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Inspired by Carlos Moreno's book of the same name, Big Picture Learning's Leadership Soul aims to infuse love, care and vulnerability in educational leadership through fellowships, storytelling, immersive place-based learning experiences, and more - all with the goal of ensuring that young people feel heard, seen and cared for. Join us.
Fellowships
Transformational leadership doesn't happen in isolation -- it grows in community. Through the EF Fellows (in partnership with Internationals Network for Public Schools) and the Ashé Fellowship, BPL's Leadership Soul intentionally cultivates spaces where leaders come together to learn, reflect and challenge one another in pursuit of more just, student-centered systems. These fellowships are more than professional development; they are powerful networks of change-makers who draw strength from shared experience, collective wisdom and a deep commitment to reimagining what it means to be a leader.
Leadership Journeys
We know that the paths of leaders of color are not without obstacles. They work in and with communities who themselves are often barraged with conflict. And yet, they are often tasked with being courageous in the face of adversity. To withhold love and mask vulnerability. We reject this premise and have launched Leadership Journeys to counter the narrative.
Leadership Journeys is a multi-media, DJ-fueled celebration; replacing turntables with slide decks, but without the sacrifice of soul. We work closely with conferences, convening and organizations to create space for educators of color and allies in the progressive education movement; joined by exceptional system level leaders who embrace the notion that sharing deeply personal stories is the path toward collective doneness.
Professional Development
Reorienting your leadership toward love, care and vulnerability is not an overnight task. In order to infuse these ideas into your work, your classroom and your teaching, it is necessary for teacher and leaders to do deep working knowing themselves, such that they're in a place to better know - and personalize education for - their students.
Leadership Soul offers professional development in support of this evolution - situated in community. Through guided reflection, storytelling and applied learning, our workshops help educators and leaders slow down and ask the essential questions: Who am I? How have my experiences shaped me? How do I lead with love and intention? By creating space for deep self-awareness, we prepare leaders to cultivate belonging, emotional intelligence and authentic relationships - foundations for meaningful, student-centered transformation.
Where it all Started
Behind every movement there is a moment. The principles of Leadership Soul - love, care and vulnerability - were born out of BPL Co-Executive Director Carlos Moreno's own lessons learned as a student, a teacher and a leader.
Carlos' book - Finding Your Leadership Soul - is a series of reflections, framed around letters Carlos writes to three young men whom he had the opportunity to teach and mentor. All three of these young men - Josue, Angel and Shawn - have passed; too young and too common for young men of color these days. Thus, Carlos' letters take the form of lessons he wishes he could have shared, impacts he wishes he could have made.
Knowing that time with our young people can be fleeting, Carlos shares these lessons with the reader so that they don't miss the opportunity to introduce soul into their own leadership toolbox.
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