Ron Simmons Leadership Institute
The employment prospects, leadership development, and career growth opportunities faced by people of color working in community mobilization are limited. We recognize the need to increase the capacity of emerging leaders and seeks to equip them with skills, mentors, and introspection to help them advance in their varied personal career trajectories. As part of our mission, we are devoted to strengthening the leadership capacities of emerging leaders by providing them with skills, mentors, and self-reflection to help advance in their varied career paths. As such we established the Ron Simmons Leadership Institute. The institute is named in honor of the late Dr. Ron Simmons who was a long-time community leader.
Questions? Email RSLI@centerforblackequity.org
+Purpose
The Ron Simmons Leadership Institute (RSLI) provides staff of color in its community with a space for critical discussions about job advancement, institutional barriers, managing emotions, burnout, racial and gender microaggressions, triggers, staff and project management, communication, among others. RSLI concentrates on increasing partnerships among people of color in organizations that target the Black Queer community.
+Outcomes
The RSLI offers participants a chance to strengthen hard and soft skills that will assist them in their career development. After completing several virtual training sessions, participants are paired with peers in their cohorts and with professional coaches so that they can receive support, accountability, and practice between training classes. As participants build meaningful professional relationships within their cohorts, a national presence of professionals of color actively working to create equitable spaces for Black Queer people is formed. The cohorts also assist the CBE in its mission by sharing stories of their fears, challenges, successes, and growth as people of color who work in public spaces, often under extremely difficult and stressful political or organizational conditions. During this course, participants examine how marginalized groups are impacted by inequalities even as they struggle to remedy disparities. Building a national network of leaders of color working towards equity for Black queer people based on professional relationships.
+Program Format
Participants will be involved in multiple virtual training sessions. Participants will have the opportunity to complete a get to know you-assessment before participating in the first class. The assessment will identify gaps, strengths, areas for growth, and readiness to take risks. A comprehensive profile of how participants see themselves and how others see them is also included in the get to know your assessment. The first training will introduce participants to key frameworks rooted in a social justice perspective that help them uncover more of who they are as leaders, advocates, and public health experts. Participants will be guided by facilitators through an interactive and personal journey which will require them to identify and address triggers, take risks, provide feedback, and be opened to experiencing new things during their journey. By knowing we are standing on the shoulders of giants, the second and final convening will help participants channel their resilience and motivations to help guide their passion for social change. Explicitly addressing the evolution of leaders will push participants to further develop their core values and skills. Each participant will be asked to articulate a vision for leadership, share it with his/her cohort, and be recognized for it. In addition, the participants will develop planning tools and sustainability goals to continue the momentum when they return to their respective organizations. In between virtual meetings, RSLI participants will conduct peer accountability checks and attend individual coaching sessions to gain greater capacity to work effectively in their communities and expand the skills learned during training. Questions? Email RSLI@centerforblackequity.org.
What others are saying
“RSLI provided added to my toolkit and helped me see how I could better lead my organization.”
“It is important that as black leaders we show up to be our best self with leadership skills and knowledge to empower us and others of our community.”