Center for Leadership and Policy

Over its nearly 50-year history, the Center has developed and supported leaders as they enhance their capacity to work across institutional boundaries, increase their professional and policy knowledge, and expand their networks.

This Center’s work focuses on:

Building and strengthening peer learning and action networks among leaders across sectors to build systemic capacity;
Informing leaders to make good policy choices and improvements; and,
Enabling leaders to move policy to effective practice.

Major initiatives of the Center for Leadership and Policy include:
	The Education Policy Fellowship Program (EPFP™) — in continuous operation since 1964 — is IEL’s flagship leadership devel-opment program, focusing on participants’ leadership, policy, and networking abilities. More than 7,000 mid-career leaders from early childhood development, K-12, and higher education have participated in EPFP, as well as people from other child, youth, and community support systems. They now serve as leaders in school systems, local, state and federal government, foundations, and community-based organizations. The 2011-2012 EPFP cohort adds over 200 participants from 11 states (CT, GA, MA, MI, MN, MS, NY, NC, OH, PA, and SC) and the District of Columbia.
	The Kellogg Leadership for Community Change (KLCC) project offers grassroots community leaders the opportunity to share challenges and solutions through local and regional Community Learning Exchanges and to contribute to national policy conversations. Since 2002, IEL has worked with communities in 11 states to develop community-based leadership focused on engaging communities, families, and children living on the margins. Cross-generational leaders involved in these exchanges cut across race/ethnicity, as well as urban, suburban, and rural communities.
	IEL Federal Policy Institutes present students, faculty members in post-graduate educational leadership programs, and other leaders with a birds-eye view of the national policy process. Leaders from Congress, federal agencies — including the Department of Education, think-tanks, and national association and advocacy organizations help participants understand Washington’s inner workings and the implications for their work.
	The School Leadership Learning and Action Network is an emerging partnership with the Principal Leadership Institute at UC Berkeley aimed at developing a network of school leadership faculty and practitioners who share a desire to create a space and direction for a national conversation on leadership that more clearly aligns with community-based, student-centered values. This group will also examine the research base on leadership and leadership development, particularly as it relates to the race, culture, and equity challenges facing education in America today.