The Great KIDS Make Great COMMUNITIES Leadership Academy is an intensive, invitation-only cohort program held at the NIIC (Northeast Indiana Innovation Center), designed for professionals in leadership roles across the youth, family, and community-serving sectors. The Academy aims to equip community leaders across all professional sectors to strengthen their impact on positive youth development through a deeper understanding of strengths-based practices and is designed for public and private sector leaders working in social services, juvenile justice, education, health care, law enforcement, mental health, and other community organizations.

Throughout the program, participants engage in focused work on self-awareness, identifying personal strengths, and navigating the challenges that come with leading in high-stakes, trauma-informed environments. Past cohorts have explored tools such as Childhood Trauma, the 40 Developmental Assets © as defined by Search Institute and the Enneagram to help leaders understand their own motivations and leadership tendencies more deeply — recognizing that unexamined motives can quietly undermine otherwise well-intentioned leadership.

Upon completing the Academy, participants receive a Continuing Education Certificate from Purdue University Fort Wayne. As part of the program, participants also complete a Capstone Project — a set of collaborative actions designed to raise awareness of evidence-based, positive development and leadership practices that address needs within Allen County. Because the program is invitation-only, applicants complete an interview process before being selected into a cohort, ensuring a focused group of leaders committed to strengthening their communities through healthy, intentional leadership.