Monterey Park, CA – On Saturday, January 11th and Sunday, January 12th, CAUSE held the first session of the 2020 Leadership Institute at the SoCalGas Learning Center.
The CAUSE Leadership Institute (CLI) is a community leadership and advocacy training certificate program for high-potential professionals with seasoned leadership experience and a passion for serving the needs of the APA community in California. Participants complete the program armed with the skills and connections vital to advocate for the APA community. Graduates of this program have gone on to change the civic landscape in the region through elected office and leadership roles in the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Our program is highly selective and each member of our cohort is selected based on their leadership abilities, public service, and community involvement. Program fellows are identified by leading elected officials, select nonprofit partner organizations, CAUSE Board Members, and CAUSE Alumni.
Read more about this year’s Leadership Institute cohort here.
The first day focused on facilitating activities that allowed the new class of fellows to get to know each other. One of the activities consisted of putting together and sharing life maps: a presentation that shows their individual life milestones and experiences that led to their current identity. The presentations allow fellows to get to know each other on a more intimate and personal level by contextualizing their experiences and passions.
At the end of the day, fellows gathered at Chang’an Restaurant in San Gabriel for a happy hour reception, where they were encouraged to further connect with each other and CAUSE alumni.
On the second day, the Leadership Institute fellows had the opportunity to hear from Raphael Sonenshein, Executive Director of the Pat Brown Institute for Public Affairs at California State University, Los Angeles. His presentation focused on APA Civic Engagement and Leadership, highlighting the current landscape and strengths of APA civic leadership, as well as upcoming challenges for the community.
The day wrapped up with a discussion on Root Cause Analysis, which invited the fellows to explore the connection between various issues challenging the APA communities they represent and serve and the shared root causes. Fellows had the chance to apply theoretical frameworks to lived experience and in doing so, better understand how they can grow their civic impact.
We’re so excited for the opportunity to work with this year’s CAUSE Leadership Institute class, and can’t wait to hear more from them in the upcoming months!