Pod 9 starts may 2023
In Virginia, we are experiencing the severe effects of racial injustice, violent repression, and health inequities, all within a context of attacks on democracy. Social and progressive political movements have reached new levels of power and reach, yet there are still barriers to civic participation for those who have been historically excluded, erased, and imprisoned. The tide is shifting for a wave of progressive leadership to build a new Virginia in the shell of the old.
The Virginia Progressive Leadership Program is a four-month experiential learning program for leaders who are Black, Indigenous, or part of the global majority and those with diverse lived experiences who aim to transform systems & culture to realize the Virginia we imagine… today.
our Model
Program weekends
Through workshops and community-building sessions in a small group setting, participants engage in four weekend-long trainings, each with its own area of focus: positionality + community, storytelling + narrative, grassroots organizing, and community-centric fundraising.
1:1 MENTORSHIP
Participants are paired with a mid- to senior-level mentor with shared lived and/or professional experience. Through the course of four mentor meetings, participants develop their goal/s and an action plan for next steps post-graduation. Both the participant and the mentor can choose to close or continue the relationship upon completion of the program.
ACTION SQUADS
Education and critical reflection would be nothing without action. In groups of 3-5 based on shared area of practice or interest, participants work to develop a community-based campaign, service, or project throughout the four months of the program. By the end of August, each squad engages in some sort of collective action and shares the results or next steps with the rest of the pod.
Virginia Residency
VAPLP participants must all live in Virginia and have a commitment to building a more just Virginia. We understand the history of being the first colonized land in the US and the capital of the Confederacy. Carrying the torches of generations before us, we aim to better Virginia's future.
lived experience
VAPLP centers people who are part of communities most impacted by the issues we seek to address. This includes Black, Indigenous, and People of Color, women and trans/nonbinary folx, LGBQ+ folx, folx with disabilities, non-native English speakers, and anybody whose identity has not been traditionally invested in. While the program centers these folx in particular, VAPLP serves emerging leaders across all identities who work towards racial & social justice.
social change work
In advancing racial justice and collective liberation, there are many avenues towards social change. VAPLP honors the wide array of social change work that people engage in - community organizing, political campaigns, policy work, healing, cultural art, scholar-activism, and many more. We invite folx anywhere within the ecosystem to join the program.
