Since 1995, the Neighborhood Leadership Program (NLP) has maintained an important purpose: to support and grow the leadership capacities of those who live, work and/or volunteer in St. Paul’s neighborhoods. NLP participants apply their skills and abilities to address the concerns and hopes of their local neighborhoods and communities.

NLP has changed in format and structure over the years. Beginning in 1995, NLP was a week-long program that employed curriculum from the Blandin Foundation’s Community Leadership Program. It included two follow-up weekend trainings over the course of a year, and drew clusters of participants from all over St. Paul. This version of the program was offered four times.

In 1999, NLP was revised to better fit the needs of busy, urban participants. The format changed from an intensive week away to a six-month program with an opening 2-day retreat and 5 day-long workshops. These were held monthly and included earlier program elements, but also added new topics such as action-planning and implementation of community-based projects. One follow-up session was held 4-5 months after the completion of the program. On-site childcare and transportation were provided and a graduation ceremony was added. This version of the program was offered in four targeted neighborhoods: East Side (two times), Frogtown and Summit-University.

In 2003, the program was revised again - resembling its current form - in order to increase the number of people who could take advantage of leadership learning opportunities and to also increase the relevance for leaders at different stages of skills and abilities. Additionally, the program went from being primarily neighborhood focused to offering a citywide program to build connections across neighborhoods. Three different types of program offerings were made available to emerging and existing community-based leaders in St. Paul neighborhoods over the course of a year.

1. The introductory leadership program, called "Building Connections to Community", was designed as 6-week series for beginning and emerging leaders. An orientation to getting more involved in community work, they include topics such as private vs. public life, personal leadership interests and skills assessment, and personal action planning for leadership. The program was offered for specific neighborhoods in St. Paul (West Side, Lexington-Hamline/Summit-University, and the North End) to complement the community-wide focus of the six-month NLP. Simultaneous translation in Hmong and Spanish was provided when appropriate. A key partner in making these available was St. Paul Community Education department.

   Since 2006, these programs have been provided with much of the same content focus, yet customized to meet the needs of specific communities such as Latina women, the Karen community, and residents of supportive and public housing. The training and materials have been provided in Spanish and parts in Karen as appropriate. Additionally, these programs have been organized and carried out in partnership with local community groups such as the Karen Community of Minnesota, Circle of Parents a Program of PCAMN, Latino Economic Development Center, the Latino Child Care Providers Association of Minnesota, and Saint Paul Public Housing.

2. Similar to the adapted program in 1999, the Six-Month Leadership Program, popularly referred to simply as "NLP", was designed to bring together emerging and existing leaders from across St. Paul’s neighborhoods into a learning community. The program format and content expanded to bi-monthly sessions over six months as program staff discovered interest and commitment of participants to receive additional training. As begun in 1999, onsite childcare, transportation and a meal were continued to be provided to ensure full accessibility to the program. Participants were also paired with a volunteer community-based coach during the program. These program changes and adaptations made in 2003 continue to be in place today.

3. Link-Up Workshops were designed as ongoing training opportunities and targeted for existing community-based leaders who came together to network and share issues, ideas and solutions regarding topics or projects they were working on or concerned about. Originally, this series convened community leaders one evening a month for six-months. Technical assistance and specific trainings were made available by request of the group.

   Link-Up mini-grants were also made available to participants who submitted a proposal for funds to serve as "seed money" for projects they were working on in the community. They were expected to share insights and progress made with fellow participants in the program.

   Since 2006, Link-up Workshops have focused on providing continued learning opportunities for program alumni and other community leaders. Individual sessions have been held on a quarterly basis covering such topics as proposal writing, creating social change, and jazz as a metaphor for leadership. The Link-Up mini-grants were discontinued in 2009 due to limited funding.

NLP’s history continues to unfold and its impact grows as more NLP alumni take action in our community. If you have been a part of NLP in the past, we hope you will re-connect through Link-up Workshops or the volunteer opportunities we offer. And if you are new to NLP, we hope to see you in one of programs soon so that you will be a vital part of our story’s next chapter.

"Everyone should be blessed with the experience of Inspiration: to find oneself in a place of knowledge, compassion and hope that this program provided. This is priceless"

Tabitha Benci Derango, NLP 2009