TITLE:
Innovations in Leadership Development: Centering Communities of Color
AUTHORS:
Ann Curry-Stevens
KEYWORDS:
Leadership Training, Community Leadership Education, Evaluation, Systems Change, Culturally Specific, Racial Equity, Case Study
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Leadership,
Vol.7 No.4,
December
28,
2018
ABSTRACT: With innovative funding from a large local foundation, communities of color
in Portland, Oregon developed an array of leadership programs to serve
communities of color. This article shares the models they developed, including
overviews of curriculum, theories of change, and concrete evidence-based
gains achieved by the programs. Innovations include a leadership model that
is rooted in community leadership, and the emergence of community priorities
to guide the programs, alongside culturally-specific programs that are effective
in reaching and supporting the participation of emerging and existing
leaders of color. Community priorities included advocacy engagement that
resulted in achieving real gains during the yearlong program, and preparing
leaders to engage in racial equity work in public and institutional policy after
graduation. Highlighted are the distinct assets of culturally specific programs
that were perceived to be responsible for achieving significant gains. Conclusions
emphasize the importance of culturally specific leadership programs for
reaching and centering leaders of color and the ways that such investments
hold potential to lead equity efforts in the community and in organizations.
Avenues for strengthening programs and their evaluation conclude the article.