Of all the things we’ll remember from 2017, there is no question that this was a year in which many people were called to leadership. Within their communities, homes, countries, and workplaces, leaders rose to meet the challenges thrown at them, and stood up for freedom, equity, and liberation.
President Akaya Windwood and CEO Darlene Nipper sat down together to look back on how that changed leadership in 2017, and how it shapes what we’re focusing on for 2018:
Rockwood also had several achievements we celebrated this year:
- We reached a record-high number of 677 leaders through our programs: Art of Leadership, Advanced Art of Leadership, and fellowships
- We launched 6 new fellowships: Techquity, Strengthening Democracy, Leadership Now: Ohio, Lead Now: California, Lead Now: Pittsburgh, and Building Power (with The California Endowment)
- We sustained 4 existing fellowships: Reproductive Health, Rights, & Justice; JustFilms, National Leading From The Inside Out Yearlong, and Returning Citizens
- We moved into a 9,000 square foot combined office, training, and community-building space in downtown Oakland
- We held our first Spanish-language training, a daylong in Mexico City
- We continued strong partnerships with many organizations, including Planned Parenthood, SEIU, Mozilla, Levi Strauss, Switzer, and more
- We held a brand-new training in Kenya with African Women in Agriculture Research & Development, facilitated by Akaya
- We began work on exciting new innovations focused on what we’re currently calling “the new universal,” and focused deeply on interconnection and generosity
- We launched new website, our first new website since 2008 (!)
Last but not least, we celebrated the incredible work Rockwood alums are doing out in the world, and had a few very popular posts:
- 8 Practices for a More Emotionally Just Organization
- 21 Self-Care Resources to Help You Heal & Survive
- Rallying the Spirit: 7 Questions to Help You Build Resilience in 2018
- The Connective Tissue of Our Movements for Change
- Get You Somebody That Can Do Both
Thank you all so much for your leadership this year, and we look forward to standing beside you in 2018.
Have a warm & wonderful new year,
The staff, board, & trainers of Rockwood Leadership Institute
