CoNREPA
Leadership Development Institute

Cohort IX | 2022-2023

History of the CLDI

The LDI was first conceived at a gathering in Phoenix, Arizona, February 2008 and was driven by three factors. First, the national ethnic minority psychological associations recognized a shared need to create a systemic leadership pipeline for psychologists of color. At that point in time, none of those associations had a formalized mechanism for fostering and supporting leadership development within their respective organizations. Second, the ethnic minority psych associations recognized and affirmed the need to develop a leadership program that was grounded in the cultural, racial and ethnic worldviews and values that informed who we are as individuals, as professionals and as leaders within our associations. Last, the Council recognized that given the importance of organizational solidarity – across the various ethnic minority psychological associations – a leadership development program would provide an ideal space to begin to create the interpersonal networks that would subsequently be the foundation for the organizational coalitions that were critical to our collective effectiveness. A working group was created to develop and seek funding for the LDI at the Boston APA Convention in August of 2008 with the Society of Counseling Psychology joining the collaboration from the onset. Since 2012, the LDI has been funded jointly by each of the CoNREPA organizations plus APA’s Division 17 and the Commission on Ethnic Minority Recruitment, Retention, and Training in Psychology (CEMRRAT).

Overview

A central premise of the LDI is the belief that both leadership and effective coalitions are founded on strong interpersonal and organizational relationships. To that end, the LDI is a yearlong training process designed to foster the leadership skills and social networks critical to one’s effectiveness as a leader. Each year, one Leadership Fellow is selected from each participating CoNREPA organization and Division 17 to create a cohort that will meet, train and work together for the entire year. To begin their training, Fellows meet for a mandatory leadership retreat, facilitated by the LDI Board members and possible special guests. Following the retreat, the Fellows will meet regularly to explore, examine, and consider the workings of leadership in their respective organizations. In addition, Fellows will undergo a Presidential Residency with the president of their respective home association to assist and shadow their president as she or he undertakes their presidential duties as well as to lead a presidential project or initiative for the association. The cohort of Fellows will also engage in informal discussions with the President of each National psychological Association or LDI Member Division to gain insights into each Leader’s views on the meaning of leadership, their leadership trajectory and leadership in their specific association. Fellows also take part in topic-specific and informal discussions throughout the year with different guest mentors who are Diverse Leaders in their own right to learn about issues such as negotiating institutional/political systems, self-care as a person of color, and developing a leadership niche in the field.