Help Build a Better Future for Jackson Hole
The application period for fall 2019 is now closed. Thank you for your interest!
Do you want to help build a better future for Jackson Hole? In the Conservation Leadership Institute, you will learn to build a future where we:
- Responsibly plan for growth and ensure our land use rules implement our community’s vision of complete neighborhoods surrounded by protected open space.
- Protect critical wildlife and their habitat and ensure our land and wildlife management agencies have the tools necessary to do their job.
- Advocate for an inclusive community.
- Make it easy, convenient, and safe for people to walk, bike, and take transit to get where they need to go.
- Create safe ways for wildlife to cross our roads and move through our neighborhoods.
- Make it affordable for hard working families to live here.
- Take measures that help prevent conflicts with wildlife and prepare our community for wildfire.
- Protect the community character that gives our valley its soul.
Together, we can make Jackson Hole
a national model of
living in balance with nature.
Add to Your Toolbox
The Jackson Hole Conservation Leadership Institute (CLI) is a rigorous leadership development program offered at no charge. Graduates of CLI have the skills and knowledge to organize, advocate, and hold local decision-makers accountable for building a better future for Jackson Hole. CLI starts with the basics of conservation organizing and progresses each week as participants learn and practice new skills. To help mix things up over the course of the program and cater to different learning styles, we host a number of VIP guest speakers who will speak passionately and in detail about the topic at hand, giving you firsthand knowledge from the experts.
By the end of the course, you’ll have the know-how—as well as the encouragement and support—to effectively:
- Communicate your position to others, including elected representatives;
- Identify, recruit, and train like-minded individuals;
- Run a productive meeting;
- Set specific, measurable, and attainable goals;
- Map the route to success;
- Execute your strategy and tactics.
Workshop Schedule
CLI involves twelve 3-hour trainings every Wednesday evening from 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. over the course of three months, with a break for Thanksgiving, in the Alliance conference room (685 S. Cache St). Each workshop features the following topics, with VIP guest speakers from the community each night. The schedule for Round 10 of CLI includes:
- Topic: Advocating for change through narratives & public speaking
- Speaker: Public speaking skills - Glen Esnard, Career & Leadership Coach
- Skill: Intro to campaign planning & team projects
- Speaker: National conservation trends in the New West - Luther Propst, County Commissioner, former Executive Director of the Sonoran Institute
Workshop #1
Workshop #2
- Topic: How to make changes happen at the local level
- Speaker: Climate Change and Public Lands - Juan Pérez Sáez, Energy and Climate Campaign Manager, The Wilderness Society
- Topic: Campaign planning continued
- Speaker: Local land use planning - Tyler Sinclair, Town of Jackson Planning Director
Workshop #3
Workshop #4
- Special Event: SPET Forum at Teton County Library
- Topic: Reaching your community through communications and phone banking
- Speaker: Native Lands - Len Necefer Ph.D, University of Arizona Professor, CEO of Natives Outdoors, Honnold Foundation Board Member
Workshop #5
Workshop #6
- Topic: Canvassing
- Speaker: Wildlife management at GTNP - Dave Gustine, Fish & Wildlife Branch Chief, Grand Teton National Park
- Topic: Grassroots strategies
- Speaker: Housing in Jackson - April Norton, Director, Jackson/Teton County Affordable Housing Department
Workshop #7
Workshop #8
- Topic: Leadership & delegation in a social change ecosystem
- Speaker: Community inclusion and immigrant services- Estela Torres, Immigrant Support Specialist, One 22
- Topic: How to recruit and build your team
- Speaker: Starting a non-profit - Ali Dunford, Founder of Hole Food Rescue
Workshop #9
Workshop #10
- Topic: Staying involved & using what you've learned
- Speaker: Ladder of leadership and the Wyoming State Government - Mike Yin, Wyoming House of Representatives - District 16
- Special Event: CLI Graduation and Alliance Winter Open House
Workshop #11
Workshop #12
*Specific topic/speaker(s) of each meeting subject to change
In addition to the twelve workshops, participants are invited to attend relevant meetings and get to know our VIP guest speakers during the course of CLI.
Finally, CLI features a hands-on project to practice leadership and make a difference in Jackson Hole. You will work to build and train a grassroots activist outside of your CLI classmates on a project you choose.
This project is a great way to get real-life practice with recruiting, leadership, and communication skills. It requires a few meetings with your team and activist, on your own time, outside of class. Please contact us for more information.
For more information about this program, contact Tisa Djahangiri, or call 307-733-9417.
What do graduates of the first eight rounds of CLI have to say about the program?
From the first week to the last, I was able to network with like-minded individuals in a fun and engaging setting. Every one in the class was unique, and inspirational in their own way. For once, I felt connected to community members with a common vision.
— Trevor Bloom
To understand our local political process, and to understand the importance we have in this political process, is empowering, inspiring, and enjoyable.
— Abbie Bilotta
It is an incredible opportunity to gain such a focused understanding of how to become an advocate.
— Aaron Hamby
CLI reconnected me to my passion for conservation. During the eight weeks of CLI, I found a confidence and excitement in my inner being I thought died a long time ago.
— Suzanne Knighton
What the Alliance is doing for our collective future is revolutionary. From personal experience, I know that while many youth may have a vested interest in creating beneficial changes for the future, often times we do not know where and how to plugin. The Alliance has now set up the foundation for us, providing the tools, assets, and network needed to be the change.
— Ali Dunford
The course is great for people just starting out in the conservation community because it introduces them to the local issues and the skills needed to run a successful campaign. For those with more experience, it builds on the skills they have while introducing new ideas and techniques to make them more effective in their work.
— Tanya Anderson
The moment I walked into the first class I felt empowered and capable to implement change in Jackson Hole, and that is a feeling I would like everyone in this area to share.
— Peggie dePasquale
This course is an amazing opportunity for people to gain great skills and meet amazing people in the community that are interested in shaping a great future too.
— Noelle Guernsey
I have been to many leadership-type seminars before and this one was by far the most practical and applicable.
— Christy Lewis