CLP Essentials

Through the past few years of pandemic uncertainty and continued calls for racial justice and healing, as well as persistent demands for powerful and inspired leadership, the Community Leadership Program convened small alumni design teams to reimagine ways to create spaces where leaders can talk candidly about what’s important to them, and guide experiences that help us explore and practice becoming the leaders we aspire to be. 

We reaffirmed our mission, to equip, support and inspire each other to practice values-based collaborative leadership, and in 2021 launched Community Leadership Program – Essentials, a cohort-based learning series offered virtually that built on the collective wisdom of 32 previous cohorts. While the virus continues to be a health risk, we feel confident and practiced in reconvening an in-person cohort and are thrilled to announce CLP Essentials – a 7-month experiential learning program offered in a hybrid format (mostly in-person with two virtual sessions). Essentials underscores CLP’s proven approach to gather a cohort of learners that are committed to their own learning and learning of others, are able to be adaptive, responsive, curious and courageous, and, above all, are able to lead with their most deeply held values and aspirations. 

Led by CLP alumni, Essentials will foster an environment that’s anchored in CLP’s core values of:

  • Purpose – Stories, values, lived and witnessed experiences shape and guide us.
  • Courage – Being authentic, vulnerable, and daring are key to transformative learning.
  • Inclusion – A diversity of perspectives and experiences are fundamental to growth and potential.
  • Continuous Learning – The breadth and depth of our being and learning is expansive. 

Reset, reconnect, and reimagine what is essential to you with a community of learners who are committed to learning, practicing, and becoming the leaders they aspire to be.

Application Information

Application period for CLP Essentials begins on October 10th, 2023 and will continue through October 24th. 

You will find the application includes questions about how and why you’d like to be a part of CLP Essentials, and what you hope you could gain from the experience. The online application will go live on October 10th and is designed so that you’re able to save, review, and submit your thoughtful responses once you’re ready. Should you need assistance with the application, please reach out to Launch Consulting. If needed, a 1:1 session can also be scheduled.  

We ask all prospective applicants to learn about CLP Essentials by attending one of the following Information Sessions:

  • Tuesday, September 26th, from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM EDT
  • Thursday, September 28th, from 11:00 AM to noon EDT
  • Wednesday, October 4th, from 9:30 AM to 10:30 AM EDT

Our info sessions have ended at this time, but you can see the slides we shared with those who participated. Just click on the image below.

CLP Essentials invites people who embrace a learning climate fostered by supportive and trusting relationships, courageous dialogues and discourses, and spaces that invite differing perspectives. If you’re committed to your own learning as well as supporting the development of others, willing to engage in critical reflection and re-examination, and are able to voice and to hear lived and witnessed experiences, we’d welcome hearing from you.

Learn to lead inclusively, courageously and meaningfully.

Leaders in a community can be resources to each other through engaged and curious presence. It is our intention to invite you into a transformative 7-month learning journey that starts with a focus on one’s self and then progresses to interpersonal awareness and understanding, and finally our collaborative capacity to hold powerful conversations and practice leadership.

Each cohort is unique. While the structure and course of sessions are sequenced, participants ultimately drive the substance and style of the discourse and the personal and collective outcomes they aspire to attain. Our approach encourages participants to discover and examine assumptions that they hold or that have a hold on them. As the cohort  forms, Rather than defining an agenda for the cohort, our approach facilitates the conditions and creates space for conversations to emerge from the group experience.

Historically, CLP cohorts represent a broad spectrum of age, ethnicity, gender, work, abilities, and life experiences, and leadership styles. In CLP Essentials, cohort size is limited to 18 participants that either live and/or work in New Haven. 

CLP Essentials is a hybrid cohort-based experience that consists of virtual and in-person meetings, as well as two 3-day retreats, for a total of 82 hours of curriculum. Cohorts will commence this coming December, and will run through June of 2024. Experienced leaders (all CLP alumni) will hold space for your exploration and learning. 

Here are the dates and times for the cohort. Please ensure that you’re able to attend all of the dates. 

  • Virtual meetings on Zoom:  Fridays, 10:00-11:30 AM:  Dec.15 and Jan.19
  • In-person meetings at the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund (Hamden, CT): Fridays,  9:00 AM-2:00 PM:  Feb. 23, Mar. 22, Apr.12 and May 17
  • Two in-person evening events with CLP Alumni, locations TBD, 6:00-8:00 PM: one in late March/early April and one in early May
  • Five Monthly “Notice and Support” group meetings starting in February with 3 to 4 members of your cohort.  These groups provide another space to debrief, to share, and to reflect on the learning from monthly sessions. Schedules for these smaller groups are determined by group participants and their respective availability.
  • Two off-site retreats at The Guest House Retreat & Conference Center (Chester, CT): Jan. 26-28 (dinner Friday-lunch Sunday) and Jun. 23-25 (dinner Sunday-lunch Tuesday)

CLP Essentials are frameworks, practices, and learning methodologies from our long-standing signature program that have been instrumental in supporting past participants becoming the leaders that they aspire to be.

