LEND prepares trainees to become collaborative leaders who drive meaningful change for individuals with disabilities and their families.  The LEND curriculum is grounded in core values: 

• Family and person-centered care 

• Interdisciplinary collaboration 

• Individual perspectives  

• Community expertise 

• Evidence based practice 

Leadership development is woven throughout the integrated LEND curriculum and emphasized in a dedicated leadership course sequence aligned to the LEND MCH Competencies. The leadership course develops essential competencies: effective communication and collaboration, strengths-based professional development, person- and family-centered practice, interprofessional teamwork, coaching and mentoring, conflict resolution, systems improvement, and advocacy.  This approach reflects the belief that effective leadership emerges through developing self-awareness, building professional expertise, and mastering the collaborative practices that create lasting change. 

LEND Individual Leadership Plan (ILP) 

LEND trainees develop an Individual Leadership Plan (ILP) under the guidance of a faculty mentor.  The ILP process engages trainees in self-assessment of professional learning needs relative to the LEND MCHB Competencies.  The faculty mentors and trainees meet regularly to monitor progress. 

LEND Leadership Poster + Leadership Day 

Each trainee develops a culminating poster of the trainees’ year-long LEND experiences. This poster is designed to reflect the development of skills and competence relative to the LEND Standards and Benchmarks and the MCHB Leadership Competencies.   

The leadership posters are a summative measure of trainee learning.  Through poster preparation, trainees reflect on their personal learning and growth.  The poster provides a mechanism for the trainee and their mentor to document learning outcomes related to LEND experiences. Each trainee presents a summary of their poster during the LEND Leadership Day. The LEND Leadership Day is an annual event held at the end of April to recognize the trainees and their completion of the LEND program.

LEND Leadership Day Poster Examples