In 2003, leaders in New Hampshire’s diverse communities and their community partners acknowledged that the growth of the minority communities in the state was creating an increasing need for community leaders.  Additionally, emerging leaders in these communities expressed a desire for leadership skill development and support in their efforts to advocate for, as well as bring voice and vision, self-determination and self-advocacy to, NH’s diverse communities.  While several local and statewide leadership programs began discussing the need to diversify their leadership classes by increasing minority representation, the primary focus of these programs was to provide a forum for identified leaders to discuss current social issues.  They did not typically provide opportunities to build individual leadership skills in and among participants. The realization that this critical piece was missing from existing leadership programs lead to specific conversations among NH’s minority leaders about creating a program that would foster the development of leadership skills typically needed to be effective in the venue one lives and works.



 

      In late 2003, with a grant from the U.S. Office of Minority Health (OMH) in hand, representatives from the business sector, city and state government, university systems, health care system, and private citizens came together in three meetings hosted by the Mayor of Nashua, Bernie Streeter, and Mary Nelson, the Nashua Mayor’s Office Chief of Staff.  As a result of these meetings, Emerging Leaders in Communities of Color was born. At that time, the first outline of the curriculum was also established based on a list of skills identified as critical to successful leadership in our diverse communities.  The six essential skills identified include public speaking, conflict resolution, strategic planning, networking, group and power dynamics, and resource development.  It was decided that the program would take place over the course of one year, beginning with a two day retreat.  Subsequent sessions would be held one day per month and be hosted by a different organization around the state.  And during the spring and summer of 2003, Gloria Arteaga, an intern working at the NH OMH (one of the co-founding organizations) and graduate of Franklin Pierce Law Center, took a lead role in the development of ELCC’s first documents and marketing materials.  The original framework continues today and, while the curriculum has been periodically updated, the original design has proven to be effective and therefore remains essentially unchanged.

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The following executive summary,

created in 2004, accurately describes the program: ​
 

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      The demographics in New Hampshire are changing rapidly.  Not only are we aging, but also our population continues to diversify.  The 2000 census data indicates that we are one of the most rapidly diversifying states in the nation.  At the same time, a number of civic leaders in the state have recognized that there is a gap in minority leadership.  The State needs people who can provide guidance to and understanding of the needs of our “racial and ethnic communities/communities of color”. 
 

      As a result, the US Department of Health and Human Services funded a seed grant to develop a methodology for enhancing key leadership competencies of emerging leaders in communities of color.  Lead by the NH OMH, a planning committee was organized in the fall of 2003 to begin formalizing the program.  Below is the outcome of the planning committee’s work and the framework of ELCC as it exists today:
 

Program objectives are:
1.  Empower emerging leaders in communities of color.
2.  Build core leadership skills.
3.  Enhance skills needed to engage with and advocate on behalf of communities of color in a culturally sensitive way.
4.  Engage community leaders in the process of cultivating emerging leaders.
 

      The program will consist of a year-long training that will help students to understand what constitutes a leader and how that leader fits into the fabric of the community.  Key competencies will be taught including communication skills, meeting facilitation, group and individual dynamics, writing, networking, and strategic planning.

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Anticipated outcomes:
1.  Enhance individual capabilities of the student.
2.  Provide a practical leadership “tool kit”.
3.  Increase leadership to all communities.
4.  Create a network of fellow classmates and mentors for support.
5.  Support, cultivate, and enhance students’ personal style.
6.  Develop a cadre of emerging leaders of color for future engagement in civic activities.

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                                         Choosing an Effective Curriculum

 

   What makes ELCC a particularly unique and effective

leadership program for racial, ethnic, and linguistic

emerging leaders is the curriculum, the diverse and

culturally appropriate faculty and effective mentors.

The co-founders of ELCC deliberated on the critical

skill set necessary to be an effective leader and the

following was selected as the core curriculum:



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• Public Speaking:  All leaders must have an ability to express themselves, especially when advocating for others.  The ability to present ones message in a clear, concise, and organized fashion is often what distinguishes good speakers from mediocre.  The other aspect of public speaking is for the speaker to have confidence and composure when speaking in front of audiences large and small.  For this reason, the Concord, NH, branch of Toastmasters International was recruited to be part of the faculty team.  The public speaking sessions have been one of the most popular and most successful aspects of the curriculum.          

