Program

The LDI program is built on the premise that relationship building, communal healing and collective empowerment is a time-intensive process of developing both trust and shared purpose. As a result of this relational focus, the LDI is a yearlong process of connections and reflections between Fellows, Association Presidents and Executive Committee Members as well as direct experiential leadership within one’s home association. It is not a one-time workshop or a one day retreat. Each cohort of Fellows engages in the following: a) in-person Leadership Retreat, b) Presidential Residency within their home organization c) monthly Presidential Chats, d) Leadership Trainings and e) monthly Fellows Discussion. Specifically, the LDI consists of the following elements:

Retreat

Fellows attend a 3-day LDI retreat in the Spring to launch their yearlong training. This retreat will facilitate team building in the Fellows cohort, leadership skills acquisition, and knowledge about governance structures and process. The LDI Executive Committee (EC) will serve as the trainers in order to expose all Fellows to CONREPA organizations. Given the relational and coalition-building goals of the LDI, the in-person leadership retreat is critical to launching each Fellows cohort at the beginning of their LDI training. This retreat and its relational outcomes serve as the foundation of LDI training for the entire year. In the spirit of deepening interpersonal connections and fostering a culturally congruent family atmosphere, the LDI retreat is located in a house shared by all the Fellows, and EC members. The intimacy of sharing common space, making meals, and holding all activities together in an informal home (rather than a hotel or conference space) is integral to both cohort and coalition-building. The retreat has been held in homes in Las Vegas, San Jose, Phoenix and Newport Beach.

Presidential Residency

The Presidential Residency is a yearlong, hands-on, administrative residency designed to immerse the Fellow into their home organization under the mentorship of the organization President, Past-President or President-Elect. Specifically, the Residency is structured to a) develop a mentoring relationship between the Fellow and President, b) facilitate Fellows’ experiential leadership development in their home organization, c) enhance Fellows’ understanding of and exposure to the home organization d) increase LDI collaboration with the home organization and e) provide a direct and tangible service to the home organization. During this Residency, the Fellow meets with the President regularly, attends all leadership meetings, and identifies a project designed to promote the development of leadership skills and experience within the organization.

Presidential Chats

After the retreat, the Fellows cohort meets with each of the Presidents of the respective CONREPA organizations individually in an informal and intimate discussion about leadership development, facilitated by the LDI EC members. The goals of these discussions are to a) expose Fellows to the leadership trajectories of senior leaders across varying racial ethnic psychological associations, b)gain an understanding of the context and dynamics of their home organizations and c) develop an understanding of their organization’s work around cross-racial coalition building. Recent Presidential presenters have included Royleen Ross, Art Blume, Theopia Jackson, Iva GreyWolf, BJ Boyd, Cynthia Guzmán, Brian McNeil, Evie Garcia, Helen Hsu, and Anjuli Amin.

Leadership Trainings

After the Presidential Chats, Fellows are provided with trainings on specific leadership topics. These trainings are based on an assessment of the Fellows’ individual and collective needs and are designed to build upon the Leadership Retreat and Presidential Chats and to be applied in their Presidential Residency. Topics for this training have included the following: cultural resilience and self-care, managing an executive team, effective advocacy, developing a leadership vision, networking and collaborative partnerships. Speakers for these trainings are leaders of color from across psychology and have included the following past speakers: Patricia Arredondo, Joseph Trimble, Linda James Myers, Jean Lau Chin, Helen Neville, Tiffany Townsend

Fellows Discussion

The monthly Fellows Discussion are designed to facilitate the continued interaction of Fellows throughout the year and to provide a private venue for Fellows to process and integrate their different LDI experiences (Presidential Residency, Presidential Discussions, experiences in their home organization, experience with other racial ethnic psychological associations) into their overall leadership development. The Fellows Discussions are co-facilitated by the Fellows and Executive Committee members. Topics may include issues concerning early career development, negotiating different institutional/political systems, strategies to successfully run for leadership positions, and other topics that serve the needs of the Fellows.