In June 2013, the Latino Leadership Initiative (LLI) at the Center for Public Leadership (CPL) will host 41 American undergraduates in their junior year who are from, or committed to serving, the Latino community and have demonstrated outstanding leadership talent. Students will be selected from the following partner schools:
University of Massachusetts-Boston
Boston, MA
University of Houston
Houston, TX
Texas A&M International University (TAMIU)
Laredo, TX
University of Texas - Pan American (UTPA)
Edinburg, TX
University of California-Merced
Merced, CA
Loyola Marymount University (LMU/LA)
Los Angeles, CA
Miami Dade College (MDC)
Miami, FL
Macaulay Honors College at CUNY
New York, NY
The week-long intensive program will provide a curriculum designed to achieve the following objectives:
- Enhance the leadership capacity and understanding of a selected group of students from, or committed to public service within the Latino community.
- Help participants form strong and lasting bonds with each other and with public servants, as well as business, academic, and non-profit leaders.
- Inspire participants with lasting confidence in their potential for leadership, professional achievement, and public service.
Curriculum and Program Structure:
The LLI curriculum will build on the leadership development model developed in 2006 by the Center for Public Leadership—a model highlighting the range of competencies that leaders will likely need to draw upon over their careers. After introducing several key leadership concepts, the classroom sessions will focus on helping students develop critical personal and interpersonal leadership competencies, and equipping them with tools and frameworks for leading successful in context—i.e. in organizations and communities. Several sessions will also provide students with an opportunity to interact with distinguished leaders who will share their own personal stories and leadership trajectories.
Among the personal qualities and competencies to be emphasized in the classroom are self-awareness, values, sound judgment and decision making. Students will be prodded to better understand what makes themselves tick, as well as their preferred styles for leading and for dealing with conflict. They will also learn how to improve their decisions, by understanding and managing the cognitive biases that routinely impair good judgment.
Several sessions will help students develop interpersonal competencies that are a part of the leader’s toolkit. Students will gain insight into power and influence, effective networking, and high-performing teams. They will also sharpen their skills in communicating and negotiating. And they will become better prepared to meet the challenges of leading effectively in context, by drawing on tested frameworks for aligning organization and strategy, mobilizing people, and community organizing.
One of the key frameworks we will try to instill in LLI participants during the week is the notion of leadership as the fruitful intersection of one’s most deeply embedded life interests and the world’s greatest needs. Each LLI participant will come out of the weeklong experience with her or his own written action plan for leadership development that has been discussed with an LLI-selected peer mentor and that also:
- Highlights include one to three leadership skills that the individual want to work on over the coming year.
- Maps out an action plan for achieving the desired skill improvement that:
- identifies resources and action steps,
- anticipates pitfalls, and
- outlines a schedule for peer coaching with other LLI graduates at her or his school.
Program Logistics:
The 4th annual LLI program will be held from in June 2013 at Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA. Classroom activities will be scheduled on the Harvard Kennedy School campus. Students will reside in the dormitories at the Harvard Law School, with oversight by Harvard graduate students as mentors and resident assistants.
Program Cost:
There is no cost for accepted LLI participants. Round-trip travel, room and board, and classroom materials are generously supported by donors and foundations. Participants will only be responsible for personal purchases. Upon acceptance, we will forward you information on how to book your travel through our authorized travel agent.
The seed funding to plan the LLI was generously donated by Entravision Communications and its Chief Executive Officer, Walter Ulloa.
Eligibility:
We are seeking talented young leaders in their junior year at college who are from, or committed to serving the Latino community.
Applicants must meet the following criteria:
- Demonstration of outstanding leadership talent and an interest in bettering your community through public service.
- Commitment to attend the week-long in-residence program and complete the post-LLI curriculum during your senior year.
- Minimum GPA requirement of 3.2 on a 4.0 scale as of January 2013.
- U.S. citizen or legal permanent resident.
- Nomination by your college or university.
Application Deadline:
Completed application packages are due from your university or college in March 2013, please check back for the exact deadline.
Center for Public Leadership (CPL) partner schools will nominate applicants for the 2013 LLI program. Students at each of these specific colleges and universities must be nominated by their Dean of Students or Designee in order to apply and be accepted to the June 2013 LLI Program.
The specific contact at these schools will have LLI Application Materials for you to complete and to send to us in order to be considered for the 2013 Latino Leadership Initiative Program. We hope to broaden our application pool to include more colleges and universities for future Latino Leadership Initiative classes.
