The Family Leadership Training Institute

What	18 weeks of training in media, advocacy, civic policy, fundraising and more
When	5pm — 8pm Tuesday evenings, September to April
Cost	FLTI is offered at no cost to you; your contribution is your time and commitment
Where	Rosa F. Keller Library and Community Center 4300 S Broad Ave, New Orleans, LA 70125

Remember Mikaela? This 4th-grade firecracker graduated the Children's Leadership Training Institute just last spring. What you might not know is that Mikaela's mom — FLTI graduate Kim Dejan — is making waves too, turning her "Baking With A Purpose" project into free ongoing cooking classes for local kids.

Research data about school-to-work readiness shows that there's a significant lack of resources and counseling for students who don't plan to attend college and haven't chosen a career. Kim designed her project to inspire teenagers to pursue their creative passions, and to promote entrepreneurship as a career option.

+ Kim's Story

No one knows what children need better than their communities. Now on its fifth cohort, FLTI NOLA is a place for parents and kids to learn about how to address those needs through advocacy, media, government relations, fund development and more. FLTI-NOLA is offered free of charge: in exchange, participants commit to attending classes and completing a community project.

FLTI NOLA is part of a national initiative created to improve the lifelong health, safety and learning of children by helping you develop the leadership skills to make real change – in your neighborhood, schools, communities, and state and local governments. Participants explore their passions, strengths, beliefs and ideas, develop interpersonal and public communications skills, and gain enhanced understanding of democratic leadership.

In our program, participants are also leaders. FLTI parents define the curriculum, participate in its evaluation and mentor the next class, creating a broad base of communal investment. Family supports such as transportation, childcare and meals are included.

The FLTI curriculum consists of four phases:

1. A retreat for the cohort to exchange ideas and define the mission.
2. A 9-week course on parent leadership.
3. A 9-week study of politics, policy and media.
4. An ongoing community project that puts the training to work.

Session Topics