• Social Capital:  Understanding the importance and value of a social network to the well-being of both individuals and entire communities is critically important to understanding the value of intentionally creating working relationships.  This component of the curriculum is taught early in the program year, usually the first session, and is taught by one of the country’s leading scholars on social capital, Dr. Lew Feldstein, co-author of Better Together.
   

• Strategic Planning:  One of the underlying principles of ELCC is teaching participants to be “intentional”.  It is important to decide what you want to do and then do it.  The art of assessing or determining all the steps necessary to accomplishing a goal or objective is very important.  Strategic planning provides students with an understanding of the components of assessing the challenges to and planning action steps for reaching your goal.
   

• Conflict Resolution:  In communities that are often under-resourced, competing agendas frequently exist.  The passion and determination to accomplish one’s own objectives is fueled by the hunger and need for outcomes, be they jobs, money, schools, health care, or other essential resources.  As a leader, one is often called upon to help resolve individual and community conflicts.  Training in the skills of conflict resolution is a key element of ELCC’s skills development platform.
   

• Group and Power Dynamics:  In racial and ethnic communities, it is often heard that “I/We can’t do that, we don’t have as much power/money as they do,” or “they won’t let us do that.”  Understanding what power is, what makes up the components of power, and how to construct your own power is also a very important ingredient in achieving one’s own goals.  ELCC’s curriculum exposes participants to explore the issues of power and opportunities to jointly create the collective power of the class toward a given project.
   

• Grant Writing:  Grant writing was a component of the curriculum that was added in year three and has already proven to be beneficial for several of ELCC’s graduates.  Understanding the philanthropic system and how to access it successfully is very instrumental training ELCC participants to seek understanding and support for their ideas and concepts.
   

• Facilitation Skills:  The art of running a good meeting is a skill that all leaders should possess.  Many people find it difficult to direct a meeting, particularly where there is lots of passion and conflicting agendas and produce good meeting outcomes.  However, it is a skill that can be defined, teased apart, and practiced.
   

• Advocacy: Advocating for the needs of others is also a skill.  Understanding the needs of others, putting those needs into message format, and effectively presenting those needs to individuals or groups that have the power to effect an outcome is not easy.  Again it is a skill that can be practiced.
   

In summary, when tied together, the training components

of ELCC support and enhance emerging leaders’ skills and confidence to work, live, and make a difference in our state.

The ability to share their talents and cultural richness across communities makes us all healthier and wealthier.

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Initial Funding 

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      The US OMH, Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) Region 1, gave ELCC its first grant of $2,500 in 2003.  The Regional Minority Health Consultant for US OMH at that time, Ms. Janet Scott Harris, was very supportive of the need to intentionally develop and support new minority leaders.  Shortly thereafter, in the summer of 2004, David Haney, Vice President of Community Relations for Fleet Bank who had previously headed up a statewide event celebrating state leaders who had worked on behalf of diverse communities “Champions of Diversity”, awarded ELCC $5,000 from proceeds from the “Champions” event.  These seed dollars allowed us to officially recruit and support ELCC’s first class (Class of 2005).  Granite State Independent Living became our fiscal agent under the authority of Claudia Nixon, Program Director for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Services and member of the ELCC Board of Directors.

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Program Design
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     The founding community leaders were very instrumental during the start up phase of ELCC.  The nominations for the first class of emerging leaders were solicited from committee members.  Committee members developed all materials and forms, sent out applications, and enrolled the first class.  Mentors were recruited from both the committee and from NH’s diverse communities.  The program participants were interviewed to determine their needs and were then matched with an appropriate mentor.
 

