At New Leaders Council, we know that leadership often runs deep through families, and this Women’s History Month, we’re celebrating…
March 5, 2024
New Leaders Council (“NLC”) is on the cutting edge of shaping democracy and bringing a new kind of leadership to communities all across the country. We train the people who change the world!
2023 marked another year of intentional, strategic growth for NLC. In my fourth year as President and CEO, I am excited to report that we continue to invest in building the infrastructure and professional scaffolding that is allowing us to increase support for our Fellows and alumni networks for increased impact nationwide. The work we do in NLC is needed now more than ever because our community’s challenges are wider and deeper than the current civic leadership pipelines can reach, especially as our rights and freedoms continue to be stripped away. Now is the time for radical collaboration!
In 2023, NLC focused its efforts on continuing to cultivate ecosystems that collaborate for change, and serve as the connective network and infrastructure that spans different types of civic missions and leaders. I am proud to say that 2023 also laid the foundation for a new era in NLC, with the welcoming of a new National Board Chair, Candace Stanciel (NLC ATL ‘13), first alumni, first woman, and first Black woman to hold the position.
New Leaders Council alumni are in every room, across every corner of our country. In state capitals, leading their own organizations, opening doors wide for their communities, and building spaces that haven’t been designed yet. With over 18 years of training and connecting leaders in cross-sector industries, New Leaders Council has built a movement of proximate leaders that center equity and create positive impact in local communities across the country. For this year’s Annual Report, we reflect back on how NLC continues to advocate for change where change is needed.
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February 2, 2024
New Leaders Council is in a cohort – and we’re not talking about NLC Institute! This week, we kicked off our first session in New Profit’s Civic Lab Cohort 4. Civic Lab is a leading nonpartisan initiative that invests in and grows innovative non-profit organizations focused on strengthening democracy and sparking an American Evolution in the U.S. and its territories.
New Leaders Council was one of eight organizations selected to receive an unrestricted grant of $100,000. Yes, that’s six figures! In addition to the grant, we will receive one-on-one leadership and strategic coaching to help us build organizational capacity and take aim at changing the broader systems in which we operate.
New Profit believes in the power of proximity, because leaders who have lived experience with the systems that need to change – in education, health, economic mobility, and others – have the deepest knowledge about the assets in their communities and are creating innovative, experience-driven solutions.
“Receiving this grant and participating in Civic Lab Cohort is like holding a mirror to our mission at NLC. Like us, New Profit believes in the power of proximity and through our training and alumni, New Leaders Council can train more proximate place-based leaders to dismantle systems of oppression and change the world. We also are fortunate to learn alongside other powerful nonprofits whose work compliments ours – FirstRepair, GenUnity, Latinas Represent, Partners In Democracy, The Pivot Fund, Rhizome, and the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives,” says Karen Pandy-Cherry, New Leaders Council Vice President of Programs.
Throughout this year, we will engage in a peer learning community that allows us to meet with these nonprofit leaders through multi-day in-person convenings (like we are this week in Miami) and virtual sessions as well. We’re excited for the opportunity to build cross-sector relationships with each of these leaders, while engaging in meaningful dialogue and solution building for tackling key leadership and organizational challenges. Just like the community we foster during our signature program, NLC Institute.
We’re excited for the opportunity to keep building a new kind of leader and will be sharing our updates along the way in this journey.
Learn more about New Profit Civic Lab Cohort 4 at https://www.newprofit.org/go/introducing-new-profits-fourth-civic-lab-cohort-of-democracy-entrepreneurs/.
About New Profit
New Profit is a venture philanthropy organization that backs social entrepreneurs who are advancing equity and opportunity in America. New Profit exists to build a bridge between these leaders and a community of philanthropists who are committed to catalyzing their impact. New Profit provides unrestricted grants and strategic support to a portfolio of organizations led by visionary social entrepreneurs to increase their impact, scale, and sustainability. It also partners with social entrepreneurs and other cross-sector leaders to shift how government and philanthropy pursue social change to ensure that all people can thrive. Since its founding in 1998, New Profit has invested over $350M in 250+ organizations and, through the America Forward Coalition’s collective advocacy efforts, has unlocked over $1.9B in government funding for social innovation.
