ACLF is no longer accepting applications to our 2008 Community Leaders Program

About the Community Leaders Program

The Community Leaders Program is an intensive curriculum that provides training and mentorship to those with an interest in and potential to step into leadership roles within our communities. Each class is composed of roughly 12 people who meet in bi-weekly sessions over six months.

There are innumerable emerging leaders amongst us of all ages, cultures and walks of life. ACLF focuses on cultivating emerging Asian Pacific Islander leaders to strengthen our vital and complex community. We do not define “emerging” by age. Our class participants are chosen on a basis of their demonstrated commitment to community issues, desire to learn, and readiness to contribute to the group. They come from the private, nonprofit, and public sectors. Our participants are a mix of first-generation immigrants and second-generation APIs and beyond. ACLF provides training and support to help these individuals grow as effective leaders, be it as staff, board members, or volunteers in all three sectors. This rewarding experience impacts alumni for many years. Debadutta Dash, Class of 2005, writes that “The program helped me learn about community work by putting us in action. The networking opportunities are overwhelming; you come out of your comfort zone. The world feels smaller now, and small is beautiful.”

Program Objectives

• To foster ethical, compassionate and self-reflective API leaders who promote greater social, economic, and political justice.

• To build strong interpersonal relationships that promote communication, support, and accountability to each other and to the API community.

• To strengthen inter-group collaboration through knowledge and understanding of diverse perspectives within the API community.

• To cultivate leaders who value and practice coalition-building across all communities in order to benefit the community at large.

• To build connections between the CLP class and the greater API community.

Our three-pronged approach fosters the development of individual leadership, community strength, and inter-community unity to promote issues critical to Asian Pacific Islanders:

Leadership Development

Program participants receive training in coalition building, interpersonal communication, community development, public speaking, media training, and other critical leadership skills.

Community Involvement

Participants develop and apply their leadership skills by completing a community project designed to benefit a local API organization.

Networking and Mentorship

ACLF promotes networking opportunities for participants to meet API community leaders and develop mentor-mentee relationships.

Testimonials

Kendee Yamaguchi, Class of 2005, reports that “Within two months of graduating from the program, I returned ACLF’s investment in me to the community. I was able to apply the skills that I learned from the workshops to create informational packets, press releases, and solicitation letters for a local non-profit. Without ACLF’s training, I would not have been able to give back to the community in such an effective and meaningful manner. From my experience, my commitment to the API community has grown even stronger. Not only am I more well-connected with the community, I have an amazing support network on a professional and personal level.”

Jeff Liang, Class of 2006, reflects positively on his experience: “The CLP program provided the foundation I needed to become a source of strength for my community. The lessons I learned and access to dedicated and influential people helped me create a network that I can use to help peers and community partners reach their goals. The CLP program makes “leadership” concrete.”