Civic Leadership Lab exists to develop community-centered leaders, strengthen civic participation, and empower people to create meaningful change within their communities. Inspired by traditions of community education and empowerment — including the Freedom Schools of the Civil Rights Movement and the mutual aid and community survival programs advanced by organizations such as the Black Panther Party and the White Panther Party — we believe education, critical consciousness, mutual support, and collective action are essential tools for building equitable, informed, and connected communities.

We acknowledge that our work takes place on Indigenous land and recognize the enduring leadership, resilience, sovereignty, and cultural knowledge of Indigenous peoples and communities. Civic Leadership Lab is committed to engaging with civic leadership, public service, and community development through practices informed by equity, historical accountability, cooperative learning, and respect for the communities most impacted by systemic inequities and exclusion.

Through civic education, leadership development, peer support, consulting, advocacy, community engagement, and public scholarship, we equip individuals and organizations with the knowledge, skills, relationships, and confidence needed to navigate public systems, organize collectively, and lead transformative change.

We believe leadership already exists within communities. Our role is to help cultivate that leadership by creating accessible spaces for learning, dialogue, civic participation, healing, and collective problem-solving.

Central to our work is the belief that community care and social connection are essential forms of civic resilience. In response to rising social isolation, polarization, misinformation, and disconnection in the post-pandemic era, Civic Leadership Lab is committed to helping people build “chosen kin” — supportive community networks grounded in mutual care, accountability, belonging, and shared growth, particularly for seniors, LGBTQIA+ individuals, activists, people in recovery, and others who may experience isolation or exclusion.

Through Civic Leadership Lab (CLL) Working Papers, we seek to grow into a community-rooted think tank and academic resource dedicated to advancing research, dialogue, leadership development, and innovative approaches to equitable public service, democratic participation, community-centered systems change, and decolonial approaches to leadership and governance. We believe civic engagement must be informed not only by information, but by trust, human connection, historical understanding, critical inquiry, and collective empowerment.