Deadline: 16-May-21
Are you interested in becoming a Community Leadership Institute fellow? If yes, then this 2021-2022 Community Leadership Institute (CLI) fellowship program is for you!
Puget Sound Sage and Sage Leaders’ Community Leadership Institute (CLI) is a fellowship program that resources, educates, and places emerging leaders from communities of color and low-income communities to serve on strategic municipal boards and commissions.
Launched in 2015, the six-month fellowship trains emerging leaders in issues such as housing, land use, transit, climate, and economic development. Graduates learn the nuts and bolts of local government processes, such as municipal budgeting, parliamentary procedures, and lawmaking, as well as advocacy, storytelling, and communication skills.
After graduation, the fellows apply for and are placed on strategic boards, commissions, and task forces at the city and county level. Through participation, CLI alums have the opportunity to move forward a racial equity agenda at a government level by asking critical questions about who benefits and who is burdened by policy decisions and offering solutions that integrate community participation and perspectives as part of the decision-making process.
Preferred Proficiencies
- Lived experience related to the social justice issues that affect communities of color and low income communities
- Proficient written and oral skills
- Deep dedication and commitment to social justice work
- Connection to a community/base (i.e.: faith group, ethnic based group, union membership, neighborhood group, issue based book club, etc.)
- Willingness and ability to make the time commitment to serve on a board or commission post CLI graduation (i.e. some boards and commissions meet monthly, some meet during the day, and most are not financially resourced)
- Rooted in racial justice, intersectionality, community perspective, relatability to the work
- Have aspirations to work for the city, run a union, run a community organization, etc.
- Can commit fully to the CLI program
Eligibility Criteria
- Community members who are representative of, and accountable to, communities of color, especially the African American population, the immigrant and refugee population, the LGBTQIA population, and the low-income population of King and Pierce Counties.
- Be interested in civic engagement, careers in community leadership or public office, and/or have knowledge or experience related to race and social justice.
- Be at least 18 years of age
- Attend all monthly trainings and events & commit to serving on a board or commission after completion of the program. The Community Leadership Institute will launch in October 2021 and end in April 2022. Workshops take place every first Saturday of the month (8:30 am – 5:00 pm) and every third Wednesday (6:00 pm – 8:00 pm). All fellows are given a stipend for participation in the program.
- Meet the residency requirements of the board or commission you are interested in sitting on (i.e. if you are aiming for a Renton seat, you must live in Renton. If you are looking for a King County seat, you must live anywhere in King County).
For more information, visit https://www.sageleaders.org/apply-for-cli
