Program Overview

National Urban League Emerging Leaders Program Overview and Background

Mission Statement:

Our Movement: 

Established in 1910, the Urban League is the nation’s oldest and largest community-based movement devoted to empowering African Americans to enter the economic and social mainstream.  Today, the National Urban League headquartered in New York City, spearheads the non-partisan efforts of its local affiliates.  There are over 100 affiliates of the National Urban League located in 36 states and the District of Columbia, providing direct services like job training, home ownership and educational assistance to 600,000 people nationwide and 60 million more through programs, advocacy and research.

Our Mission: 

The mission of the Urban League movement is to enable African Americans to secure economic self-reliance, parity, power and civil rights.

Why the Program Was Created:

In 2009, leadership at National Urban League (NUL) together with John Hofmeister, past President of Shell Oil Company and current Chairman of the National Urban League Board, recognized a need to address the retirement and turnover of affiliate leaders.

Mr. Hofmeister provided the funds to work with corporate education vendors and this iteration initially focused on CEOs.  As the program evolved, American Express (AMEX) became a sponsor and agreed to fund a program dedicated specifically to supporting our emerging leaders in the movement. With the support of AMEX, the NUL Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) objectives are to strengthen the UL leadership pipeline with a cohort of individuals prepared to compete at the CEO level and for senior positions in larger affiliates.

This ELP provides Emerging Leaders the tools needed to begin increasing self-awareness, seek feedback from others and have the support, mentorship, and new opportunities to stretch themselves.  They gain the knowledge needed to translate the Urban League Model into action and set a standard for the skills needed to be a successful Affiliate leader in the Movement.

To meet these objectives and ensure Emerging Leaders are prepared for key challenges at the next level and current challenges, this program includes a blended approach of facilitated instruction, conference attendance, executive coaching, and social and networking events.

Program Leadership Model

The leadership model below, is the cornerstone of the ELP and highlights the six (6) leadership competencies a NUL leader should understand, model and be coached on.