Columbus-based CivicLab announced Wednesday the inaugural cohort for the Systemness Leadership Academy to advance systemness-centered strategies that empower experienced collaborative and systems leaders to approach and address complex social problems.
Systemness is a 12-month experience for co-creating better social systems designed to serve whole people. Leaders in the academy represent communities that want to use a coherent and wholistic approach to addressing complex social problems, CivicLab said in a press release.
Among the participants is one representative from Indiana, Stacy Townsley, associate commissioner for adult strategy at the Indiana Commission for Higher Education.
Participants from seven states have been selected from an applicant pool for their ability to affect systems change in the areas of educational attainment, talent retention, population growth, economic development, and quality of life.
In addition to Townsley, participants include:
- Renee Aumock, career navigator and LCAN coordinator at the Bay-Arenac, Michigan, Independent School District
- Wendy Blackmore, director of operations at Tennessee College Access & Success Network
- Kevin Chandler, vice president of college advancement and community relations at Macomb Community College in Michigan
- Daryl Curry, director of education and workforce partnerships at the Nashville, Tennessee, Area Chamber of Commerce
- Melanie D’Evelyn, executive director, One Million Degrees, Colorado
- Barbara Halsey, principal, Halsey Consulting, California
- Greg Handel, vice president for education and talent, Detroit Regional Chamber in Michigan
- Tessa LeSage, FutureMakers director, Collaboratory in Florida
- Kate Mahar, associate vice president, Shasta College, California
- Maureen Ovington, director, Berrien College Access Network in Michigan
- Jamie Storey, director of higher education innovation at Michigan College Access Network
- Christi Taylor, senior director of talent initiatives, Detroit Regional Chamber in Michigan
- Shareea Woods, director for the Texas College Access Network, Educate Texas
Each participant has chosen a unique focus area relevant to their own community, region, or state to apply the principles, practices, and frameworks provided by CivicLab.
“Our social systems were designed for a world that no longer exists,” said Jack Hess, CivicLab’s executive director. “And while we have become quite good at solving problems with advances in science and technology, we have yet to learn how to dissolve problems by redesigning the underlying systems that are causing the problems in the first place. That’s what we designed the leadership academy to do: to teach leaders that it’s a system thing, not a single thing.”
The academy teaches systems-building principles, shares concrete examples of the ideas in action, and provides a space to practice the skills. Its goal is to create a cohort of national leaders dedicated to transforming social systems to better serve all people. Each participant will learn how to make invisible social systems visible to all in the community, how to transform systems by focusing on relationships, and how to go beyond solving and co-create acts of dissolution to permanently affect complex social challenges.
“The excitement and honor I feel are beyond words as I join the esteemed inaugural cohort of leaders undergoing formal training with CivicLab,” said Shareea Woods, director of the Texas College Access Network, selected for the first cohort. “This transformative program equips us with the expertise to adeptly facilitate the implementation of their powerful frameworks and cutting-edge tools, empowering me to make an even greater impact on the lives of students throughout Texas.”
CivicLab is accepting nominations and applications for the next Systemness Leadership Academy starting in October 2023. Interested individuals should visit www.systemness.org
The Systemness Leadership Academy is generously supported by Lumina Foundation. For more information, visit systemness.org.
