Leadership Development

CBA believes that neighborhoods improve when residents are engaged and committed to their neighborhoods. If people who live, work and worship in tough neighborhoods believe that they can make effective community change, then change can happen. Creating connections between neighbors and empowering residents to be leaders also increases civic participation, social networks and community mobilization.

Strong social networks that build relationships among residents and reciprocal relationships between residents and community partners can lead to improved neighborhoods and lives for the residents.

Residents are the experts on issues in their own neighborhoods. By training residents to be leaders, the residents themselves can be the drivers of effective community change. Resident leaders can more effectively engage in civic participation and hold elected officials accountable through voting, local forums and community advocacy.  Contact Robyn Long-Navas by email or at 978-452-7523 x809 for information on upcoming leadership training opportunities.

CBA is also initiating a leadership development program called NeighborCircles, one that has proven to be effective in other Massachusetts communities.  CBA ran a similar program in 2003 called CBA NETwork and empowerment teams.