Leadership DeKalb

A new Leadership DeKalb class is nominated and selected each year to participate in our 10-month leadership development program. Class members view DeKalb County from many different angles and perspectives.

Members engage in lively discussions during the program days and debrief at the end of the day. In study groups, members expand their understanding of relevant topics. Retreats at the beginning and end of the year provide opportunities for making connections — from understanding the impact of how all of these critical areas relate to each other to creating alliances, finding ways to serve and forming friendships. Upon graduation, they join a large network of Leadership DeKalb graduates and continue the tradition of making positive contributions to DeKalb County and the metro region of Atlanta.

Leadership DeKalb Benefits

Participants

Develop their abilities as leaders
Gain a broader understanding of the issues facing their community
Join a community-wide network of leaders

Employers and Sponsoring Organizations

Increase the visibility and involvement of their organizations in the community
Benefit from the enhanced leadership skills, broadened perspective, and network of contacts developed by the participant
Help create a better community environment in which to operate DeKalb County
Benefits from the Leadership DeKalb graduates’ commitment to serving as community trustees, their increased involvement in the community and their increased effectiveness as leaders
Overnight opening retreat in September and overnight closing retreat in June
Sessions on DeKalb’s government; justice, health, and education systems; diversity; economic development; quality of life; and more
Riding a shift with a DeKalb police officer
County and city commission meetings and budget hearings
Ongoing small discussion groups

Requirements:

Nominee should be emerging or established leader
Must live or work in DeKalb County
Must have demonstrated a commitment to community service

A committee of Leadership DeKalb graduates selects about 50 people each year to represent all aspects of the DeKalb community: business, nonprofit organizations, education, the arts, government, religion, community volunteers from DeKalb’s varied ethnic, cultural and racial groups.

Description of Leadership DeKalb's Program Days

History

In order to understand any community, learning its history is vital. On History Day, members of the Leadership DeKalb class interact with the county’s experts on local history, beginning with the ancient Native Americans and continuing through the founding of the county in 1823 to today. Along the way, the class learns about the people who wove the fabric of the community and sees up close how DeKalb came to possess its unique diversity.

Diversity

DeKalb County is one of the most diverse counties in the country, and its leadership program does not miss the chance to discuss in detail what it means to lead in a community with dozens of ethnic groups. During the day, facilitators challenge members of the Class to ponder how they react to diversity as well as show how much in common we all have despite our different ethnic and cultural origins.

Education

Each year, members of the Leadership DeKalb class are offered the chance to witness first hand the inner workings of the county's storied educational system that reaches from pre-K to colleges and universities. Educators show members of each class how the county’s students benefit on a daily basis from school systems, technical schools and colleges and universities.

Justice and Public Safety

With activities including tours of the county jail and morgue, Justice and Public Safety Day focuses on how justice is dispensed in the county and the link between violations of juveniles and the prison population, among other topics. Class members hear first hand from judges and public safety officials the ins and outs of administering federal, state and local laws.

Government

Meeting in the early part of each year, Leadership DeKalb exposes members of the class to an up-close look at the Georgia Legislature and how it works while during the course of the day challenging the Class to participate in mock lobbying, gaining an insider’s view into the government and meeting legislators. Government Day is also a time for the Class to see the inner workings of government and how policy is set.

Economic Development and Transportation

Transportation is the building block on which the Greater Atlanta area (of which DeKalb County is a part) is built. Over the course of Economic Development and Transportation Day, members of the class come to an understanding of how economic development/ business recruitment works and what role the area’s varied forms of transportation (mass transit, airline, interstate, etc.) play in maintaining a good climate for business viability.

Health and Quality of Life

DeKalb County is the proud home of some of the country’s most prestigious healthcare institutions, including DeKalb Medical, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Emory University School of Medicine and Yerkes National Primate Center. On Health Day, Leadership DeKalb visits these outstanding research centers to hear from top-level personnel as well as taking a more local look at how healthcare is provided by visiting Grady Memorial Hospital and the DeKalb County Board of Health.

The quality of life portion of the program centers on the County’s plethora of arts organizations from theatre to dance. This element of the day brings to class member’s attention the vital role the arts play in building a good corporate quality of life as well as its role in buttressing the individual’s outlook on the world in which he or she lives.

Leadership DeKalb