Leadership Cumberland County Accepting Applications for 2025-26

Applications for the 25^th annual Leadership Cumberland County program are being accepted until September 5, 2025.

Leadership Cumberland County is a nine-month program that supports personal leadership development while increasing community awareness.  Its’ ultimate goal is to engage residents as change agents for a better Cumberland County.  The program unites diverse leaders from across geographic lines to learn about assets and challenges and to meet officials and institutions that can affect change. Interactive program days are combined with site visits to provide a better understanding of the community. Access to leaders and organizations is provided and participants get an insider’s look at the county so they can see opportunities to change awareness into action.  The program, launched at Cumberland County College, is now managed by The Authority.

Leadership Cumberland County participants are required to attend sessions one day per month.  This year’s program begins September 29 with a Meet and Greet.  A mandatory retreat/orientation follows on October 6 and 7. The retreat’s first day centers on personal leadership development while the second day focuses on awareness of the county’s assets and challenges. 

The class is randomly divided into teams of 3 and, over the next several months, each team designs a learning day around the following topics: criminal justice, health and human services, education, economic development, environment and energy and cultural diversity and tourism. Each learning day team can design a day of travel to “teach” the class about the topic. The class regroups over lunch to discuss the day and leadership lessons.  Even lifelong county residents learn of programs, places and people they had not previously known.

Leadership Cumberland County runs to mid-May. During the program year, several workshops are held based on the DiSC learning tool.  Professional consultants guide the class in understanding communication styles, emotional intelligence and the latest leadership concepts.

The program concludes with a graduation ceremony recognizing the participants as part of an alumni organization of more than 350 members, forming the basis for a new professional network that extends to alumni, leaders and officials met during the learning days and retreat.

Tuition for the program has remained $700 since its inception.  Additional costs are covered by sponsors (Inspira Health Network, The Authority and Rowan College of South Jersey) and private donations.  Tuition may be paid by an employer, a sponsoring organization or the participant. All tuition must be paid in full by September 30.

Online applications are available through www.theauthoritynj.com/lcc.

Reach out to Samantha DeFrancisco, Leadership Cumberland County Coordinator, at 856-825-2700, ext. 1270 or samdefrancisco@theauthoritynj.com with any questions.