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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
I Love A Clean San Diego Empowers Residents to Keep Our Communities Clean Through Major Cleanup Events
Carly Aozasa, Graduate Student Worker, Live Well San Diego Support Team
I Love A Clean San Diego is on a mission to lead and inspire our community to actively conserve and enhance the environment through example, outreach, and local involvement. They provide environmental education, volunteer cleanups, and waste recovery resources and are dedicated to empowering every person to be leaders in conservation and waste-free living to protect and improve the health of San Diego County.
Here's a look back at their impact in 2022.
International Coastal Cleanup Day 2022 Results
On September 17th, 2022, over 4,000 volunteers joined I Love A Clean San Diego for the 38th annual Coastal Cleanup Day where more than 35,000 pounds of litter and debris was collected from sites across the region.
“We are so grateful for the support of the San Diego community,” said the event’s director Ann Marie Sack. “It is incredible to witness San Diegans come together and be a last line of defense to prevent litter from reaching our ocean.”
Since Coastal Cleanup Day’s inception in 1985, over 276,000 volunteers countywide have removed over 5.4 million pounds of litter and debris from local communities.
But their efforts don’t stop there!
Clean Beach Coalition 2022 Results
During busy summer holidays, San Diego’s beaches and bays are the popular spots for local and out-of-town visitors. With the influx of beachgoers, permanent trash receptacles are overwhelmed by the surge of additional waste, which can lead to pollution on the beaches and in the bays and ocean.
Now in its 15th summer, I Love A Clean San Diego’s Clean Beach Coalition placed and maintained temporary waste and recycling bins over Memorial Day, Fourth of July, and Labor Day weekends, along the beaches and bays in Pacific Beach, Mission Beach, and Mission Bay.
Through the Clean Beach Coalition, a total of 35,400 pounds of trash and recycling were diverted from our beaches and bays in 2022. Over the past decade, the Clean Beach Coalition has kept 3.5 million pounds of trash off the beach and out of the ocean.
Creek to Bay Cleanup 2022 Results
On April 23rd, 2022, I Love A Clean San Diego held their 20th annual Creek to Bay Cleanup which is the largest environmental cleanup in San Diego County during Earth Week. This year the event had more than 5,500 registered volunteers remove over 74,000 pounds of litter and debris from streets, canyons, parks, and the coastline in communities across San Diego County.
Since 2002, the Creek to Bay Cleanup has blocked 2.7 million pounds of litter from entering the ocean and brought together over 83,000 volunteers.
Thanks to the amazing work of I Love A Clean San Diego and its volunteers San Diego is being preserved and enhance for future generations to enjoy.
To learn more about ILACSD events and resources, visit CleanSD.org.