Listed below are a few of practices we will explore together throughout the arc of the program: 

  • Connecting to core values
  • Practicing deep listening and inquiry
  • Discovering, sharing, and listening to our stories
  • Being seen and creating opportunities to be seen
  • Naming and noticing emotions
  • Developing a practice of noticing levels of interpersonal communication
  • Practicing vulnerability and presence
  • Taking time to pause and recover, or pause and discover 
  • Addressing race, racism, power, and privilege in the moment and naming it in systems
  • Speaking from the “I”
  • Practicing adaptive leadership

Why CLP? When CLP Alumni were asked that question, they provided the following responses:

  • “CLP is a space for risk-taking, tripping up and uncovering that true self in order to act as a community of leaders that aim to adapt to the changing needs of all people and to support shifts we must make to create a just planet.” ~Melanie Quigley
  • “CLP is a place where space is created to explore one’s leadership in the company of other leaders with the explicit desire to build a more equitable community that better serves the needs of all community members. This calling invites members to challenge, confront and deconstruct dysfunctional norms while supporting the creation of a “new normal”. This is a powerful challenge and I am continually inspired as I journey with others toward stronger community leadership.” ~Karen DuBois Walton
  • “CLP builds and extends my community. CLP creates space that doesn’t exist within office cubes, in meetings, or between an exchange of emails and texts. CLP reminds me again and again to pause, listen, ask, share, explore…repeat.” ~Aly Fox
  • “I came to CLP expecting to focus on “leadership skills.” But what I’ve learned through CLP — about myself, empowering others, and creating community — has been much more profound and transformative.” ~Sara Lulo
  • “CLP introduced and started a journey for me that led to new ways to lead and new conversations in the workplace and throughout my life. Because of CLP, I’ve begun a path of personal discovery around truth that had been subdued in my past. CLP gives me the courage to embrace who I am wholly and see the brilliance in others.” ~Annie Lin

Ready to Apply?

Application Details: 

The Application will be open from October 10th through October 24th. We ask that you respond to all the questions in the application in written form. We will be reviewing applications after the application deadline on October 24th, and hope to create the cohort by November 10th. Should you have any questions throughout the application process, please feel free to contact: Launch Consulting, and one of the CLP senior advisors will get back to you.

APPLY NOW

Frequently Asked Questions

For the CLP Essentials 2023-2024 hybrid format, we are offering one cohort of approximately 18 individuals per cohort. 

Yes, more than one person from your organization may apply, but please note that with one small cohort this year, we would not be able to accept more than one person from any organization, regardless of how many apply, as a cohort of diverse voices (including diversity in their work) is our goal.

  • Virtual meetings on Zoom,  Fridays, 10:00-11:30 AM:  Dec. 15 and Jan. 19
  • In-person meetings at the William Caspar Graustein Memorial Fund (Hamden, CT),  Fridays, 9:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Feb. 23, Mar. 22, Apr. 12 and May 17
  • Two in-person evening events with CLP Alumni, locations TBD, 6:00-8:00 PM:  one  in late March/early April and one in early May
  • Five monthly “Notice and Support” group meetings staring in February, with 3-4 members of your cohort. These groups provide another space to debrief, to share, and to reflect on the learning from monthly sessions.  Schedules for these smaller groups are determined by group participants and their respective availability.
  • Two off-site retreats at The Guest House Retreat & Conference Center  (Chester, CT):  Jan. 26-28 (dinner Friday-lunch Sunday) and Jun. 23-25 (dinner Sunday-lunch Tuesday)

Participants are asked to meet each month in a smaller group called the Notice and Support Group (N&S groups) to connect and debrief in between sessions. Those times will be set up and determined by you and your small group members. CLP leaders will often share reading, audio/visual, and other resources with participants with the hope of deepening learning and reflection throughout the program. We believe that engaging in these resources individually and  with fellow participants supports leadership learning and practice. There is no group project or test. We find that your full-and-engaged self, time, and presence is the most powerful contribution you can offer.

There is no cost for the program. Rather, we ask that you invest your time and demonstrate a serious commitment to learning, by making room in your schedules, for every session, as well as a small group meeting of cohort members each month (Notice and Support Group), to do the work between sessions.

We accept applications only during the recruitment period.   For the 2023-2024 cohort, the online application will be open from October 10th through October 24th, 2023.

Once recruitment opens, you will have access to the online application. You may apply by writing your answers. If you need any support filling out the application please reach out to Launch Consulting, and we can provide 1:1 support if needed. 

If you begin the application, but prefer to come back to complete it, you may check a box at the top, to indicate you’d like to resume later. You will be prompted to enter an email address and set a password, so you can retrieve the form later, with your completed answers intact. You will be sent an email with a link to connect with your application, so you may return to it. When it’s done, remember to click the “submit” button to send the form.

You will receive a confirmation receipt for your application. We will then take some time to review your application. 

It takes considerable time, energy, and discussion by our team of alumni reviewers to assemble powerful cohorts. Once the application period comes to an end, our team of reviewers will read, discuss, and recommend applicants for invitations. We expect to offer invitations by November 10th and will request your decision by November 15th. 

CLP relies on the power and participation of each person and it’s important to us that each invited participant attends all sessions. If you know in advance of starting a cohort that you’ll miss one or more sessions, please do let us know so that we can offer your slot to a person on our waiting list.  Unforeseen circumstances do come up, and we acknowledge that life will continue to happen while you participate in CLP. We hope you can remain fully engaged for the duration of the program and we encourage you to discuss potential conflicts as soon as possible.

CLP relies on the power and participation of each person and it’s important to us that each invited participant attends all sessions. If you know in advance of starting a cohort that you’ll miss one or more sessions, please do let us know so that we can offer your slot to a person on our waiting list.  Unforeseen circumstances do come up, and we acknowledge that life will continue to happen while you participate in CLP. We hope you can remain fully engaged for the duration of the program and we encourage you to discuss potential conflicts as soon as possible.

If you have more questions in advance of the application or about the program, you may reach out to Launch Consulting, and one of the CLP senior advisors will get back to you.