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A Message from our Incoming Board Chair: Candace M. Stanciel
We’re getting bolder and brighter.
July 27, 2023
New Leaders Council Fellows and alumni are amazing and brilliant leaders, and I’m grateful to have met so many of them during my NLC journey. As a 2013 NLC Atlanta Fellow who became Finance Co-Chair of my chapter, a Convention speaker, and most recently Vice Chair of NLC’s National Board of Directors, I’ve been able to learn, serve and develop in so many ways.
I will take all of those lessons with me as I advance the mission of our organization as NLC’s first alum, first woman, and first Black woman to serve as Board Chair starting in August.
I don’t take this role lightly. Never before have we had such a ripe opportunity to make an impact through NLC. This movement matters and I look forward to growing our network with a bold, bright vision.
My NLC Story
With the lessons and leadership paths laid by NLC, I’ve risen to become Atlanta’s Chief Equity Officer. As the national NLC Board Chair, I am honored and excited to lead alongside our phenomenal alumni and future fellows to create political and social change rooted in equity.
Since my introduction to NLC ten years ago, I’ve been thinking about how I might strengthen this impactful organization. My class had amazing leaders in it like U.S. Representative Nikema Williams, and since then we’ve created a whole leadership ecosystem that truly moves the state of Georgia forward. With leaders like Nsé Ufot who partnered with Stacey Abrams to lead the New Georgia Project and register countless voters, to lobbyist firm-leaders like Howard Franklin who have worked with every Mayor since Maynard Jackson to Shirley Franklin, to current Mayor André Dickens. NLC is also a connection I share with one of my best friends, Sarah Groh, a Boston chapter alum, who serves as Chief of Staff to U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
Now let me be clear: I was a bit of a troublemaker when I began volunteering with NLC Atlanta after I graduated from Institute in 2013. As the Finance Co-Chair, I found myself somewhat frustrated with the gaps between our resources and impact. Determined to improve this organization, I joined the National Diversity Committee as Chair, constantly pushing NLC to ensure more diverse Institute cohorts, ensure inclusive spaces for the many identities and differences in perspectives of our community and, most importantly, ensuring we worked to center and advance equitable and liberatory outcomes for communities. After a decade of service to the NLC community, I am confident that the next phase for NLC is as bright and bold as our Fellows and alumni.
A Bright Future for NLC
At Convention, where I hope to see each of you this August in Little Rock, I’ll take the helm as National Board Chair in support of another amazing NLC alum, our President and CEO, Clare Bresnahan English.
I’m not sure I have the words to express what it has meant to walk alongside Clare as she brings her vision for NLC to life. For two alumni to serve in the top leadership roles for NLC, demonstrates how far NLC has come – and we’re just getting started.
Among our Board and staff, NLC’s collaborative, connective leading style has made progress possible. We practice what we preach, from local chapter leadership team to the National Board of Directors.
The impact that our Fellows and alumni make is held up by strong scaffolding: our NLC Headquarters team. As the leaders of this movement, we are listening and adapting to make the network stronger. We are fulfilling our potential by building capacity, taking on bold improvements like developing a database of solutions that NLC Fellows and alumni are leading so we can replicate and scale good work. These are the big ideas in reach when you build the capacity of an organization with more than 50 local chapters across the U.S.
A Legacy of Boldness
When I think about the state of our country and our future, I am reassured that although the daily decay of our democracy is heavy, progress will prevail thanks to NLC. For every problem our country faces, there is an NLC alum strategizing solutions. When you think of the issues that keep you up at night – including abortion restrictions, voting discrimination, the systematic silencing of important discussions of race, and harmful policies surrounding LGBTQIA+ youth – just know that locally and across the country, NLC alumni are on the frontlines of change.
Our model relies on deep-rooted and durable systems: strategies molded, sustained, and executed by our local leaders who serve their communities through their NLC chapters. By building leaders locally and giving them a chance to experiment with leadership through chapters and other volunteer opportunities, NLC’s impact grows and grows.
