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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
Alzheimer's Association Looking for Community Educators to Lead Educational Programs
Douglas Friedman, Director of Communications, Alzheimer’s Association San Diego/Imperial
Living well, the very goal for those who read this publication, can be achieved in many ways, by many measures.
It goes without saying that a healthy diet, exercise, and positive social interaction can contribute to your “living well.” Travel, hobbies, friends, and accomplishments can lead to what the Alzheimer’s Association calls “a life well led.”
Beyond that fine distinction, there are significant measures we can take that will carry one to a level beyond just living well or a life well led. We call it “giving back.”
For those who give back, either through charitable contributions, committing time to help others in the community (from participating in charity walks to visiting hospital patients), or simply promoting help for those in need on social media, their lives are enriched by a shower of gratitude from those they have helped.
At the Alzheimer’s Association here in San Diego and Imperial Counties, the gratitude we have for volunteers cannot be overstated. Whether participating in our Walk to End Alzheimer’s, managing an information table at a fair or festival, or simply helping in our office is a greatly appreciated act of kindness.
Right now, the Alzheimer’s Association is looking for community educators to lead educational programs throughout the county, including “The 10 Warning Signs of Alzheimer’s,” “Managing Money: A Caregiver’s Guide to Finance”, “Understanding Alzheimer’s and Dementia” and more.
Volunteers are trained, in English and/or Spanish, and provided with all the tools necessary to make a presentation. Hours are flexible, with a commitment as little as two hours per month.
Please consider how this small act of kindness will bring comfort and knowledge to others. The impact you can make is considerable.
For more information on becoming an Alzheimer’s Association community educator, go to https://www.alz.org/sandiego/volunteer or email Rebecca Turman at rturman@alz.org.