FPWA Graduates First Cohort of ‘Ready to Lead’ Program

Program trains senior level nonprofit leaders for executive leadership roles within their organization

(New York, NY) Fifteen nonprofit professionals completed a five-month program designed to prepare senior level professionals for executive leadership within their organization. Presented by the Center for Leadership Development (CLD) at FPWA and Corporate Counseling Associates (CCA), the program enhances skills, defines personal style and helps potential leaders clarify their vision for sustainable leadership.

During the ceremony, Lewis Zuchman, Executive Director at SCAN NY delivered a riveting keynote on the importance of recognizing issues and having the courage to address those issues head on. Mr. Zuchman has been a social justice advocate for more than 48 years, working in East Harlem. Graduates were also treated to a poetry slam featuring Miguel Rodriguez and Christopher Lilley, two young faith activists from TrueVoices TV.

FPWA launched ‘Ready to Lead’ in 2015 to further build the internal capacity of community-and faith-based organizations to ensure strong, consistent leadership, in order to reduce organizational turn over and help nonprofits improve their services. More than 10 nonprofits participated in the first cohort, representing agencies that focus on a variety of human services from foster care, to domestic violence survivors and people living with disabilities.

“Ready to Lead is a corner stone program of FPWA’s Center for Leadership Development (CLD) which aims to increase the capacity of community and faith-based organizations,” said Vanessa Leung, Director of Member Initiatives at FPWA. “When nonprofits are provided with the trainings and supports needed to strengthen programs and develop a talented and skilled staff, they can focus on effectively impacting the changing needs of the communities they serve.”

Participants in the Ready to Lead program hail from the following FPWA community-based organizations: Abbott House, Argus Community, Barrier Free Living, Chinese Planning Council, Edwin Gould Services for Children and Families, Greenhope Services for Women, Heights and Hills, Henry Street Settlement, Homecrest Community Services, Lutheran Social Services and Stanley M. Isaacs Neighborhood Center.

**More information on the Center for Leadership Development can be found at http://fpwa.org/the-center-for-leadership-development/