National Hispaña Leadership Institute

The National Hispaña Leadership Institute is the premier leadership training organization for mid-career professional Latinas. The organization's mission is to develop Hispañas as ethical world leaders through training, professional development, relationship building, and community and world activism. Each year, NHLI selects approximately 25 fellows from both the public and private sectors, to participate in a series of four, one-week leadership development seminars spanning nine months in four cities. The weeklong module held at the Kennedy School is called "Effective Change Through Public Policy and Management." In addition to case-based learning sessions, participants work closely with Kennedy School faculty members to develop improved individual leadership strategies. The Kennedy School has been affiliated with the NHLI Fellows Program since 1988. Linda Kaboolian is the Faculty Chair.

Achieving Excellence in Community Development

This program, designed especially for NeighborWorks America, is for seasoned executive directors in community development. During three, short modules of formal coursework at the Kennedy School, participants focus in succession on individual leadership strategies, organizational leadership strategies, and on making an impact in the field of community development. Small groups work together with coaches in the six-month period between each formal course. The entire group also presents a workshop to colleagues in the field in the NeighborWorks Training Institute at the end of their program. What makes this program truly unique - and truly customized - is that the directors who participate bring with them their own significant organizational challenges and work toward making progress on them over the 18-month program. The focus is on seeing real results for real issues. Performance management frameworks are at the center of the program.

The program faculty includes associates of the Kennedy School's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Center for Public Leadership. and MIT's Community Problem-Solving Project. Christine Letts, Rita E. Hauser Lecturer in the Practice of Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership and Associate Dean for Executive Education, is the Faculty Chair.