The Community Change Leadership Network connects participants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Change Leadership Programs (CLP) and alumni across programs to start collaborative action and learning that advances the Culture of Health and builds towards collective healing and liberation.
The overarching goal of our work is to identify health and well-being as a priority and right in all communities, especially those on the receiving end of health inequity. And in doing this work, the CCLN strives to foster a treasured space for CLP participants and alumni to build relationships with one another in order to innovate solutions to the barriers that impact people’s access to healthy and equitable living.
Our Origins
Formed in early 2020, the Community Change Leadership Network came into existence with the intention of connecting both program graduates and current participants within the RWJF Change Leadership Programs. Alums from each of the four programs saw an opportunity to create a structured space for CLP leaders to learn from and collaborate with one another. After surveying the alums and current participants, a proposal was developed and RWJF gave the approval for our emerging network.
Who is this network for?
CCLN serves graduates and current participants of the four cohorts of the RWJF’s Change Leadership Programs. These four cohorts include Clinical Scholars, Culture of Health Leaders, Health Policy Research Scholars, and Interdisciplinary Research Leaders.
The values that guide our network
- Collective Liberation – We are committed to dismantling white supremacy in its many forms and decolonizing our relationships with traditional systems of hierarchy and power. We center equity in all of our actions and hope to create a community where our many lived experiences are affirmed and respected.
- Loving Relationships – As we work to create genuine relationships with one another, we are committed to having courageous conversations where we listen to the needs and concerns of those around us in order to make space for healing and growth.
- Health and Sustainability – We believe that health is a right and not a privilege. We aim to listen to and take guidance from our community members, and develop solutions that elevate the voices of those most impacted by health inequity, while using our many privileges to create a sustainable world for us all.
- Collaboration – The heart of this work is rooted in shared leadership and self-organizing. We believe that we are strongest when we remove the limitations of hierarchy and make space for others to take initiative and develop self-organized solutions that support a culture of health.
- Collective Decision-Making – We recognize that each of our experiences have value and we aspire to ensure that everyone’s perspectives are considered and included when making decisions.
- Transparency – Simply put, we believe that folks on every level of the process have a right to know what is happening both in front of and behind the curtain. We strive to be clear about the inner workings of our network and continually share ways for others to become involved once they are ready.