Our sponsor, American Express, runs a global Leadership Academy. Founded in 2008, the American Express Leadership Academy builds the personal, business and leadership skills of emerging nonprofit leaders and social entrepreneurs through multi-day, in-person trainings. To date, with the 11 Academy partners listed below, American Express has hosted more than 150 Leadership Academy programs across 11 countries, training more than 5,100 nonprofit and social sector leaders.
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Phoenix, AZ The ASU Lodestar Center’s Generation Next Academy has a proven record for providing skills based training to mid and senior level executives in a yearlong program from the greater Phoenix area. In 2014, the program was folded under the American Express Leadership Academy umbrella. The program builds critical skills in emerging issues in the nonprofit sector and exposes leaders to different leadership styles and approaches. The 9-month program is comprised of best practice approaches to leading and managing nonprofits, from renowned professors and practitioner instructors at ASU as well as established nonprofit leaders from organizations that engage with the ASU Lodestar Center. |
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New York, NY; Mexico City, Mexico; Dakar, Senegal and Nairobi, Kenya Ashoka strives to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector; one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world's citizens to think and act as changemakers. The Emerging Innovators Boot Camp is a two-day intensive training designed specifically for social entrepreneurs. Participants receive mentoring from key thought leaders, promotion and opportunities for collaboration – tools to rapidly scale their social enterprises in an impactful way. After successfully launching the bootcamp in New York, NY, the program has since expanded to Toronto, Mexico City, Dakar and Nairobi. Additionally, American Express and Ashoka extends the impact of the Boot Camp beyond the in-person participants through an online campaign, which includes #SocEntChats #AmExLeads Twitter Chat postings and online interviews with thought leaders. |
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Aspen, CO The American Express Leadership Academy 2.0, at the Aspen Institute provides a 2.0 professional development opportunity for American Express Leadership Academy Alumni and/or nonprofit leaders from other American Express leadership funded programs. The Fellowship includes a week-long seminar at the Aspen Meadows campus in Aspen, CO, using the time-tested Aspen method of text-based dialogue. The Fellowship provides nonprofit leaders with the opportunity to move beyond daily operational concerns to take time for exploration of core values that animate their work and inspire them to become more effective, innovative and inspiring leaders. |
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New York, NY and various U.S. cities The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) is a top-ranked, global provider of executive education that develops better leaders through its exclusive focus on leadership education and research. In 2008, CCL and American Express launched the inaugural American Express Leadership Academy for emerging leaders representing a wide range of national and local nonprofit organizations. The week-long program remains our flagship Academy and takes place twice a year in New York, NY. |
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London, UK; Hong Kong, China; Singapore, ASEAN; and Johannesburg, South Africa Common Purpose runs leadership development programs that inspire and equip people to work together across boundaries. This enables them to solve complex societal and organizational problems. In 2010, American Express partnered with Common Purpose to create a Leadership Academy in the UK, bringing together emerging leaders from leading charities, including community, education, international relief and cultural organizations. Since then, the program has successfully expanded to Hong Kong, Singapore, and more recently Southern Africa. |
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The American Express NGen Fellows Program gives emerging nonprofit and philanthropic leaders, age 40 and under, an exceptional opportunity to strengthen their capacity for future impact. Over the course of twelve months, Fellows collaborate with other talented NGen leaders, interact with established social sector leaders, and contribute to Independent Sector’s work on nonprofit and philanthropic impact and leadership. |
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New York, NY and Washington, DC SparkAction is a nonprofit storytelling and advocacy platform to inspire and mobilize action by and for young people. Based in Brooklyn, New York, SparkAction is managed by the Forum for Youth Investment, which helps leaders across the country get young people ready for life. The SparkAction team launched and manages LeaderStories, and in December 2019, will host our first leadership Academy, working with the Center for Creative Leadership. The unique three-day Academy will be held in Brooklyn and serve 24 emerging leaders selected through an open crowd-sourced challenge. Stay tuned to learn more. |
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Tempe, AZ Thunderbird holds over 70 years of experience in developing leaders with the global mindset, business skills and social responsibility necessary to create lasting value for organizations and communities. The American Express Leadership Academy at Thunderbird targets emerging leaders from across the globe, representing leading international nonprofit organizations or NGOs. The five-day program provides practical opportunities to learn and build personal leadership skills while also building the organizational capacity of their organizations. |