We need A NEW Kind OF LEADER.
About New Leaders Council
New Leaders Council (NLC) is the hub for proximate leaders in America. We identify and elevate changemakers (local leaders rooted in their communities) through dynamic training, deep community, and national connection.
On average, 78% of the cohorts self-identify as BlPOC, 68% are women and gender non-conforming folx, and 39% report identifying as LGBTQIA* folx make up our 6-month NLC Institute Fellows that go on to be part of our network. NLC has curated and sustained a Community Leadership Movement of over 13,000 alumni over nearly two decades.
From the Newsroom
Learn more about the collective impact our community of changemakers is making across the country.
Karen Pandy-Cherry, from one NLC alum to another…Congratulations on being voted in as the President & CEO of New Leaders Council and its amazing network. It’s not just a title; it’s a reflection of the trust and deep admiration this community holds for you. And let me just say, it’s about time.
Read More →This June, New Leaders Council chapters across the country are showing up and showing out and you need to be in the room. Whether you’re an alum, a future Fellow, or someone who simply believes in the power of people, progress, and purpose, these events are where leadership and community collide.
Read More →During Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, we celebrate the rich histories, vibrant cultures, and powerful contributions of AANHPI leaders across the country. At New Leaders Council, our community includes changemakers who are shifting narratives, building inclusive systems, and leading with purpose. This month, we are proud to highlight three NLC alumni who are creating space, championing equity, and leaving their mark across sectors.
Read More →
new kind of leader
NLC trains and connects the local changemakers who champion equity and fuel progress. We invest in those historically excluded from leadership pipelines, yet are best equipped to solve our nation’s most challenging issues.
new approach to leadership
Our Fellows practice a leaderful model in their cohorts, where collaboration breaks down silos across identity, issue, and industry. We build connective infrastructure across perspectives that expand resources for collective action.
New Leaders Council
This new way of leading expands capacity and support for equity movement leaders and systems change. NLC alumni are the driving force behind major cultural and electoral progress that takes years to build.
The person that is coming to NLC in any community is on the cusp of transformational leadership. They are making decisions about where they want to take their organization, their career, and their journey in service…Without training orgs like NLC, there isn’t a pathway for millennial and Gen Z leaders to elevate their leadership. Change has to happen at every level – and if we don’t have pathways to leadership the country cannot move forward.
NLC is a vibrant community that empowers you with vital skills and knowledge to impact the world’s most pressing problems. But perhaps more importantly, NLC bestows you with the moral courage to do so, from a community that believes in what you believe, in a moment that calls for bold and visionary leaders, thinkers, and doers.
NLC members and Fellows must stand in their purpose and declare their intent to move forward an equity-based agenda that focuses on solutions for our most marginalized communities.
Our 2025 Fellows Cohorts
Identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color
Identify as Women and Non-Binary
Work in the nonprofit, government, education, or healthcare industries
Our signature program creates a leaderful movement
NLC Institute is a six-month place-based learning environment, delivered across the country in each of our chapters and offered at no cost to participants. Our chapters work with national and local trainers to implement the program, providing a premier training experience and a strong grounding in the local community.
Invest in proximate leaders. Invest in NLC.
If we want to build the country we want to see, then we have to start by investing in leadership.