SDLA Insti­tute – Fre­quently Asked Questions

The San Diego Lead­er­ship Alliance (SDLA) Insti­tute is a civic lead­er­ship train­ing pro­gram for pro­gres­sive young professionals.

1. How do I apply for the SDLA Insti­tute in San Diego?
2. What is the SDLA Institute?
3. Does the SDLA Insti­tute cost money?
4. What are you look­ing for in SDLA Fellows?
5. How are Fel­lows selected?
6. What do Fel­lows go on to do?
7. Who runs SDLA Institute?
8. When will the Insti­tute ses­sions be?

How do I apply for the SDLA Insti­tute in San Diego?

Appli­ca­tions will be avail­able online at sdleadership.org/apply after Labor Day each year. You can be the first to know when appli­ca­tions are posted by sign­ing up for our email list.

You can also nom­i­nate some­one for the SDLA Insti­tute here.

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What is the SDLA Institute?

The SDLA Insti­tute is a pro­gram that equips Fel­lows with the skills, oppor­tu­ni­ties, and rela­tion­ships to make change in San Diego.

The train­ing pro­grams focuses on a core cur­ricu­lum of per­sonal lead­er­ship devel­op­ment, com­mu­ni­ca­tions, fund rais­ing, polit­i­cal strat­egy, tra­di­tional and new media, and pub­lic speak­ing. The Fel­lows also orga­nize a fundraiser to put into prac­tice their orga­niz­ing skills, and to help fund the next year’s class.

The SDLA Insti­tute spans 10 full days on week­ends between Jan­u­ary and June, usu­ally on Saturdays.

The pro­gram is designed to pro­vide Fel­lows with the tools they need to take the next step in their careers. The train­ing pro­gram is rel­e­vant to Fel­lows who work inside and out­side of pol­i­tics, with an empha­sis on prepar­ing young peo­ple to be engaged in civic life through­out their careers.

Fel­lows spend time meet­ing with local lead­ers from across sec­tors, includ­ing through pair­ings with career mentors.

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Does the SDLA Insti­tute cost money?

The SDLA Insti­tute is free to ensure that financial means are not a bar­rier to participation.

Fel­lows who are admit­ted to the SDLA Insti­tute pay a refundable $200 deposit. Fel­lows who grad­u­ate from the pro­gram receive their deposit back.

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What are you look­ing for in SDLA Fellows?

We are look­ing for pro­gres­sive young pro­fes­sion­als who are com­mit­ted to improv­ing San Diego.

The SDLA Insti­tute attracts accom­plished young peo­ple who have dis­tin­guished them­selves. Fel­lows have cre­ated an orga­ni­za­tion or busi­ness, led an orga­ni­za­tion to dis­tinc­tion, or demon­strated an abil­ity to cre­ate change by real­iz­ing a vision and com­pelling oth­ers to fol­low it.

Usu­ally, our Fel­lows are between the ages of 22 and 35. Gen­er­ally, Fel­lows have either com­pleted their edu­ca­tion, or they are cur­rently enrolled in a grad­u­ate or pro­fes­sional pro­gram. A col­lege degree is not required.

Each year, we select between 15 – 20 Fellows.

Diver­sity: Fel­lows rep­re­sent the diver­sity of the pro­gres­sive move­ment in terms of race, gen­der, sex­ual ori­en­ta­tion, income, and indus­try. The SDLA places a high pri­or­ity on diversity.

Cross- Section of Soci­ety: Fel­lows don’t just come from the world of pol­i­tics and gov­ern­ment. SDLA Fel­lows are recruited from fields like defense, tech­nol­ogy, non- profit man­age­ment, law, real estate, med­i­cine, media, small busi­ness, and education.

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How are Fel­lows selected?

Appli­cants are scored on the basis of writ­ten appli­ca­tions. A sub­set of appli­cants are invited for a sec­ond round of con­sid­er­a­tion which includes an interview.

A com­mit­tee reviews appli­ca­tions and inter­views can­di­dates. Selec­tions com­mit­tee mem­bers do not score appli­ca­tions or inter­view can­di­dates with whom they have a per­sonal pre­ex­ist­ing relationship.

The Fel­lows class is cho­sen to ensure a diverse group of par­tic­i­pants, includ­ing diver­sity of race, gen­der, sex­ual iden­tity, occu­pa­tion, goals, and background.

Writ­ten appli­ca­tions are avail­able usu­ally between Labor Day and early- November.

Inter­views are sched­uled in early Decem­ber, usu­ally on a Saturday.

Appli­cants are noti­fied if they have been selected as an SDLA Fel­low in mid- December.

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What do Fel­lows go on to do?

Many Fel­lows use the net­work and expe­ri­ence they gained from the SDLA Insti­tute to change careers, serve on local boards and com­mis­sions, or take on other lead­er­ship roles in their community.

The SDLA alumni com­mu­nity in San Diego has rela­tion­ships with a broad spec­trum of key employ­ers and pro­gres­sive stake­hold­ers in the region.

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Who runs SDLA Insti­tute in San Diego?

The SDLA Insti­tute is a program of the San Diego Lead­er­ship Alliance (SDLA), a non­profit run by vol­un­teers with a com­mit­ment to a pro­gres­sive future for San Diego. You can read about our leadership team here.

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When will the Insti­tute ses­sions be?

Insti­tute ses­sions are sched­uled for 10 days from Jan­u­ary through June. The ses­sions are usu­ally on Sat­ur­days.

Applicants should review the Institute schedule prior to applying, as all Fellows are expected to be present for the entirety of each Institute session. 
*All ses­sions run from 9:30 am – 5:30 pm (except Grad­u­a­tion which is only in the afternoon).

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