Leadership Institute

Mission

The Institute works to educate future and current leaders, as well as the local community, on the need to integrate environmental, economic, and social equity issues, and provides supportive information that will help them sustain our quality of life for future generations.

Summary

We cherish California's North Coast. We have a quality of life that is the envy of others across the country and draws businesses and individuals to move here. Yet, our current development practices to accommodate growth threaten the very quality of life that makes this such a desirable place to live. The cumulative impacts of growth will destroy what we value most about the North Coast unless we begin to integrate ecology, economics, and social equity in our plans for the future. The Leadership Institute will help lead the charge for the community to address this challenge.

The Leadership Institute, based in Sonoma County, California, is dedicated to insuring a sustainable future for California's North Coast. Its goal is to train environmentalists to be our future leaders, and educate current community leaders and the public to understand that the future of our economy and quality of life are integrally related.

The Leadership Institute currently operates four programs:

Leadership Training -- works to improve and develop the capabilities of environmentalists to be community leaders and future policy-makers. It educates them about the need to apply an integrated approach--linking ecology, economics, and social equity--in planning for our future. Participants meet one day per month from September through May.
Policy-Maker Outreach -- educates public policy-makers with non-partisan analysis, studies, and research to assist them in leading the community to a sustainable future. Staff meets with policy-makers to introduce the Leadership Institute and its mission, and follows-up with materials on a continuing basis. When appropriate, staff will facilitate special meetings for policy-makers.
Public Education -- provides information to the community. Its purpose is to heighten awareness for the need of programs and practices that will insure a high quality of life for future generations.
Community Networking -- brings program graduates, business leaders, and community leaders together to share visions, test ideas, and seek solutions for a sustainable future.