Carly Cortright

Video Series Trains Neighborhood Leaders

Carly Cortright, Director of Neighborhood Services, 509.625.6263


Friday, March 25, 2022 at 10:53 a.m.

Video Series Trains Neighborhood Leaders

The Office of Neighborhood Services (ONS) in partnership with the Gonzaga University School of Leadership Studies has published a series of videos supporting the leadership of the City’s 29 independent neighborhood councils.

In 2021, ONS contracted with Gonzaga with funding provided by Spokane’s City Council to develop a leadership program to empower neighborhood councils to effectively and efficiently work with the City to solve problems. After conducting a needs assessment that involved one-on-one interviews, focus groups, and surveys with community members, Gonzaga used that data to propose two programs. The video library was developed along with the Spokane Neighborhood Leadership Academy, which is being piloted with an inaugural class.

While the five-month academy is a more intensive, in-class experience for new and emerging leaders, the video library is aimed at all levels of leadership: for those just starting out to those who are more experienced, but maybe would like to learn more skills.

The 11 videos range from content about how the City operates to how to effectively run a meeting to why diversity is important. Presenters include a range of community experts, including Kiantha Duncan, President of the Spokane chapter of the NAACP, and Ryann Louie, founder of Reimagine Spokane, as well as neighborhood leaders and City staff.

The videos were filmed and produced by Gonzaga University and are hosted on the City’s Neighborhood Resources page. We hope to expand on the library in coming years to continue to provide our volunteer community leaders tools to assist in their advocacy for their neighborhoods.

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