Around the U.S., more than 1,000 leadership programs are based in local communities. These programs are designed to bring together emerging and established leaders across the government, business, and the nonprofit sectors: They get to know each other; they learn more about their communities; and they practice and hone their leadership skills.
The million-plus alumni of these various programs are an amazing civic resource. They are already actively engaged in addressing community challenges and exploring community opportunities. And they are well-aware of the importance of being connected across difference at these turbulent times.
Civity’s partnership with Association of Leadership Programs/National Leadership Network enhances and deepens their ongoing emphasis on and practice of relationship-building. Individual programs highlight relationships as part of their work with cohorts. And Civity workshops are a powerful way to both bring alumni together and support their role as community connectors.
The initial pilot in this partnership kicked off with a workshop for alumni organized by Leadership Rhode Island that took place in Providence in June 2025. PBS’s Judy Woodruff featured the event in her “America at the Crossroads” series in July.
Michelle Carr, Executive Director of Leadership Rhode Island, explains:
“Across the country, community leadership programs and their alumni are showing what’s possible when we lead together. We’re creating spaces where people from different walks of life connect through shared humanity – where we can have the hard conversations because we love our communities enough to try. When relationships and belonging are the foundation, people feel like they matter – and they lead like they do.”
Read other Civity case studies:
Center for Rural Affairs
Silicon Valley Community Foundation