Learn how to become an effective leader in your community. Throughout the state of Missouri, neighborhood leaders will learn together through a virtual project-based curriculum, developing the skills and building the networks necessary to create healthy, vibrant and whole communities.
The Neighborhood Leadership Academy (NLA), created in 2002, connects resources at the University of Missouri St. Louis and MU Extension with residents and neighborhoods throughout Missouri who are interested in improving their communities.
NLA provides in-depth leadership training that emphasizes community building principles and strategies, project planning, organizational leadership and management practices, and personal leadership skills.
Participants are actively involved in their neighborhoods. They may be neighborhood association members, community leaders, resident volunteers, community-based organization staff, business owners, local government staff, municipal elected officials, or anyone who wants to make an impact in the community.
More than 300 neighborhood and organization leaders have participated in the NLA in the past four years, learning the skills and building the networks necessary to create whole communities. To read testimonies from past graduates go to: http://cwc.umsl.edu/nla/alumni/index.html
Through seminars, discussion, and personal community projects that apply tools and principles, participants will learn:
- Community building principles and strategies
- Personal leadership skills
- Project planning and implementation tools
- Organizational leadership and management practices
During the NLA, participants share and work on a community improvement projects for their neighborhood. Following is a sample of their projects:
- Forming a neighborhood association to encourage more community involvement
- Proposing and implementing a community garden
- Developing a church-based community assets assessment
- Planning and obtaining funding for a neighborhood park
- Raising funds to endow a school-based youth cultural enrichment program
NLA has been extremely successful in the St Louis region, so the program is now available to other Missourians.
The course meets every Monday evening online from Aug 24 through Nov 2. Over 40 counties are participating, creating a statewide network. Local components will also be added for participants in each region/county.
To enroll, go to: https://extension2.missouri.edu/regional-leadership-academy
Enrollment is available by region. The southwest 4-corners region of Missouri includes the following counties: Jasper, Barton, Newton, Dade, McDonald, and Barry. If you are in the 4-corners region, when you enroll select “Southwest MO 4 Corners.”
Participants will receive a University of Missouri Chancellor’s Certificate as well as a MU Extension Certificate upon completion (provided they meet attendance requirements).
For more information contact Maria Rodriguez-Alcala: [email protected] (417) 358-2158
