LET’S GROW TOGETHER

As the community planning and resource management fields of practice have grown in the last 30 years, so has the need and opportunity for mentorship and leadership training. Organizations in all segments of the green industry have created valuable leadership training platforms, including the Society of Municipal Arborists (SMA) Municipal Forestry Institute (MFI); the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) Leadership Workshop, and many others. When we combine these great programs with those of our peers in professional organizations with whom we work closely, such as the National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA), Indiana University Executive Leadership Development Program or the American Public Works Association’s Emerging Leaders Academy, we recognize a strong existing foundation in organizational leadership across green industry sectors.

Today, as our leaders face new challenges including the impacts of climate change and need for action in addition to societal and political pressures, a diverse group of conservation leaders came together to advance this next-level leadership opportunity.

Through the platform of the Green Communities Leadership Institute, the Core Leadership Team has developed an opportunity for experienced leaders across green industry sectors to help them step up their game and rise to the challenges facing their society, industry, organizations and as individuals. The Institute is building a community of leaders who grow together, wrestle with tough challenges, and build creative solutions that will help us all build a more resilient future for our communities, our industry and our field of practice.

As the Institute core leadership team explored potential names for this new leadership program, it became clear that we wanted to differentiate it from existing leadership courses – focusing not on the resource to be managed, but rather on the outcome to be achieved. The Institute helps leaders increase their impact and influence in building more sustainable, greener communities.

GCLI is designed to complement existing industry leadership programs and not compete with them in any way. Many leadership institutes are introductory programs that provide valuable foundations in leadership for industry sectors and individual organizations. GCLI, however, provides an opportunity for leaders to explore and develop next-level leadership skills through a collaborative environment and shared experience. Together, Institute participants (cohorts) will have an even greater impact through a broad focus on creating more sustainable communities through a shared leadership experience with the Institute Core Leadership Team, instructors and cohort of participants. The Institute includes six weeks of educational material including interactive online learning modules, tailored content webinars, a face-to-face synthesis session and long-term mentoring.

The Institute curriculum is designed around a three-dimensional leadership model comprised of: Individual, Organizational, and Society/Community domains. The Institute focuses around three tangible outcomes: (1) Expanding Personal Leadership Influence and Competencies; (2) Increasing Organizational Leadership Impact; (3) Growing Community Leadership Capacity.

Tuition for the full three-month cohort experience is $1,800. Accepted cohort members are responsible for their own transportation to the in-person session. (In-person locations change from year to year, and have so far taken place in Corvallis, OR and Knoxville, TN.)

GCLI uses a cohort model, where accepted participants from across the country and various natural resources fields become part of a close-knit team. Participants engage with diverse guest speakers and the cross-sector members of the core leadership team behind the Institute, and learn from fellow cohort members along the way.

The Institute features a mix of teaching and learning opportunities. The current cohort is taking place from January-March 2024. This will include: four virtual weeks from January-February with a time commitment of about 5 hours per week; one virtual week in February with a time commitment of about 8 hours total (spread across the week in a series of daily 60-90 minute webinars); and one in-person session the week of March 3-6 in Knoxville TN.