NLC alumni are in the White House. They are attorneys challenging Nazi hate groups in our court systems. They are disability and mental health advocates. They are pushing for better and more fair elections. They are nonprofit founders and municipal government leaders. NLC alumni are everywhere, advancing progress in every industry and issue-area across the country.
As a community leadership movement, we know it’s not about lifting up the singular, charismatic individual, but the work of each of us that ensures a world with opportunity for all. And as your incoming Board Chair, I hope to create a legacy of bold impact. With the exact same collaboration and connection at our core, I look forward to the opportunity to grow this organization into its potential. Join us at Convention as we celebrate the next phase in NLC’s bright future!
Candace M. Stanciel
NLC Atlanta 2013
NLC National Board of Directors Chair
NLC Stands with the Trans Community
March 28, 2023
Harmful bills are being passed and introduced across the nation that are directly targeting LGBTQIA+ youth.
With chapters in many of these states, we want to make it clear – that NLC stands with the trans community.
Our mission and model has always been to train local leaders where they are needed the most. We know who leads matters. It’s evident that the community and support that NLC provides changemakers is needed more than ever.
NLC’s commitment to equity and inclusion includes supporting and uplifting our trans NLC family, supporters, and communities. We are here for you and our next generation of leaders. We will continue to build up the leaders who can stop the harm that these bills and others are causing across the country.
NLC’s commitment to equity and inclusion includes supporting and uplifting our trans NLC family, supporters, and communities. We are here for you and our next generation of leaders. We will continue to build up the leaders who can stop the harm that these bills and others are causing across the country.
We are the people who change the world, and we will not rest until we do.
Our Pride Caucus has been at the forefront of advocacy and highlighted their leadership from the front with the passing of harmful bills in Texas and Florida in 2022:
“We stand with our LGBTQ+ siblings and our allies across the nation, but this week in particular we are extending our voices to Texas and Florida where our community is being constantly attacked by disgusting claims that gender-affirming treatments for children should be considered “child abuse” and by the passing of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida.
This is a dangerous set back and will affect the mental well being of LGBTQ youth nationwide, not just Texas.
The @newleaderscouncil Pride Caucus rejects Texas AG Paxton’s claims and Florida’s offensive bill that further greenlights bullying, hatred, discrimination, and stigmatization. Moreover, it will create more gaps, barriers and disparities.
We urge all elected officials involved to reconsider this decision for the sake of our children and their futures.
#transyouth #transyouthlivesmatter #lgbt”
Chapters such as NLC Kentucky have collectively used their voices to make a statement against these harmful bills:
“The Board of New Leaders Council – Kentucky stands in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ youth of the commonwealth and in opposition to all of the anti-LGBTQIA+ and anti-trans legislation brought forth this session, specifically our state legislature’s anti-trans omnibus bill, Senate Bill 150.
Senate Bill 150 is a shameful act of schadenfreude. In taking away the rights of trans youth to seek and explore gender affirming care, allowing teachers to misgender their students, and preventing youth of a certain age from learning about gender identity, our public servants have served only themselves at the great expense of young people, especially trans children, across this commonwealth.
Extreme politicians do not get to determine who belongs and [who] doesn’t. Trans Kentuckians belong everywhere and New Leaders Council – Kentucky will continue to fight for a Kentucky that is inclusive of everyone.
New Leaders Council – Kentucky will continue to acknowledge the inherent human rights of all Kentuckians, regardless of their gender expression, and will create opportunities for our fellows and alumni to explore gender identity and advocate for their right to live. To our trans Kentuckians and to anyone who knows and loves someone directly affected by this hateful legislation, we see you and we love you.
If you are in need of speaking with a mental health professional, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is 988.”
As a chapter, alum, supporter, or friend, we encourage you to continue lending your voices to 1) speak out against anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation around the country publicly & loudly, and asking your local elected officials to do the same and 2) advocating for influencers and corporations that claim to support the LGBTQIA+ community to speak against it publicly & consistently.
For more resources to track your state legislatures, please visit https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights.
