Lessons from Lived Experience: From fresh insights to effective action

The 34 fellows in the 2014 Emerging Leaders Program worked with community partners to generate the theme, “Learning from Lived Experience: From fresh insights to effective action. Each year, the projects draw upon a theme or lesson from the prior year. Last year and this year, fellows saw how the lived experiences of both their stakeholders and themselves generated nuanced and appropriate approaches to problem-solving. The fellows worked with six community partners, giving their time and professional skills to understand how to frame complex social challenges, engage new partners and resources, and sharpen strategic plans. They conducted surveys, interviews, open houses, and focus groups; they explored social media options, examined best practices, and considered ways to tell powerful stories about the vitally important work of the project sponsor organizations with whom the ELP partnered. Our six project sponsors are: Massachusetts Business Roundtable, Center for Social Policy at UMass Boston, Hospitality Homes, Commonwealth Diversity Fellows Program, Emerging Leaders Program and the Center for Collaborative Leadership