GREENSBORO, N.C., Sept. 11, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) today announced it has received an $8.7 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to lead a program that develops and connects leaders who want to create a more equitable society for all. The grant will support implementation of the WKKF Community Leadership Network, an 18-month fellowship program offering hands-on training, personalized coaching, community-based support, and a place-based, culminating project experience.
CCL was tapped to lead the program based on its 50-year track record of incorporating proven, cutting-edge leadership research into programs that elevate participants’ individual priorities and goals. During the program, fellows gain critical knowledge and skills for advancing racial equity and racial healing in communities.
Applications for the fellowship are now being accepted online at wkkfcln.org.
“It is a great privilege to lead the WKKF Community Leadership Network on behalf of the Kellogg Foundation,” said CCL President and CEO John R. Ryan. “We look forward to working with a group of very talented women and men who are committed to building stronger and more inclusive communities across our nation through an innovative approach to leadership.”
The WKKF Community Leadership Network brings together participants from Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans—the Kellogg Foundation’s priority places—as well as nationally. CCL is looking to recruit a diverse class of fellows who are:
- Passionate about improving opportunities for children, families and communities.
- At a pivotal moment in their careers to benefit from this type of leadership development and network program.
- Intentional about deepening their understanding of racial equity and racial healing to create transformational change in communities.
- Experienced or interested in early childhood education, health, food systems, workforce development, family economic security, racial equity or other fields that advance children’s well-being.
This will be the second cohort of WKKF Community Leadership Network fellows. Previous participants came from a broad array of backgrounds: government, business, faith, nonprofit, philanthropy, and education.
“I don’t have the words to express how valuable this fellowship has been in my life,” said Cyndi Nguyen, New Orleans’ first Vietnamese-American City Council Member, and a WKKF Community Leadership Network alumna. “I was able to do things that were more important to the community because I felt better about myself and I was able to branch out and do things that people don’t normally do.”
“The Kellogg Foundation’s legacy in developing courageous, visionary leaders dates from its very beginning,” said La June Montgomery Tabron, the foundation’s president and CEO. “Our founder recognized that leadership is central to changing communities on behalf of children. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation Community Leadership Network brings knowledge from decades of leadership experience to bear on a primary challenge of our time — how to create equitable communities where all children can thrive. We know that as Community Leadership Network leaders are transformed, their communities will benefit.”
The WKKF Community Leadership Network program focuses on leadership self-mastery, racial equity and systems, community engagement and networking, and leading in place. Over the course of the program, fellows participate in multiple-day all-class sessions, convene with a smaller community cohort, and connect one-on-one with an executive coach. During the last three months, fellows collaboratively lead a place-based, culminating project to create transformational change in their communities.
The deadline to apply for the fellowship is Sept. 30. http://www.wkkfcln.org
About Center for Creative Leadership
The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) seeks to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. Ranked among the world’s top providers of executive education, CCL brings nearly 50 years of experience, research and best practice to connect the challenges leaders face with the essential skills they need to be successful. CCL works annually with more than 60,000 leaders and 3,000 organizations globally. CCL manages the WKKF Community Leadership Network as a grantee of the Kellogg Foundation.
Online: ccl.org
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On LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/center-for-creative-leadership
About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), founded in 1930 as an independent, private foundation by breakfast cereal pioneer, Will Keith Kellogg, is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the United States. Guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive, WKKF works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children so they can realize their full potential in school, work and life.
The Kellogg Foundation is based in Battle Creek, Michigan, and works throughout the United States and internationally, as well as with sovereign tribes. Special emphasis is paid to priority places where there are high concentrations of poverty and where children face significant barriers to success. WKKF priority places in the U.S. are in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans; and internationally, are in Mexico and Haiti. For more information, visit www.wkkf.org.
Contact:
Stephen Martin
Chief of Staff & Director, Communications & Organizational Strategy
Center for Creative Leadership
T +1 336 286 4038
C +1 336 580 8344