Two NLC Alumni Join NLC Board of Directors
NLC EXPANDS EQUITY WITH CROSS-SECTOR LEADERS FROM NOMINATIONS BY ALUMNI
February 28, 2023
We asked and you answered. New Leaders Council asked for national Board member suggestions from NLC alumni to increase transparency around the qualification, selection process, and pipeline – and our alumni delivered.
New Leaders Council is excited to welcome NLC alumni Rhianon DeLeeuw and Ty Lim to the NLC Board of Directors!
Rhianon DeLeeuw (she/her) is the Co-Founder and current Co-Director of New Leaders Council Arkansas. She is passionate about NLC Arkansas, believes Arkansas is worth fighting for and that the leadership of Arkansas – across all sectors – needs to better represent and reflect Arkansans and their needs.
Ty Lim (he/him) is a 2018 NLC San Francisco Fellow, former NLC San Francisco Co-Director, and NLC National Advancement Chair. He is passionate about creating brave intersectional spaces for folks to thrive in, community empowerment, and ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities.
Together, Rhianon and Ty will expand the cross-sector leadership and alumni perspective on the Board of Directors as they uphold NLC’s values within their companies and communities. As we welcome them into these new roles, we also extend our gratitude to Mitch Draizin, who retired from the Board after over six years of service.
Rhianon DeLeeuw has seen the power of NLC drive equitable change in Arkansas, and as a member of the New Leaders Council Board of Directors, recognizes the tremendous opportunity to replicate this success in other states.
Outside of her work with NLC Arkansas, Rhianon is Senior Vice President, Walmart US Finance, Planning & Analytics (FP&A) and Strategy. She has been with Walmart for nearly 12 years supporting various areas of the business, including Health & Wellness, Operations, Revenue and Customer. Prior to Walmart, Rhianon lived in Washington, D.C., and worked in the nonprofit and government sectors. She served as a Program Officer at the Meridian International Center, a nonprofit diplomacy center that connects leaders through culture and collaboration to drive solutions for global challenges. She also worked as a paralegal at the U.S. Department of Justice and was an English teacher in Japan.
Rhianon earned a Masters in Business Administration from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from Williams College.
She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with her husband, Josh, who is also an NLC Arkansas Co-Founder and current Mentorship Co-Chair, and their three dogs and cat.
Three words to describe her leadership style: emboldening, inclusive, accountability
Ty Lim is a 2018 NLC San Francisco Fellow, former NLC San Francisco Co-Director, and the NLC National Advancement Chair.
Within the community, Ty co-founded Prism Foundation (formerly GAPA Foundation), a grassroots philanthropic organization that provides funds and leverages resources to empower the Asian & Pacific Islander LGBTQ community. Ty also serves as a Program Leader with the Roots: Him Mark Lai Family History Project, where he helps Chinese Americans conduct genealogical research to discover their ancestral roots in China and subsequently leads them back to visit their ancestral villages in China in the summer.
Ty is currently the Legal Chief of Staff at Lyft and leads the Office of the General Counsel. Prior to Lyft, he led Privacy and Trust & Safety strategy and business operations at Adobe and has spent over 10 years managing and scaling global teams at Google and Meta working on trust & safety, legal compliance, and intellectual property issues. In the workplace, he has been active in both the queer and Asian & Pacific Islander employee resource groups serving as the Executive Chair for the Asian Employee Networks, specifically focusing on diversity and inclusion, cultural education, professional development, and mentorship.
Ty graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with degrees in Political Science, Asian American Studies, and Ethnic Studies.
Three words to describe his leadership style: compassionate, intersectional, servant
Current NLC board members include Board Chair Mark Walsh, Vice Chair Candace Stanciel, Secretary Yumi Lawlor, Treasurer Michael Toland, Chair Emeritus Chris Kelly, Executive Committee Member Sherry Merfish, as well as Robert Abernethy, Brittany Aydelotte, Justin Braz, Raymonde Charles, Wendy Davis, Donnie Fowler, Adela Ghadimi, Joon I. Kim, David Lee, Derrick Lewis, Yuh Wen Ling, Tim Mason, Anne Moses, Prashanthi Raman, Nick Rathod, MaryEllen Veliz, and Kellan White.
