By: Jacqueline Corum
Central Appalachian leaders will address the inequities exposed by the pandemic and other social issues
The annual Brushy Fork Leadership Summit, a strategic initiative of Berea College, will be conducted online Sept. 13 to 24. This year’s “Adaptive Leadership in Uncertain Times” summit will bring together nonprofit and grassroots leaders to explore questions about how to design, fund and deliver programming in uncertain times; develop skills for adaptive leadership; and make connections to strengthen their organizations and their work.
“The summit serves people who are passionate about achieving results in their communities,” said Donna Daniels, director of the Brushy Fork Leadership Institute. “This year, we have a focus on strengthening nonprofits by building technical skills and by exploring more systemic issues such as equity and the sharing and shifting of power in organizations and communities.”
This year’s keynote speaker is Geoff Canada from the Harlem Children’s Zone, a birth-through-college network of programs that serves more than 13,000 low-income students and families in a 97-block area of Central Harlem in New York City. In 2011, Canada was named one of the world’s most influential people by Time magazine and as one of the 50 greatest leaders by Fortune magazine in 2014.
“Canada, whose work influenced the design of Promise Zones throughout the U.S. and is expanding in rural areas, will speak to these uncertain times as an opportunity and even a moral imperative for leaders to address the inequities that have been exposed by the pandemic and other social issues,” Daniels said.
The Summit includes eight intensive workshop tracks and several plenary sessions with a schedule designed to allow flexibility on the number of days participants are online. Registrants can choose to attend one, two or three workshop tracks ($150, $200, or $250, respectively).
The eight tracks include:
- Harnessing the Power in Not Knowing with Caroline Carpenter
- Equity in Context: Reflecting on Who We Are, Acting on Where We Want to Be with Kierra Clark and Micah Anderson
- Strengths-based Leadership with Mark Nigro
- Sharing Power and Co-designing for Equitable Results with Maddy Day and Julie Winegard
- Adaptive Programming with Heather Schill
- Moving from Talk to Action: Results-based Accountability with Andy Beichler and Thomas Johnson
- Building a Local Leadership Table for Collaborative Impact with Katie Basham and Dr. Shanda Crowder
- Strategies for Private and Public Funding Development with Dr. Melissa Newman
Participants can register online here.
The Brushy Fork Leadership Institute provides established and emerging leaders with opportunities to enhance their skills, gain innovative perspectives and create connections with others working on similar issues. The Institute approaches this work with the intent to honor the voice and vision of local people; engage community members in partnership for mutual learning, growth and service; promote learning, innovation and results through hands-on work in community; encourage mindful living, zest for learning and concern for others; and to assert the kinship of all people.
For more information, view the online brochure for this year’s Brushy Fork Leadership Institute.