The Kansas Leadership Center (KLC) has launched a new initiative, Creating Leadership Together, with the goal of cultivating leadership and inspiring optimism for future Kansans of color.
Through Creating Leadership Together, Kansas Leadership Center is offering $10,000 worth of in-kind leadership development training and program design consulting for each of the Kansas-based organizations selected as partners in the initiative. Additionally, each partner is eligible to receive up to $10,000 in seed money for their first two years of programs.
“We’re excited to launch Creating Leadership Together and create a community development partnership with nine organizations that work with Kansans of color who are typically under-represented in leadership programs. Each partner has committed to sustainable, ongoing training sufficient to make a difference while working toward the common good of their community,” said Racquel Thiesen, director of community partnership at Kansas Leadership Center.
KLC has selected nine Kansas organizations to serve as partners—five of which are based in Wichita:
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Urban League of Kansas (Wichita)
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Kansas State Conference of NAACP (Wichita)
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Salud + Bienestar (Wichita)
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Topeka Latino Professionals (Topeka)
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Wichita Urban Professionals (Wichita)
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WSU Office of Diversity and Inclusion (Wichita)
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Start at Zero (Kansas City)
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Made Men (Kansas City)
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Opus Media (Overland Park)
“Wichita Urban Professionals has been wanting a leadership program for a long time. We’ve worked alongside the KLC for a number of years and this program is providing a true pathway to get a program off the ground,” said Danielle Johnson, Wichita Urban Professionals lead and executive director of Habitat for Humanity.
KLC is offering a comprehensive, bottom-up assistance package that will equip these community-based groups to conduct a sustained leadership program under their own management.
Starting this month, core teams from each partner organization have the option of attending KLC’s programs and will participate in required mentor conversations through October 2022.
Visit kansasleadershipcenter.org/creating-leadership-together/ for questions and to view the program’s schedule of activities for 2021-2022.