Learn more about NLC’s national leadership here.
NLC Alumni Win 2022 Elections
70 leaders win local, state, and federal seats
November 10, 2022
//Clare Bresnahan English
Across the country, NLC alumni are winning big for their communities. That’s where progress begins: locally. That is where change is sparked, where that fire is fed, and set aflame.
And while the privilege-to-power-pipeline is not easy to break, NLC alumni run for office to fight for their seat at the table. They are a new kind of leader: one who centers equity, builds trust, and reflects the communities they serve. They are on the frontlines of change. They are local leaders who know what our communities need and how to lead in this moment.
While our country faces a rise of extremist leaders who roll back our rights and restrict our bodies, NLC is the answer. We are a leadership pipeline that works. We connect and uplift the next generation ready to lead. We are the bench for the next candidates, organizers, and advocate. Because of NLC’s training and network, our alumni have the grit and the skills to run and win.
This year, we are proud to celebrate nearly 70 wins and counting.
Did we miss an NLC alumni who won their race? Whether it’s for local school board, state office, or a federal seat, we want to honor every alumni who ran in 2022. Send us a message: [email protected].
We’d like to thank each and every NLC alumni who ran. Win or lose, you had the courage to disrupt the status quo and fight for your values. Your grit and love for your community makes NLC incredibly proud. And your willingness to run and serve gives us and other alumni the motivation to continue pouring into this movement for progress. You set an example of what a new kind of leader can be and lay the groundwork for a brighter future for all of us. Thank you.
So what’s next?
Movements for social and political change don’t end on Election Day.
We know that our country can’t rely on one leader, one knight in shining armor, one hero, to save us. Rather, NLC develops a network of local leaders who, together, can and will make long term change in our country. Our training goes beyond one weekend, but rather provides six-month, no-cost training in both the skillsets and mindsets needed to make progress permament.
The next generation of NLC Fellows, our 2023 class, will be equipped with the mindsets and skillsets to go toe-to-toe with harmful leaders at the ballot box. These Fellows are the ones who will be running in 2024 and beyond. And with NLC’s training, they’ll be ready to win.
30+ Books by NLC Community Authors
October 24, 2022
//Clare Bresnahan English
The New Leaders Council community is made up of creative storytellers. Our alumni, Advisory Council members, and National Board of Directors members collaborate within the NLC network to workshop ideas and storylines and use their stories to inspire others. Many of these books, including Demetri Makes a Memory Quilt and Worms Are a Yummy Snack – were written as NLC Fellows’ Capstone projects, drawing on their cohort’s collective ideas, skills, and perspectives to write, publish, and promote their books.
As Literacy Day approaches on November 1, we invite you to check out one of the many books written by NLC alumni and members of our National Board of Directors and National Advisory Council.
With the hustle and bustle of Election Day and the holidays, it’s important for leaders to invest in self-care, including reading a good book or sharing stories with our loved ones. Our stories are powerful and healing. Our stories have ripple effects in our homes, neighborhoods and communities, setting off a chain reaction that makes progress possible.
Have you read one of these books? Reply to this email to tell us about the impact that NLC community stories have had in your life! Also, please let us know if there’s a book we missed by filling out this quick and easy form!
Below are just some of our NLC community authors and their works. You can find these books online or at your local bookstore.
Children’s Books
NONFICTION BOOKS
Capstone Spotlight: Funding Abortions in New Hampshire
Josie Pinto (NLC New Hampshire ’19)
August 19, 2022
Leadership starts locally. NLC’s focus on proximate leaders – those closest to their communities problems and solutions – results in tangible change. That change is seen most clearly in Institute Fellow’s Capstone projects.
Capstones are a key part of the Institute experience, providing Fellows with a hands-on, project-based learning experience that is guided by their personal passions.
When Josie Pinto (NLC New Hampshire ‘19) moved to New Hampshire from Massachusets, she brought her passion for reproductive justice with her. In a new community, she wanted to dig in, meet fellow changemakers, and make a difference. “I wanted to find my place in New Hampshire and seeking ways to make it my home and invest in this community,” said Josie.
