Maintaining a commitment to social change in public health through Leadership Development

As social movements progress, they often face challenges related to institutionalization of their goals. In the face of these changing circumstances, movements must find ways to maintain an ongoing commitment to the social justice issues that initiated the movement. One way of doing this is through leadership development. Leadership, in this situation, is aptly defined by Marshall Ganz as "accepting the responsibility for engaging others to achieve common purpose in the face of uncertainty." Leadership development is about building organizations that constantly develop a cadre of leaders who are committed to social change and equipped with the skills and practices of political organizing and leadership development. How can public health organizations seeking to organize others for social change do this? This presentation will describe an approach to teaching the practices of political organizing and leadership development. I will define what the practices of organizing and leadership development are, nest them in theoretical literature related to civic engagement, and discuss ways these practices have bee applied in the past. In addition, I will discuss ways they can be applied in the context of linking social justice and public health.