American Leadership Forum

OUR MISSION IS TO UNITE BOUNDARY-CROSSING LEADERS FROM A DIVERSITY OF SECTORS THROUGHOUT THE GREATER SACRAMENTO REGION; STRENGTHEN THEIR LEADERSHIP CAPACITY THROUGH DEEPENING RELATIONSHIPS AND TRANSFORMATIVE EXPERIENCES; AND SERVE THE COMMUNITY BY WORKING COLLABORATIVELY TO MAKE SIGNIFICANT POSITIVE CONTRIBUTIONS.

THE AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM INVITES ESTABLISHED LEADERS FROM ALL PROFESSIONAL SECTORS AND ETHNIC BACKGROUNDS IN THE GREATER SACRAMENTO REGION TO PARTICIPATE IN A YEARLONG FELLOWS PROGRAM. THE FIRST YEAR FELLOWS PROGRAM IS AN ENGAGING PROCESS OF ACTION AND REFLECTION WITH DIALOGUES MOST RELEVANT TO THE CURRENT LEADERSHIP CHALLENGES RESULTING IN CIVIC ENGAGEMENT BY ACTION TEAMS OF PASSIONATE CONCERNED LEADERS. INDIVIDUAL LEADERSHIP IS TRANSFORMED THROUGH RIGOROUS REFLECTION ON STRENGTHS AND CHALLENGES, INTENTIONS AND OUTCOMES. TRANSFORMATIVE LEARNING ASSERTS THAT THE MORE IN CONTROL AND RESPONSIBLE LEADERS ARE FOR THEIR OWN LEARNING, THE GREATER THE POTENTIAL FOR TRANSFORMATIVE OUTCOMES. THE GOAL IS TO CREATE A DIVERSE AND GROWING NETWORK OF LEADERS TO WORK TOGETHER FOR THE PUBLIC GOOD. TO DATE, WE HAVE LEADERS FROM ACROSS SIX COUNTIES, 19 SECTORS AND REPRESENTING OVER 375 BUSINESSES THROUGHOUT THE REGION.

IN 2016, THE AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM SPEARHEADED A SERIES OF DIALOGUE AROUND IMPLICIT BIAS. MORE THAN 40 SENIOR FELLOWS, FROM A VARIETY OF SECTORS, PARTICIPATED IN TWO SIX-WEEK SERIES TO LEARN ABOUT COGNITIVE SCIENCE AND UNDERSTAND OUR OWN BIASES. SENIOR FELLOWS LEARNED TECHNIQUES TESTED AND TRUE WHICH MINIMIZE BIAS IN OUR BRAINS AND ALLOW US TO ADDRESS BIAS IN THE WORKPLACE AND INSIDE INSTITUTIONS. IN 2017, THIS DIALOGUE WAS DEVELOPED INTO A TWO-PART TRAINING WORKSHOP DESIGNED FOR NONPROFITS, FOR-PROFIT ENTITIES, PUBLIC SECTOR LEADERS AND INDIVIDUALS WHO WISH TO BETTER UNDERSTAND THE COGNITIVE SCIENCE BEHIND OUR UNCONSCIOUS BIASES. IN 2018, BEYOND BIAS WAS DEVELOPED AS AN ACCOMPANYING TRAINING THAT INCLUDES A DEEP DIVE INTO INTERVENTIONS ACROSS PERSONAL, INTERPERSONAL, INSTITUTIONAL AND STRUCTURAL LEVELS. THESE TRAININGS ARE TAILORED FOR EACH AUDIENCE AND PROVIDE THE BASIS FOR EFFECTIVE DIALOGUE ON RACE AND EQUITY FOR INSTITUTIONS THAT WANT TO TRANSFORM THEIR CULTURES. WE PROVIDED 16 TRAININGS AND HAD OVER 1,000 PARTICIPANTS.

THE AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM OPERATED THE ENCORE FELLOWS PROGRAM IN THE SACRAMENTO AND SIERRA REGIONS. AS WITH ALL THE ENCORE FELLOWS PROGRAMS, THE ENCORE FELLOWS SAC/SIERRA PROGRAM MATCHES HIGHLY EXPERIENCED PROFESSIONALS WITH NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS WHERE THEY CAN PERFORM HIGH IMPACT WORK AND HELP THOSE ORGANIZATIONS BUILD CAPACITY AND GROW STRATEGICALLY, ULTIMATELY MAKING A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT ON THE BROADER COMMUNITY. THE PROGRAM IS DESIGNED TO PROMOTE POSITIVE CROSS-SECTOR LEARNING AND DELIVER SUSTAINED ORGANIZATIONAL IMPACT TO THE NONPROFIT SECTOR. BY OPERATING AN ENCORE FELLOWS PROGRAM IN THE REGION,THE AMERICAN LEADERSHIP FORUM WILL ENABLE NONPROFITS TO GROW AND SUSTAIN THEIR ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH FELLOW'S HIGH-IMPACT SOCIAL-PURPOSE ROLES. THIS YEAR, ENCORE FELLOWS HAVE PERFORMED OVER 6,000 HOURS OF WORK TO INCREASE NONPROFIT CAPACITY.