Josie began her work in reproductive justice at Planned Parenthood. There, she talked to people every day who needed care. She heard their stories and identified a need in New Hampshire: direct funding for abortions.
With only three abortion providers in the state, she knew there was a unique need in New Hampshire. “I knew I was uniquely well-positioned to start Reproductive Freedom Fund,” she said. She had worked at independent abortion provider and saw up front a need for funding. With her connection with the National Network of Abortion Funds, she thought that New Hampshire should have a fund too.
“I knew the landscape and I was motivated and passionate.”
A key part of Capstone projects is collaboration among Institute cohort Fellows and chapter alumni. Fellows pitch their Capstone idea to their cohort, and the other Fellows offer feedback. As the project develops, Fellows collaborate with each other, offer connections inside and outside of NLC, and volunteer to help their cohort members with their projects. “NLC is a network of built trust,” she said.
And with her cohort’s cross-sector knowledge, they helped her start and sustain what she called an ambitious Capstone.“They loved the idea, talked me up, and vouched for me,” said Josie. As the 2019 New Hampshire cohort shared and brainstormed together, they built trust, expanded each others networks, and thus maximized individuals’ capacity for impact. “The Fellows were early validators,” said Josie.
“I used the network to ask for what I needed at different steps.” The chapter was integral to getting RFF off the ground. Josie connected with someone from NLC New Hampshire ‘18 to help write the fund’s bylaws and consulted with others who had non-profit experience.
For her Capstone project, Josie started one of New Hampshire’s only abortion funds. The Reproductive Freedom Fund has allocated nearly $110,000 in direct care to patients across the state (as of August 2022).
At 22 years old, Josie relied on her cohort for advice and confidence. “I felt so supported,” she said. Three years after its ideation and one year after the non-profit’s official launch, the abortion fund is strong. “We haven’t had to turn anyone away. We’ve been able to meet the need with community support and have been active in education work and advocacy,” says Josie.
NLC is a network of built trust. The Fellows were early validators; They loved the idea, talked me up, and vouched for me. I used the network to ask for what I needed at different steps and I felt so supported.
During New Hampshire’s 2022 legislative session, RFF organized and mobilized patients as storytellers in the state Capitol. RFF not only provides direct assistance to patients, but also works with patient advocates to help pass pro-choice policies and change hearts and minds.
Fast forward to June 2023 when the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. While abortion remains legal in New Hampshire, Josie and her team have big dreams for the fund. They will continue to expand and scale the Abortion Fund, including providing comprehensive sex education, access to Plan B, and expanding their legislative advocacy efforts.
“Here in New Hampshire, we had a 24-week abortion ban on the books with no exceptions,” said Josie in a recent Cosmopolitan interview.
“So we had a few of our storytellers—people who had experienced fatal fetal anomalies—share their stories about why abortion should be legal and accessible for pregnant people in that position. Being able to break through to Republican legislators and get them to support this exception to the ban was an important bipartisan success. Abortion stories have incredible power.”
Our stories have the power to shift hearts and minds and change the conversation surrounding abortion. Our stories build community, inspire new leaders, and spark action.
In New Leaders Council chapters across the country, the stories of our Fellows intertwine, combining their identities, issues, and perspectives. Together, we work to uplift one another as we make a long term impact in our communities; in our chapter cohorts, with support provided through capstone projects, NLC Fellows are a catalyst for change.
Take action! Follow Josie and the Reproductive Freedom Fund of New Hampshire on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and TikTok.
Do you know a leader like Josie who has a passion for expanding equity and progress in their community? Nominate them to the 2023 NLC Institute and share this article with them as inspiration. Applications will be accepted by our 50+ nationwide chapters through September 12, 2022.
My Evolution in NLC and Your Revolution in Your Community
Convention Welcome Remarks from NLC’s President CEO, Clare Bresnahan English
August 3, 2022
//Clare Bresnahan English
New Leaders Council is a leaderful movement. That means that rather than a top-down, one-way leadership model, we are powered by a network of leaders who connect and collaborate to guide their chapters. Local leadership, as well as a robust volunteer leadership group at the HQ level called the National Programs Committee (NPC), help inform our staff’s decision-making too.
