Water Leaders Institute kicks off with pilot cohort
The WLI team developed partnerships, conceptual frameworks, and methodologies in spring 2018, and launched the pilot Water Leaders cohort (with neighborhood leaders) in the fall in partnership with the Central City Renaissance Alliance and the L9 Center for Sustainable Engagement and Development.
The team worked with five co-creators -- Greta Gladney, Dennis Griffin, Walterine Griffin, Bryan Jourdain, and Brenda Lomax Brown -- to develop the curriculum for neighborhood leaders. The cohort itself consisted of 20 neighborhood leaders who were:
Majority native-born New Orleanians + one St. Bernard Parish resident
Majority female and female-identifying
Already engaged/invested in own communities as leaders and advocates
Reflective of New Orleans demographics (i.e. majority black, with some white, Hispanic, and Vietnamese representation, as well as LGBTQ community)
Mixed in terms of income, religion, and professional affiliation -- members ranged from farmers and artists to biologists and building construction managers
The Trust for Public Land and Pisces Foundation, the Foundation for Louisiana, and the Greater New Orleans Foundation provided seed funding for the pilot.