The Change Leader Program is a professional development course with an active network of course graduates. Participants attend a three-day immersive institute with instruction on assessing environments and the communication and facilitation skills necessary to implement change. Following the institute, Change Leaders practice these skills by completing a certification project. These certified Change Leaders form a network of leaders that share a common language, mentor each other, and convene through leadership circles and conferences.

by Rick Yoshimoto

CANCELLED – Hi Change Leaders, unfortunately we have had to cancel this event until further notice. We hope to bring Arlene to our community at another time. 

We are thrilled to host a special event featuring Arlene Goldbard, who will be presenting “Belonging As A Cultural Right.” Lunch will be provided. Seating is limited.

From Arlene:
Our chief cultural deficit is belonging. Ask a roomful of people who among them feels a strong sense of belonging—cultural citizenship, the right to practice one’s culture, to be valued as an equal contributor to community life, to feel welcome in one’s own city or town—and often, only a few will raise their hands. Some may feel excluded or devalued because they aren’t part of a dominant cultural group that shapes the larger social framework. Others may feel that way on account of coming here as a refugee, of ancestors being forcibly relocated from Indigenous lands or arriving via slave ship, of a hostile environment for people of their race, religion, gender, or orientation. Yet we can never achieve a truly equitable, livable, and creative society without practicing full cultural citizenship, without seeking full belonging for all. 

Artists and culture-makers have key roles to play in the realizing a vision of true belonging. Participants in this workshop will gain insight into the power of belonging, how belonging (and its opposite, “disbelonging”) play out in their own experience, and what artists and organizers can do to nourish true belonging and cultural citizenship in their communities. They’ll also learn a simple and remarkably powerful dialogue technique—Story Circles—they will be able to apply in their own work. 

Arlene Goldbard (www.arlenegoldbard.com) is a New Mexico-based writer, speaker, consultant, cultural activist, and visual artist. Her books include The Wave, The Culture of Possibility: Art, Artists & The Future; New Creative Community: The Art of Cultural Development, Community, Culture and Globalization, Crossroads: Reflections on the Politics of Culture, and Clarity. She has addressed academic and community audiences in the U.S. and Europe and provided advice to community-based organizations, independent media groups, and public and private funders and policymakers.

The Change Leader Institute is a professional development course that addresses leadership issues in relation to leading change. Our goal is to better equip arts and cultural leaders to deal with environmental and organizational change, and also to create a statewide mentoring network in the arts and cultural community.

You can access the Institute Application here.

**Please note that there is currently a wait-list for the Change Leader Institute. Submit an application to be placed on the wait-list.

Spring Institute
June 15-17, 2020
Location: Homestead Resort Midway, UT

Fall Institute
November 11-13, 2020
Location: Red Cliffs Lodge
Moab, UT

To complete their training, Change Leaders design a project, applying the concepts they learned in the Institute. After examining their environment to identify a need, they plan a response, engage others, identify resources, negotiate, honor resistance, adjust plans as necessary and implement change.  Each certification project is unique.

• Certification projects
• Steps in Certification Process

Conferences for certified Change Leaders are held twice a year. Conferences provide training from high quality facilitators and a chance to network with members of the Change Leader network. Conferences also showcase certifying Change Leaders as they present their certification projects.

Spring Conference
Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Location – Utah Cultural Celebration Center
West Valley City, UT

Keynote – Dr. Chris Healy, CEBS, PHR, SHRM-CP

Servant Leadership Principles and Application
In today’s climate people it is vital to organizations to have solid leadership not only at the helm of the organization but throughout the various levels of staff. In this session we will explore the theory of Servant Leadership as well as the inter-connectiveness with other management paradigms, theories, and leader personality traits.

More information and Registration

Change Leader Random Acts of Art Scholarships encourage creative engagement in communities, spearheaded by Change Leaders. RAAs can range from art projects to targeted community-based activities. This program provides scholarships for the following purposes:

• Support local civic engagement using arts as a medium and/or artists as active participants.
• Illustrate the impact of the cultural community in meeting social or community needs/opportunities through small projects that are not part of regular programming.
• Assist Change Leaders in building value and increasing connections within their respective communities.
• Strengthen and raise awareness of the cultural community and the Change Leader network through media and public relations.

Click HERE to view the guidelines.

Final Reports are now online! Access them HERE.

To log in to the online application for this scholarship, Change Leaders can visit uamgrants.utah.gov.
Please note: The online grants system works best if viewed in Chrome or Firefox web browsers.