BETTER West Alabama Leadership Training Program
West Alabama Regional Commission + The University of Alabama Center for Economic Development
Effective leaders are critically important for the well-being, sustainability, and development of communities throughout West Alabama. Local leaders must understand their role within the community and realize the resources and connections needed to best assist local residents. Simply stated, successful leaders are effective at addressing local concerns through best practices and the utilization of the proper resources.
This is a solutions-oriented, participatory-based leadership development curriculum designed to help individuals develop and strengthen their skills. The goal of the BETTER West Alabama Leadership Training course is to effectively equip leaders with the following:
This curriculum is structured around four (4) core sessions (16 hours of instruction). Each session includes opportunities for program participants to interact with their peers, present to the group, or learn from skilled professionals in the field of leadership development. Activities and exercises in each session are designed to build program participants’ knowledge about leadership and community development.
This is a solutions-oriented, participatory-based leadership development curriculum designed to help individuals develop and strengthen their skills. The goal of the BETTER West Alabama Leadership Training course is to effectively equip leaders with the following:
- Increased leadership knowledge and strategies.
- A better understanding of leadership in communities.
- Increased awareness of local assets.
- Better equipped to work with a diverse population.
- Experiential (hands-on) experience in working with teams and mobilizing assets to find solutions to local problems.
- Access to an expanded leadership network and resources.
This curriculum is structured around four (4) core sessions (16 hours of instruction). Each session includes opportunities for program participants to interact with their peers, present to the group, or learn from skilled professionals in the field of leadership development. Activities and exercises in each session are designed to build program participants’ knowledge about leadership and community development.
Tuscaloosa County
Hotel Indigo
111 Greensboro Avenue
Tuscaloosa, AL 35401
Session 1 - BETTER Leadership & Professionalism / Dr. Arturo Menefee & Erin Hackenmueller
Friday, July 23, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Leadership development is most successful when it provides concrete tools and strategies to assist each participant in achieving their goals for the community. This session will help to develop some foundational practices for participants to fully utilize their leadership skills to address local situations and for the greater community.
Session 2 - Managing Projects to BETTER Your Community / Hollie Cost & Herman Lehman
Friday, July 30, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Hidden treasures abound in our small communities across Alabama. We often refer to these as “potential” projects. Project planning, management, and implementation can yield significant results for your community, regardless of scale. Using a case study-based approach, this session will provide
participants with the knowledge, skills, and resources to hit the ground running with at least one project in their respective communities.
Session 3 - Creating Resilience: Building a BETTER Community / Hollie Cost & Herman Lehman
Friday, August 13, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Community resilience is critical, even in good times. Of course, this is particularly critical when disaster strikes or when a community experiences a significant loss. Although communities are accustomed to experiencing weather disasters, loss of businesses, and leadership changes, some changes such as an unprecedented health crisis cannot be anticipated. That is why resilience is key. Resilient communities are both independent and interdependent, relying on their own resources to the greatest extent possible but opening their arms to the possibility of partnership and support when needed. This session will provide a framework that includes the key elements of creating a resilient and sustainable community concerning infrastructure, revenue streams, personnel, and partnerships.
Session 4 - Community Driven Development: Utilizing Your Resources and Assets for a BETTER Community / Nisa Miranda & Candace Beers
Friday, August 20, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Before a community can reach its potential economically, effort must be invested in building a foundation for sustainable development. That foundation includes the organization of community resources, local knowledge of those resources, and leadership development through an emphasis on the skills those leaders need to acquire or enhance. Additionally, growing and training leaders of all ages provides the ability to build local teams that can take responsibility for goals of differing scales. More importantly, learning and practicing consensus building around making decisions that affect the entire community results in a town or city that is more resilient.
Friday, July 23, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Leadership development is most successful when it provides concrete tools and strategies to assist each participant in achieving their goals for the community. This session will help to develop some foundational practices for participants to fully utilize their leadership skills to address local situations and for the greater community.
Session 2 - Managing Projects to BETTER Your Community / Hollie Cost & Herman Lehman
Friday, July 30, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Hidden treasures abound in our small communities across Alabama. We often refer to these as “potential” projects. Project planning, management, and implementation can yield significant results for your community, regardless of scale. Using a case study-based approach, this session will provide
participants with the knowledge, skills, and resources to hit the ground running with at least one project in their respective communities.
Session 3 - Creating Resilience: Building a BETTER Community / Hollie Cost & Herman Lehman
Friday, August 13, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Community resilience is critical, even in good times. Of course, this is particularly critical when disaster strikes or when a community experiences a significant loss. Although communities are accustomed to experiencing weather disasters, loss of businesses, and leadership changes, some changes such as an unprecedented health crisis cannot be anticipated. That is why resilience is key. Resilient communities are both independent and interdependent, relying on their own resources to the greatest extent possible but opening their arms to the possibility of partnership and support when needed. This session will provide a framework that includes the key elements of creating a resilient and sustainable community concerning infrastructure, revenue streams, personnel, and partnerships.
Session 4 - Community Driven Development: Utilizing Your Resources and Assets for a BETTER Community / Nisa Miranda & Candace Beers
Friday, August 20, 9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
Before a community can reach its potential economically, effort must be invested in building a foundation for sustainable development. That foundation includes the organization of community resources, local knowledge of those resources, and leadership development through an emphasis on the skills those leaders need to acquire or enhance. Additionally, growing and training leaders of all ages provides the ability to build local teams that can take responsibility for goals of differing scales. More importantly, learning and practicing consensus building around making decisions that affect the entire community results in a town or city that is more resilient.