     Fourteen individuals were invited to participate and seven enrolled in the first class.  Eleven mentors were recruited, all of whom continue participating in the mentor process today.  The first class (Class of ’05) began with an opening two-day retreat in the White Mountains of New Hampshire (held at Waterville Estates).  The major objective of the retreat was to establish rapport among the class.  One of the critical premises of ELCC is that our diverse communities need not only effective leaders, but a network of leadership.  Individual leaders are much more effective when they can reach out and engage others to pool their talent and energies and direct that towards a given set of issues.
 

     After two days of work and setting the foundation for the coming year, subsequent monthly one-day meetings provided specialized training that focused on the skills often needed and used by minority leaders.  Each session was held in different locations such as Franklin Pierce Law Center, the Department of Health and Human Services, Granite State Independent Living, Fleet Bank in Manchester, and City Hall in Nashua.  This practice of rotating the monthly sessions throughout the state with various community partners hosting continues today and has proven to be tremendously valuable in validating ELCC’s participants’ roles as community leaders and providing our community partners the opportunity to demonstrate their support.
 

     The participants graduate each June during the closing retreat again held in the White Mountains.  Feedback from the class, faculty, community hosts and mentors clearly show the program is successful, accomplishing its goals of improving individual skills in public speaking, conflict resolution, advocacy and facilitation.  ELCC has also created an improved understanding and skill set in negotiating the critical aspects of social capital and group/power dynamics.  Most importantly, each class has formed a unique bond with each other, community partners and mentors.  Graduates have continued to support one another in a collaborative fashion.  Ongoing successes of these emerging leaders from previous classes continue to be reported even five years later.

 

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Building Sustainability

    The second class (Class of ’06) began with eight students and only graduated three due to unanticipated challenges of retaining students.  Attrition was attributed to a number of issues including employers unwilling to release participants from work obligations to attend the monthly sessions and participants changing jobs or moving away.  As a result, program organizers developed a letter of commitment for employers of perspective participants to sign, assuring that the company or organization would support the nominee’s participation throughout ELCC programming.  This approach has proven to be successful based on improved retention in subsequent years of the program.
 

     In 2005, the ELCC director and program assistant developed a grant application to the NH Charitable Foundation which resulted in an award of $20,000 to further grow the program by increasing infrastructure and establishing non-profit status.  This grant award was instrumental in supporting the growth of ELCC.  The objectives of the grant included increasing ELCC’s capacity programmatically, creating program descriptions, establishing 501c3 status and a Board of Directors, developing ongoing leadership opportunities for ELCC graduates and improving the mentorship program.  It is with great pleasure that we can report that all objectives established under the auspices of this NH Charitable Foundation grant award were accomplished. 
 

      On September 28, 2006, Leadership New Hampshire (LNH) became the fiscal agent for ELCC, taking over for Granite State Independent Living.  During that year, ELCC hosted its third class (Class of ’07) with eleven participants starting in the program and graduating eight.  In this year, the program brochure was updated, Articles of Agreement were created, and an EIN number was established for the purpose of employing staff and strengthening the Board of Directors.
 

      In February 2007, a second grant application was submitted to the NH Charitable Foundation and in June a second award, this time of $22,000, was received.  This second award included funding to support strategic planning and the ability to hire ELCC’s first paid employee, a part-time Program Coordinator. Up until this point, much of the work of coordinating the student nominations, board meetings and all of the education sessions fell to Isabelle Blanchette, Administrative Assistant of the NH OMH.  Her services were invaluable in building ELCC, but the program had grown to the point that it required more time and independence in the form of a part time coordinator.  
 

    In June of 2007, ELCC filed for its 501c (3) status and subsequently received notification of being approved for non-profit status later that year. The first strategic planning session was held in July of 2007. ELCC replaced LNH as the fiscal agent in early 2008 when ELCC took over its own financial record keeping with appropriate professional services in place. 
 

    In the spring of 2008, the director and coordinator collaborated to successfully submit a grant application to the Bean Foundation which resulted in a $12,000 award to further develop strategic planning and move the program toward a sustainable model.
 

       The program is currently hosting its ninth year of emerging leaders and the excitement and enthusiasm expressed by this year’s participants, faculty, mentors, and community partners once again confirms the need for and validity of ELCC.