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Founded in 2014 at the University of Chicago, the Civic Leadership Academy is a leadership development program for emerging and high-potential leaders in non-profit organizations and local government agencies within the City of Chicago and Cook County. Since the program’s inception, 300 fellows who represent nearly every civic space and every geographic corner in Chicago and Cook County have participated.
The Civic Leadership Academy meets every other Friday for six months from January to June. Additionally, the program includes a one-week global practicum at the end of February, and a monthly civic practitioner leadership series.
Taught by world-class faculty from the University of Chicago and other institutions, fellows engage in a six-month interdisciplinary curriculum that exposes them to essential leadership frameworks and applications.
Specifically designed to strengthen connections between nonprofit and government leaders, the Civic Leadership Academy provides opportunities for its fellows to create links for future impact. Alumni programming allows fellows across cohorts to continuously expand their networks and continue learning.
In addition to courses taught by world-class UChicago faculty and civic practitioners, the CLA curriculum includes class sessions and monthly panels led by local civic leaders applying skills learned in CLA to current issues and challenges.
Fellows hone leadership skills and gain valuable perspective by completing a one-week global practicum to learn how civic leaders in a different context address challenges in their work.
Fellows complete a capstone project wherein they identify a structural challenge facing local government or nonprofits and propose a series of institutional reforms to address the challenge.