To talk about this model and NLC’s direction with our alumni and volunteers, NLC President and CEO Clare Bresnahan English addressed 2022 NLC Convention attendees with the below message.
My Evolution in NLC and Your Revolution in Your Community.
Twelve years ago I got a rejection that would transform my life in ways I couldn’t have imagined. A friend had recommended I apply for this amazing new leadership program, an NLC chapter in DC. I learned more about the organization through its alumni. It was a grassroots movement of young leaders who wanted something different for this country. Who chose to invest in their own leadership since institutions kept overlooking what they had to offer. It was a chance to be part of something bigger than myself – it was not only a network in DC but a community across the south, the Midwest, over to California. NLC sounded like a place where I could find my people, my path.
So when I didn’t get accepted when I first applied, I knew I wasn’t going to give up on NLC. I applied again – and when I got into the 2012 class, there was no looking back. I was hooked. I was committed.
A decade later, I have never been more sure that NLC is both the place that fulfills me and a place where I can make the most impact.
We’re living through a scary moment. The overturning of Roe. An ever-warming climate. Rights for women and people of color are continuously taken every day. Our country’s regression only grows more terrifying as the years go on. Our leadership is needed more than ever.
We are 10,000 strong across 50 chapters. This movement built by local leaders with their own hearts and hands. I know from experience that this leaderful movement works.
As a LEAD trainer, I’ve witnessed the impact of our stories. In LEAD, every single Fellow has this shared experience of witnessing and being witnessed in how their personal story drives their leadership.
These stories transform themselves and one another. Out of those stores comes a depth of connection and belonging we don’t experience in many places. Out of those stories comes possibility, action, and impact.
Our stories have the power to not only transform hearts and minds but policies and systems.
Now as NLC’s CEO, when I’m introducing NLC to a new applicant, or supporter, I ask them to think of any issue that keeps them up at night. And I can guarantee there are NLC Fellows working on that cause.
For example, among our alumni, we have Jose Alfaro, Director of Latinx Leadership & Community Engagement at Everytown for Gun Safety. We have Maria Town leading the American Association of People with Disabilities. Sara El-Emine at Lyft driving the corporate sectors’ response to the overturning of Roe. And elected public servants across the country, including Reps. Lauren Underwood and Nikema Williams in the U.S. Congress.
This is who we are. We are a new kind of leader.
Take a moment and imagine how our country’s story would change if it looked like the people in this room at Convention. In our state capitols. In the pitch rooms at major news publications. In the boardrooms of our country’s top businesses and foundations. How would the world look different?
When I look to the future, I envision you in the room where it happens. I imagine you blasting through the doors, opening them wide for your communities. Building new rooms we haven’t yet designed.
Consider: What room do you want to be in? What room do you want to change? What room do you want to create?
We come together in this room committed to progress, to our community, to one another. In this space of possibility, in this community, surrounded by each of your steadfast commitments to this work and one another – Progress feels inevitable. But for it to be inevitable, we will have to be indomitable. We’ll have to stick together. We’ll have to fight for each other. We’ll have to be relentless in our vision for progress.
This is not a moment. It’s a movement. Remember this movement is here for you as you make change in the room where it happens
Community, Connection, and Collaboration in Philadelphia
July 25, 2022
//Clare Bresnahan English
“What are things that get in the way of your work in your communities?” asked Associate Director of FSG and NLC Oakland alumni Miya Cain to an audience of 250 Convention attendees. “Stress!” shouted one person; “racism!” said another; “anxiety!” said a third. Then, the room quieted as Miya filled it with her low bravado. She began to sing “Can’t nobody turn me around.”
With a slow sway and rhythmic claps, the crowd joined her. Can’t stress, racism, or anxiety turn us around, the crowd sang. “We’re gonna keep on walkin’, keep on talkin’, marching up to freedom land.”
Through our raised voices, we united in a collective melody, both raising the volume in our calling for change and healing ourselves from the pain and anguish of the past two years of the pandemic.
