PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, Pa. -- Leadership Pittsburgh Inc., a local nonprofit, is providing leadership skills to Pittsburgh veterans through a Community Leadership Course for Veterans.
Tom Stokes, clinical social worker with Operation Stronghold and Army Reservist assigned to the 316th Sustainment Command, worked with Leadership Pittsburgh to develop the course. He said it is based off of the Leadership Pittsburgh program, a course designed for executives in both the corporate and nonprofit communities. While the Leadership Pittsburgh program is 10-months long and costs over $5,000, Leadership Pittsburgh is offering a specialized program for veterans which is 6-months long and costs only $300. Scholarships are available for veterans who can’t afford the program.
“The military is all about leadership,” said Stokes. “This is a civilian leadership course that would benefit participants in terms of developing their leadership skills and enhancing the mission readiness of the unit.”
The goal of the course is to provide committed participants access to the platforms needed to take on leadership roles within southwestern Pennsylvania communities.
"Our military veterans and military service men and women, with all of their training, are such an asset to the community they live in,” said Aradhna Oliphant, President and CEO of Leadership Pittsburgh Inc. “Shame on us - communities - if we don't figure out a way to connect their strengths to the communities' needs.”
Class sizes for CLCV are approximately 20 students and begin in late April. Applications are due by the first Friday of the February before the class. Participants are chosen through a selection committee review after the application deadline. There is no application fee required to sign up.
CLCV kicks off with a weekend retreat, and meets bi-monthly on Tuesday nights between 3:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. for the length of the course.
“This is a wonderful leadership course where you get mentoring by local nonprofit and corporate leaders, and you get networked into the civilian nonprofit community,” said Stokes. It’s a great opportunity for people, they just don’t know about it yet.”
For more information and to sign up, visit www.lpinc.org/programs/community-leadership-course-for-veterans/