CLP Site Profile -- Center for Neighborhood Leadership, New York City

 

Partners:

• Association for Housing and Neighborhood Development
• New York Immigration Coalition
• Empire State College
• Public Allies
• Community Learning Partnership

Type of Programs and Descriptions:

There are two different programs:

1. Organizing Apprenticeship with one year field placement, educational program and college credit. (This is a pilot program preceding development of a one-year certificate and two-year AA degree program in Community Change Studies)
2. Intensive 15-seminar series for Midcareer organizers to focus on emerging issues, alternative strategies for bringing about change, development of management, media, communications and other skills. (This too may be a pilot for development of a Midcareer MA program in Community Change)

Status:

• Apprenticeship began in September with first 10 full-time enrollees, with 44 weeks learning one day a week in classroom and 4 days per week on the job organizing for grassroots groups with good mentoring/coaching
• Midcareer program slated to begin in early to mid-2010; seminars likely to be offered on campus of a public university in NYC

Support Services for the Program:

• Apprenticeship includes income and educational benefit totaling about $25,000
• Also includes health insurance, day care through partnership with Public Allies

Other Innovations:

• CNL is a joint project of two citywide coalitions with memberships totaling over 290 grassroots groups which initiated the joint program, raised the initial money, and then approached college and Public Allies from that position of strength
• The students/apprentices are recruited through the coalitions’ member groups and through other routes and then selected on a competitive basis
• The apprentices are all placed with coalition member groups which are selected on a competitive basis and which pay $5000 towards the apprentices’ stipends
• The students will also work as a team in one multiracial neighborhood, developing team work skills as they help an existing group expand their organizing people; this organizing project may continue into future years so the community has continuity of support and the students have a good venue for organizing together
• Empire State College is a remarkably flexible institution geared to provide individualized adult education and, less frequently, to work in real collaboration with “cohort learning programs” which respond to the needs of a particular group of people – such as Organizing Apprentices -- who study as a learning community

Contact Information:

• Hector Soto, Director, Center for Neighborhood Leadership
• David Shuffler, Director, INCO, ANHD
• Erika Stallings, NYIC
• Benjamin Dulchin, Executive Director, ANHD
• Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director, NYIC