The City of East Lansing is gearing up for the second year of an innovative leadership program that’s breathed new life (and opinions) into city government and local boards and commissions.
The East Lansing Emerging Leaders Program (ELELP), which launched last fall, selects 20 community members for a 10-week, crash course in city politics, entrepreneurship and development. The citizens who took last year’s course are now serving on a variety of boards and commissions.
“One thing we found last year is that a lot of people who participate in this program were younger than 35 and part of the creative class,” says Marie McKenna, with the City of East Lansing. “When you typically look at boards and commissions, the members tend to be a little older. It’s interesting to have this demographic because they tend to get this regionalism concept.”
Younger ELELP graduates understand that the community needs to forward as a region rather than competing as individual cities. This concept is one that’s being advocated by the City of East Lansing, Lansing, area businesses and nonprofits such as Prima Civitas.
“One reason we created the program was with the hope that these people would go on to apply for boards and commissions,” she says. Roughly half of last year’s graduates are on at least one board or commission. “It’s a good way of providing training for our future leaders."
“It’s not just about local government, but how we partner with the school and MSU,” says McKenna.
Source: Marie McKenna, City of East Lansing
Ivy Hughes, development news editor, can be reached here.
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