The San Diego Leadership Alliance (SDLA) is a progressive organization. It turns out “progressive” isn’t an easy term to define.

For many, the term progressive just means to the left of center. It’s possible to understand the term progressive as just a modern substitute for the term “liberal.” Many use the terms interchangeably.

To better communicate our principles, the SDLA board adopted a values statement, defining what progressive means for us.

political
po•lit•i•cal (pəˈlitikəl)
adjective
    1. of or relating to the government or the public affairs of a country

entrepreneur
en•tre•pre•neur (äntrəprəˈno͝or,-ˈnər)
noun
    1. a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so

Like many facets of my career development, I didn't quite understand what was meant by, "political entrepreneur" when it was introduced to me. I saw it first in the New Leaders Council San Diego (now San Diego Leadership Alliance (SDLA)) application and promotional materials. I thought it was a catchy term like "innovation" that was thrown around to get attention but wasn't actually being used functionally.

Today we are excited to announce the launch of the San Diego Leadership Alliance Institute. 

To apply for the SDLA Institute, click here.

To nominate someone for the SDLA Institute, click here.

Today is an exciting moment for our San Diego Leadership Alliance (SDLA) community. For the first time, we will be operating a training program designed by San Diegans, for San Diegans. 

It has been an exciting 3 months since the start of our fourth annual NLC Institute, the flagship program of the San Diego Leadership Alliance. This year’s Fellows come from a variety of backgrounds and careers including non-profit, business and government. Click the link below to read more about our 18 talented Fellows.

On Wednesday, February 6, 2013, SDLA Board members Shane Yonston and Will Moore, along with NLC 2013 Fellow Sadie Brinton had the privilege of meeting with seventeen rising leaders from the Middle East and North Africa. The meeting was arranged by the San Diego Diplomacy Council under the U.S. Department of State's International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP).

Members of the San Diego Leadership Alliance regularly serve on boards and commissions. SDLA/NLC can give you the contacts and know-how needed to achieve such an appointment. The NLC Institute, for example, features a boards and commissions training every year. Here, 2011 NLC alumnus Matt Ellis describes how NLC facilitated his appointment to the San Diego Funds Commission.

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San Diego is fairly unique for a major city in that all campaigns, all parties, and all of the local media outlets join together at Golden Hall in the downtown Civic Center for a huge gathering.

Congratulations to all of the Patch.com's 2012 30 under 30 honorees, with a special recognization for these four who we know so well at SDLA.

NLC Alumna Norma Rodriguez is a Patch.com 30 Under 30 County Leader.  Here, she considers NLC's contribution to her growth.

NLC Alumnus Omar López was recently honored as an Urban Leader Under 40 by the Urban League of San Diego County. Here, Omar answers questions about the honor.