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
ProduceGood Partner Yasukochi Family Farms Donates Excess Produce for Good
Nita Kurmins Gilson, Executive Director Programs & Outreach ProduceGood
The first thing you notice when you open a Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) box from Yasukochi Family Farms (besides the beauty of the produce) is the number of fruits and veggies included–between 16 and 18 items.
“This sets us apart from other CSAs in the area,” says Owner, Donal Yasukochi. But that isn’t the only thing that makes them special.
“The other unusual thing is that we are a family run farm. My great-grandfather emigrated to San Marcos from Japan in 1908, settling in San Luis Rey Valley (Oceanside) and started farming in 1928, growing chiles,” recalls Donal.
But just as their operation was becoming very successful, the attack on Pearl Harbor put a stop to everything. The Yasukochis were among the thousands of Japanese Americans that were pulled from their homes and sent to internment camps.
“If you had a Japanese face. If you had Japanese ancestry, even though you were an American citizen, they interned you. They put you in jail,” said Donal.
Yasukochi's grandparents were separated from each other along with their children and sent to internment camps in New Mexico and Arizona. A kind neighbor and schoolteacher had been watching over the farm, and they were able to resume the family business.
“My parents and grandparents had a lot of ‘gaman’, a Japanese word that means to endure with strength and dignity,” adds Donal.
Family is what sets the Yasukochi farm apart. And when the pandemic hit, and there was no outlet for their abundant harvests, daughter Brianne helped their existing CSA program grow from 300 subscribers to 3000. Donal says that every one of their customers is also considered family. With Brianne's help, Donal embraced technology and posts “Farmer Donal’s Tip of the Week” videos to help his followers cook the vegetables they get in their boxes.
“We start at 4am, boxes are packed by 8am and delivered the same day. We have three full time coordinators and many trucks. Whenever anybody buys a box, it helps us continue farming. The CSA program is what is keeping us in business.”
Each week, Yasukochi Family Farms donates some of their excess to ProduceGood, through both our Market Share and our Bumper Crop programs. This year alone, they have donated over 12,000 pounds of their incredible produce, some of which is transported to our partner agency, Brother Benno's, in Oceanside. Donal says they have had a long relationship with Brother Benno's, starting back when the farm overproduced tomatoes and Donal would bring the surplus to Brother Benno and he would make ketchup from it.
“Any time that we can donate to anyone, we feel good about it," adds Donal.
And ProduceGood feels good about partnering with Yasukochi and are so honored to complete the circle, reuniting these forces for good in Oceanside once again. Thank you, Yasukochi family!
If you are interested in getting farm fresh food delivered to your door, check out Yasukochi Family Farms.