.

Saturday Workshops

Powering Up: Mapping Power for Community Change

After this training, participants will: understand what power is and how it works, know 8 steps to create a power map, be able to create a power map that can be used.

We Got Skills: Mapping Community Assets

After this training, participants will: recognize the many types of assets – people, places and things – located in your neighborhoods, be able to make a simple asset map and use it to move your work forward, understand the difference between a needs assessment and an asset map, and how you can use them together.

Getting Down to Business: Planning Campaigns that Work

After this training, participants will: understand that many community problems can be tackled with a collective plan of action, know what a campaign is and have some examples of campaigns being used to improve the lives of communities, have concrete strategies and tools for planning an effective campaign.

Getting from A to Z: Using Planning to Create Action

After this training, participants will: know 5 steps for creating a strong work or action plan, be able to use a work or action plan to organize the work of a group, understand the importance of having a shared work plan for community organizing.

Our Resident Leadership Program is based on over a decade of NeighborWorks® America’s experience in training emerging leaders. NHS of New Haven will provide all training materials. You must attend at least four workshops to earn a NeighborWorks certificate.

One-time payment of $20 required for registration. Scholarships available upon request.

Application Deadline: the deadline for 2022 has passed. Check back in January for information about RLP 2023!

Click Here to Register