Social Justice Leadership is offering an Advanced Practice Group (APG) as a companion program to the NY Transformative Organizing Initiative (NY TOI) in 2012-13. The Advanced Practice Group is designed for graduates of previous NY TOI programs whose organizations are not participating in the 2012-13 program, but who have a continuing interest in working on their own development, maintaining a connection to the program, and contributing to the development of the Transformative Organizing (TO) model. NY TOI has always worked to develop a model of Transformative Organizing through a combination of training, coaching, practice by participants, and feedback. It is an advanced program that will be run by SJL with active leadership from program participants. Every year, some individuals have committed to engage more deeply in their own development through regular practice and the application of TO principles in their daily work. Although this year’s TOI program has fewer organizational participants than in past years, we want to maintain space for motivated individuals to stay in collective practice. We are excited to introduce the Advanced Practice Group.
PROGRAM GOALS
Through building a trusting and supportive space, Advanced Practice Group participants will help each other to:
- Consistently act from their individual and movement commitments for the sake of developing as social justice leaders in their organizations and broader movement building spaces;
- Deepen their knowledge of and competency in Transformative Organizing;
- Build their own capacity to coach and support their peers in their individual and collective development; and
- Contribute to the development of a Transformative Organizing model.
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES
The program will rely on the initiative of participants and the support of SJL staff. It builds on elements of past TOI program years including one-on-one coaching, successful peer coaching quads, and building relationships by sharing across organizations and sectors. Over the course of the program year, participants will:
- Deepen their understanding of the theory and practices of transformative organizing through 4 full-day sessions;
- Set goals for their own personal and political development, and share their progress and challenges with peers in sessions and out-of-session coaching;
- Clearly articulate and move purposefully towards their personal and movement commitments through regular individual practice and application of TO methods on the ground;
- Develop their competence in offering assessments to and coaching peers in their development through completing at least 2 peer coaching sessions; and
- Further their development through at least 2 coaching sessions with an SJL coach.
CRITERIA FOR APPLICATION
To participate in the Advanced Practice Group, applicants must:
- Have successfully completed at least one year of NY TOI;
- Have a basic understanding of their individual and organizational CT and commitment;
- Work towards the transformation of the broader society through social justice organizing;
- Have already made, or be able to make, time to engage in daily practice towards their commitment;
- Be willing to dedicate time and have the capacity to actively support the development of their peers; and
- Have interest in contributing to the development of a model of Transformative Organizing through discussion, feedback and writing.
Dates for full day (9:30am – 5:30pm) sessions are as follows:
- Friday, October 19
- Friday, December 14
- Friday, February 15
- Friday, May 17
The Advanced Practice Group marks a new development in SJL’s work to support the development of Transformative Organizing in NYC. We are excited by the prospect of developing a new program that allows us to continue working with NY TOI alumni, supporting their development, and collectively building a model of Transformative Organizing. We look forward to answering your questions and receiving feedback and suggestions on the content of the program on our August 16 conference call, and to working with participants to develop and lead this program. If you have urgent questions, please contact Clay Smith at clay [at] sojustlead [dot] org.
Program Fee
The program fee is on a sliding scale of $150 to $250 based on your ability to pay. If the fee is an obstacle, please contact Clay to learn more about scholarship opportunities.
To register for the August 16 11:00am informational conference call, click here.
To apply to the Advanced Practice Group, click here, and submit your application before August 31, 2012.
We'll send acceptance notification on September 12.