The 2022 NLC Convention was centered on this spirit of community care. It was centered on vulnerability and sharing our stories. The three-day event’s theme was “Where Stories Become Action,” and together we discovered that our individual experiences can spark collective change.
This year’s Convention embodied three key elements of New Leaders Council: Community, connection, and collaboration.
From our mainstage speakers to our breakout session topics – and our fun evening events in between – attendees left Philadelphia feeling energized and ready to take on challenges in their communities. With cross-sector programming, topics varied across industries and issue areas, including business, non-profit, advocacy, public service, and more.
2022 Convention Speakers and Topics
- Welcome Remarks from NLC’s President and CEO, Clare Bresnahan English
- Deepa Iyer’s Ecosystems Of Social Change with NLC Board of Directors Secretary Candace Stanciel
- Fireside Chat Amalgamated Bank President and CEO Priscilla Sims Brown: Equity in Banking
- The Scariest Thing I’ve Ever Done Voluntarily Claiming Identity and Visibility with Lelia Gowland
- Fireside Chat with Congressman Andy Kim: Defining Leadership
- Fireside Chat with Errin Haines: The Stories Behind the Headlines
- Keynote with StoryCorps CEO Sandy Clark: Telling Our Stories to Spark Action
- Health is Wealth Panel: Creating New Narratives for the Health of Women of Color
- Collective Impact Panel with FSG’s Miya Cain
- Fireside Chat with Kim Kelly: The Untold Stories of the Labor Movement
- NLC Story: An Interview With The CEO
- Comedy Set with Hari Kondabolu
Alumni also collaborated to moderate mainstage panels and lead topical breakout sessions. They brought their identities, industry experiences, and the issues they care about to Philadelphia, and together, workshopped and brainstormed solutions to bring further equity into their work at home in their communities. That’s the power of NLC’s collective network. No one person has to know all the solutions, but rather, we all work together with our varying perspectives to seek new strategies.
Alumni and Partner-led Breakout Panels and Workshops
- NLC Women in Elected Leadership
- Educator Unions for Racial, Social and Economic Justice
- LGBTQ+ Accompliceship
- Beyond the Public Safety Small Talk: Navigating the Reality for Change
How to Build a More Diverse, Inclusive, and Effective Policy Sector: For Think Tanks, Policy Nonprofits, and Governments - Spark!Talk Panel: Future of Work
- AARP Caregiving Panel
- Green Economy Workshop/ Panel
Spark!Panel: Higher Education - Health is Wealth Workshop
- State Voting Rights Act: The New Frontier
- How To Tell Your Story So People Turn Up, Not Tune Out
- Voice of the People Mental Health and Law Enforcement Policy Simulation Workshop
- LEAD Trainer Networking
- Making Progress When In Power: How To Move The Needle When In A Position Of Power
- NLC Authors and Creatives Panel
Alumni also gave Spark!Talks that highlighted their experiences and expertise, sharing their important stories with attendees. From the war in Ukraine to saving local restaurants, Spark!Talks highlighted the leadership roles alumni play in their communities.
We thank our title sponsor NBCUniversal Comcast, as well as our other sponsors: AARP, AFSCME, Amalgamated Bank, Atlantic Shores, Carpenters, DSPolitical, EMILY’S List, Lyft, and Metal. We also thank our many speakers who traveled to Philadelphia to generously share their knowledge and engage with our community.
“This past weekend was a time that I didn’t realize that I needed,” said NLC Philadelphia Co-Director Janay Hawthorne on Instagram. “I’ve left feeling inspired, refilled, and excited for what’s to come. Being able to (re)connect with people all over the country who care about and work hard for their communities makes you feel a bit more hopeful for the future.”
As we all returned home from Philadelphia to our home chapters, we know we must continue to keep up the momentum of the movement.
three ways to take action
- Prospective fellows: Apply to be an Institute Fellow in your local chapter
- Alumni and supporters: Nominate someone to apply for the 2023 Institute
- Alumni: Volunteer on your local chapter board to help with recruitment, selections, communications, and more