Through an interactive self-assessment activity, individuals will have an opportunity to explore different paths to civic engagement and advocacy. Based on the outcomes, individuals will form teams that will work together throughout the training program on housing, early childhood education, or workforce development strategies. Participants will also meet mentors who will help guide goals and actions to achieve measurable objectives.

A city manager and an elected official from a JeffCo community will provide a primer on local government operations and walk through a housing case study on a recent City Council decision to outline all the key steps, timeline, and decision points.

A key component to leading change in your community is having access to a network from which to gather insights from and call upon to participate in civic activities. We'll introduce a grassroots JeffCo leader who has been successful in building their local network through relationships and collaboration. Participants will get a chance to ask questions and then get to work planning how they will grow their networks of neighbors and stakeholders.

Additionally, we’ll provide a worksheet that will help participants begin to think about their networks of neighbors and stakeholders. A key component to leading change in your community is having access to a network from which to gather insights from and call upon to participate in civic activities.

Together with their mentors, each of the three groups will begin to identify a specific strategy and tactics that each individual will take on in service of a collective impact. This will be a working session where participants will be engaged in active conversation and planning.

No matter the issue, there are a few successful formulas for ensuring your message resonates with the intended audience – and it relies on a combination of research-backed messages, personal stories, and data. Participants will practice effective communication using the “me, we, why” and other frameworks to build skills and confidence in developing messages.

Elected officials want and need to hear from their constituents, but often people feel intimidated by how to build these important relationships. In this session, each group will get dedicated time during a roundtable session to share their initial thoughts/plans for civic engagement to a group of mayors and city council members, who will provide feedback and direction. The end of the session will feature a short Q&A with the guests.

With the support of their group, everyone will use a template to create a quick action plan that they’ll present at the end of this workshop. The goal is to create a plan that can be started within the following month.

The final “session” is a social celebration where each group will present their plan and then participants will exchange experiences in a fun and informal setting with food and drinks.