Courageous leadership for the common good
A year-long, immersive leadership experience focused on navigating complexity, working across systems, and creating meaningful change.
Next applications open July 1, 2027.
What This Program Is
The Leadership Advancement Program (LAP) is a cohort-based experience designed for leaders who are ready to expand their impact beyond their immediate role or organization.
Rooted in a legacy of leadership development in agriculture and natural resources, LAP focuses on how leadership operates within complex, interconnected systems — where challenges span sectors and require collaboration across communities.
Participants explore real-world issues at the intersection of agriculture, natural resources, and community development while building the skills to lead adaptively, engage diverse stakeholders, and create lasting change.
Who It's For
LAP is designed for individuals who are:
- Mid-career or experienced leaders across sectors
- Already leading teams, organizations, or initiatives
- Working in or connected to agriculture, natural resources, community development, or related systems
- Navigating complex, high-stakes challenges
- Interested in systems-level thinking and broader impact
- Ready to engage across difference and lead collaboratively
What You'll Experience
LAP is an applied, immersive, and multi-context experience.
Participants engage in:
- Classroom leadership intensives
- Regional, community-based learning experiences across Michigan
- Cross-sector collaboration and cohort projects
- Exposure to real-world leadership challenges in diverse contexts
- An international experience to explore leadership in a global context
This is not just a learning experience — it is an opportunity to actively practice leadership in complex, real-world systems. Participants engage directly with communities and systems connected to agriculture, natural resources, and community development, gaining first-hand insight into the challenges and opportunities shaping these sectors.
What You'll Gain
Through LAP, participants develop:
- The ability to think and act at a systems level
- Skills to navigate complexity, ambiguity, and competing priorities
- Confidence in leading across sectors, perspectives, and differences
- Stronger capacity for collaboration and collective problem-solving
- A broadened worldview and deeper understanding of interconnected systems
“You find a new version of yourself — one ready to create real change in your work and community. This is truly life-changing.”
Program Structure
LAP is a year-long cohort experience that includes:
- Two classroom intensives
- Three regional immersion experiences across Michigan
- Virtual sessions and cohort-based projects
- An international capstone experience
Time Commitment: 12 months
Location: Michigan + international experience
Cost: Approximately $6,000
Upcoming Cohort
Next cohort begins February 2027.
Next application deadline: September 1, 2027
How to Apply
The application process includes:
- Completing the online application
- Submitting required materials
- Participating in an interview process
We are looking for individuals who demonstrate:
- Leadership experience and readiness for expanded impact
- Openness to learning and growth
- Ability to work collaboratively across difference
- Commitment to fully engage in the program
Why This Work Matters
Today’s challenges — across agriculture, natural resources, and communities — are complex, interconnected, and constantly evolving.
They require leaders who can see the bigger picture, work across boundaries, and engage diverse perspectives.
LAP is designed to build that capacity — so leaders can move from insight to impact in the systems that shape our shared future.
“LAP allows you to devote time to both personal and professional development in a way no book or training can.”
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