COLLABORATION: Staff of the Ray Kinsland Leadership Insitute (RKLI) visited the Santa Fe Indigenous Leadership Institute (SFILI) recently. Shown (left-right) are – Regis Pecos, co-director of SFILI; Tara McCoy, RKLI; Tonya Carroll, RKLI; Alicia Jacobs, RKLI; Trey Adcock, UNC-A; Carmella Quam, program planner SFILI; and Carnell Chosa, co-director SFILI. (Photo courtesy of RKLI)
SANTA FE, NM – The staff of the Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute (RKLI) traveled to Santa Fe, New Mexico earlier this month to meet with the founders and co-directors of the Santa Fe Indigenous Leadership Institute. The Leadership Institute, based at the Santa Fe Indian School, was established in 1997 to create a space for discourse on a wide range of public policy and tribal community issues challenging the vitality and spirit of the 22 tribal nations in New Mexico. Since 1997, The Leadership Program has expanded its scope of work to be guided by four major themes: Leadership, Community Service, Public Policy, and Critical Thinking.
The meeting centered on both organizations sharing information about the work they currently do in their respective communities, how the two leadership institutes can help each other, and a plan to continue working together.
The Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute is a division of the Cherokee Boys Club and houses three culturally-based leadership programs: Cherokee Youth Council, Jones-Bowman Leadership Award Program, and the Duyugodv’i Right Path Adult Leadership Program.
Alicia Jacobs, Jones-Bowman Leadership specialist said of the meeting, “Spending time learning from those who have designed sixteen different leadership programs for their community resulting in twenty-two individuals from their pueblos obtaining PhD’s was priceless for the work we are trying to create for our community of leaders.”
Tara McCoy, Right Path Leadership specialist, plans to implement something she learned from the meeting into the program she manages. “One of the things I can incorporate into my program is to make a list of all EBCI community members that have knowledge in certain aspects of our culture and ask them to be presenters to our program participants. This will help us in our work to learn and teach Cherokee culture. The Santa Fe Indigenous Leadership Institute calls this building an army.”
The RKLI staff related they would like to thank the Cherokee Boys Club and Cherokee Preservation Foundation for their support for this meeting. Plans are being made for staff from the Santa Fe Indigenous Leadership Institute to visit Cherokee to keep the relationship growing.
– Ray Kinsland Leadership Institute
