Training for Latino Leaders Makes Culture Part of CEO Development

Candidates for the Colegio fellowship are frequently “promising staffers ready to move up,” says Carol Rodriguez, who runs the four-year-old program for the National Association for Latino Community Asset Builders. So far, she reports, five of Colegio’s 37 graduates have ascended to executive-director positions.

In March, the association got a financial boost from the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. The grant maker has committed $250,000, roughly half of which will help the association develop and launch a new educational project, the National Latino Training Institute, says Ms. Rodriguez.

The rest of the money will underwrite program expenses for this year’s Colegio fellows.

Participants undergo professional-development training designed to reflect Latino cultural mores. For instance, they are asked about their family customs and why they are proud of their ancestry and how that pride is integrated into their work.

“We think of this project as a gift back to their organizations and communities, while the fellows themselves gain management and organizational-development skills they can take anywhere,” she says.

Carmen Lopez, a Colegio alumna, credits the fellowship with inspiring her to take herself seriously as a leader and a professional.

“They taught me how to think like an executive director, like I was in charge, even when I wasn’t yet in that role. They instilled that confidence,” she says.

Two years after completing the program, Ms. Lopez was promoted from her managerial position to lead Kansas City’s Hispanic Economic Development Corporation.

The forthcoming National Latino Training Institute will offer four-day seminars focused on “nuts and bolts” skills for community leaders, including fundraising and building networks with peer organizations in other cities and states, says Ms. Rodriguez.

This year’s Colegio fellows can attend one of the institute’s training sessions in addition to their other meetings, with all expenses covered.

Ms. Lopez says she plans to return for future institute training sessions—in part, she says, to reinforce the confidence and skills she gained during her fellowship year.

“Latino culture leads us to be very reserved in comparison to other groups that go to speak their minds at city hall,” says Ms. Lopez. “This fellowship taught me and my classmates the importance of speaking up and stepping forward.”