The James River Association is happy to announce the second year of the James River Leadership Academy has successfully begun! This year’s cohort of 15 enthusiastic students have already met for two “Leadership Sessions” to begin developing skills that will guide them to take action on behalf of the James River. These participants are from varying school districts including Williamsburg, Chesterfield, Henrico, Colonial Heights, and independent schools.
By May 2017, students are required to implement a community-based action project with help from a mentor. Each unique project will come together through the student’s own design with their mentor’s guidance, giving them the opportunity to learn from a range of experiences and expertise.
Our leadership partner, InnerWill, has kick started the group’s leadership development by emphasizing personality types, inter-personal relationships, and qualities of a great leader. Along with all of the hard work and dedication to self-growth, the Leadership Academy students have had tons of fun enjoying the James by paddling, hiking, river-side clean-ups, and much more.
Currently, Leadership Academy staff are evaluating students’ “project abstracts” which act as a starting point for developing community-based action projects. A great variety of project ideas have already been submitted, hopefully resulting in a wide-range of positive impact from our Leadership Academy! Staff will also begin recruiting professional mentors to support students in their project design and execution.
Our Leadership Academy staff is looking forward to completing the 2016-2017 Leadership Academy! You can find us continuing work with InnerWill, guiding next-steps in project development, and of course, more fun on the James River.