Live Well San Diego
Home MenuHeader Search Box - Custom Content
Resident Leadership Academies
Resident Leadership Academies (RLAs) are multi-week training programs for San Diego County residents who want to learn how to improve their local communities. Training sessions focus on topics such as community leadership, crime prevention and safety, land use and active transportation, and healthy food systems.
Residents learn skills and best practices to address the issues that most affect their communities, and they work alongside their neighbors to help improve quality of life where they live. Upon graduation, attendees have new knowledge and access to a support network to help them lead community improvement projects.
RLA Updates and Opportunities
Many individuals and organizations are involved in Resident Leadership Academies across the County. The latest updates can be found on social media.
RLA Curriculum
Those who would like to facilitate an RLA can find the Facilitator/Train the Trainer and Participant materials below. The RLA Curriculum consists of a Participant Manual, modifiable PowerPoints, and various templates and handouts. The curriculum covers subjects such as Community Building Principles, Social Determinants of Health, Land Use and Community Planning, and more.
The County of San Diego currently has two approved RLA curriculums available. For groups funded for a particular RLA session or project, the version of the curriculum to be used will be determined by your funder (see links below). For all other groups, either version, or elements from both, may be used for the trainings.
- 1st Edition Curriculum
1st edition curriculum covers resident-driven community improvement efforts, including community building principles, neighborhood assessment activities and strategies for stakeholder engagement. - 2nd Edition Curriculum
2nd edition curriculum expands on the 1st edition to include embedded activities, reflection questions and content on smoke-free environments and climate change.
Additional RLA Curriculum
- Heat Risk Education Curriculum
The Heat Risk Education Curriculum is a set of PowerPoints and facilitator guides meant to support community leaders and residents involved in community engagement work. The curriculum covers strategies for communicating about global warming and heat risk to the community to motivate behavior change, and covers topics such as global warming, heat illnesses, at-risk groups, prevention, and taking action.
RLA Resources & Opportunities
View the Community Health Improvement Partner's Resident Leadership Academy page for the latest on meetings and trainings.
Bi-Monthly RLA Council Meetings
Meetings to provide additional training, discuss RLA updates, and to engage with other RLA practitioners. Anyone in the RLA network (graduates/residents, facilitators, CBOs and agencies supporting RLA) is welcome and encouraged to attend.
Technical Assistance (TA) for RLA Practitioners
TA is provided by the County to any RLA Practitioner involved with RLAs. TA may consist of assistance with planning of future RLAs, and development, refining, and implementation of Community Improvement Projects (CIPs), for example. For groups funded for a particular RLA session or project, the TA provider will be determined by your funder.
RLA Network Supplemental Training Workshops for Current RLA Practitioners
Supplemental trainings are available to anyone in the RLA network (graduates/residents, facilitators). These trainings focus on expanding leadership skills and offering opportunities for current RLA practitioners to engage with one another. The supplemental trainings may cover, but are not limited to, such topics as: Presentation Skills, Meeting Facilitation, and/or Applying for Resources.
New Facilitator Training/Train the Trainer Seminars
Seminar participants attend 3-4 full days of training, which consist of a detailed review of the curriculum, facilitation practice and tips for RLA planning and coordination. One or more new facilitator trainings per year will be offered through 2019.
Contact us for additional information on any of the resources listed above, or to learn about RLAs happening in your community.
RLA Success Stories
Matters of the Heart: Guiding Blind and Low-Vision Clients into the Computer World
By Teresa Valenzuela, Community Outreach Manager, San Diego Futures Foundation
San Diego Futures Foundation provides a variety of programs and services to bridge the digital divide in San Diego County. Our mission as a technological nonprofit is to use technology to improve people's lives. We were founded in 1999, when the County of San Diego outsourced its IT services. We've been bridging the digital divide ever since. And for good reason: thousands of San Diegans, many of whom are blind or visually impaired, do not have access to the internet, a computer, or help using that computer.
San Diego Futures Foundation offers county residents hardware and educational services ranging from the purchase of a device to free digital literacy services.
Our Digital Literacy: Adaptive Technology program is a partnership with the California Department of Rehabilitation to help blind or visually impaired individuals become computer literate and secure a spot in the workforce.
San Diego Futures Foundation’s own blind or visually impaired instructors teach our clients using JAWS, a computer screen reader program for Microsoft Windows that allows them to read the screen using text-to-speech or Braille displays. We take pride in offering a tailored curriculum that meets our clients’ specific needs. It's rewarding to see people transition from unemployed to employed, such as San Diego Futures Foundation’s very own Julia Cardenas, an Adaptive Technology instructor.
Here is her story:
“I can't begin to convey how grateful I am for the San Diego Futures Foundation's Adaptive Technology (AT) computer training course. I was unable to use a computer at all before the program started.
“In the fall of 2014, I suffered a significant loss of vision and felt totally cut off from the outside world. I had no notion of how to use the computer's interface. My surroundings were completely dark. When I started the AT program, my life was transformed. My AT instructor, Allison Depner, and I bonded right away. Working with a member of the blind community was motivating.
“Allison has inspired me to move forward and has helped me regain my self-confidence. Having finished the AT program, I take great delight in knowing that I can write precise emails and expert Word documents, as well as browse job listings and stay connected with the rest of the world. Learning technological skills is crucial in the modern world. Members of the blind community must maintain their abilities in light of technology's constant growth and change. We need to be competent if we want to succeed at work. I respect the objectives of the SDFF AT program. People who take part in this program report that their lives are getting better. I will always be grateful for what the program has done for me. I'm thankful and, in fact, am now an instructor for the AT program. I want to share what knowledge I gained with others.”
Julia has done more than share her personal experience; she has also assisted other blind or visually impaired clients in completing the AT program, many of whom are now employed. Our programs and services go beyond simply providing a device and training in digital literacy. As a technology nonprofit, we take pride in connecting people to family and friends, resources, and services.
For more information, please contact us at (619) 391-0050, visit our website or drop by our office at 4283 El Cajon Blvd., Ste #220, SD, CA, 92105, during normal business hours. We are excited to serve our community, and we are excited to serve you.
Photo: Julia Cardenas, an Adaptive Technology instructor.