Reclaiming Futures – Reflections on the Eve of the Leadership Institute

I’m heading to the airport … along with representatives from every Reclaiming Futures community. We’re meeting in New Orleans (see photo at left) this week for our bi-annual Leadership Institute. 
These meetings mark times for both reflection and growth. Anyone who’s been part of the initiative from the beginning can’t help but burst with pride to see what’s been sustained; challenged to see the losses; and deeply humbled by how much remains to be done.
 
But Reclaiming Futures is not only still here, we’re still growing. We’re now an unprecedented size -- 23 communities representing 15 states and tribes, and excited to welcome three new sites to the RF family this fall.
 
Our Leadership Institute will feature two keynote speakers who will surely inspire and fuel us for the significant challenges and opportunities ahead: Marian Wright Edelman and Shay Bilchik. Both are visionaries and accomplished change agents by any measure. 

• Ms. Wright Edelman sits at the helm of the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF) and has written prolifically about youth poverty, disparities and the rights of youth to grow up in a safe and healthy families and communities. The CDF’s “Cradle to Prison Pipeline” campaign  is a blueprint of stories and ideas and information that helps every youth advocate find new inspiration about how to push towards even more effectiveness and focus. We’re honored to spend time with Ms. Wright Edelman and learn from her wisdom and experience about how to navigate the transition from a national initiative to a national movement.

• Mr. Shay Bilchik is founder and national director of Georgetown University’s Center for Juvenile Justice Reform, which conducts a variety of cutting edge innovations regarding juvenile justice and child welfare reform. Previously, as director of the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), Mr. Bilchik presided over a period of significant innovation at that agency. He’ll help us with ideas for navigating an uncertain economic future, advise us about positioning ourselves in the midst of many of the new administration’s ideas and programs, and challenge us to continue refining and improving the Reclaiming Futures model. 

Other speakers at this meeting include a wide variety of experts and experienced practitioners from the national level as well as many of our local leaders and experts.
 
Our gatherings are always terrific – and by now many of us have known one another and worked on this project nationally and locally for going on 10 years. From the very beginning, learning together has been an essential part of our success and our journey.
 
We’ll share our lessons and discoveries (and photos!) from the meeting in upcoming posts. Here’s to celebrating Reclaiming Futures and our vital national learning collaborative!