Equip men of color with the leadership skills, knowledge, and system of support to lead complex organizations that drastically improve the success of all students.
Four principles guide the Institute:

• A developed self-awareness of personal strengths and developmental needs will positively impact their ability to lead in all contexts and further the achievement of students and faculty
• An understanding of organizations and skills capable of impacting enterprise effectiveness
• Developing skills capable of advancing the goals of MCEL (Quality, Quantity, Care) through a process of implementing a set of personal key leadership challenges that will include an "each one reach one" philosophy
• Operate with a "Cohort philosophy" that learning will continue after the formal end of the program, and participants will continue to share their professional and personal practices.

Participant goals:

• Strengthen leadership acumen through executive skill development-Provide leaders with the knowledge, guided practice, and skill development focused on developing and maximizing their leadership capacity
• Help leaders explore individual strengths and development needs
• Understand and unpack leadership style in relation to lived experiences and identity as a male leader of color
• Assist leaders in identifying their Key Leadership Commitments
• Analyzing and leveraging your vignette

Increase the number of men of color in education leadership

Participant goals:
Analyze local context and recommend changes/shifts in policy and practices that will create conditions for leaders of color to thrive:

• Pipeline Initiative
• Hiring Practices
• Policies
• Direct mentoring and support of the next generation of leaders

Support male leaders of color in navigating the unique challenges they face by creating spaces that support being their authentic selves.

Participant goals:

• Provide a space for Men of Color to heal and be their authentic selves
• Develop and strengthen a community among men of color who experience similar challenges

The Institute will be highly engaging, interactive, and application-driven. The Institute will include an initial 4-day, in-person, group programming experience with two subsequent virtual group sessions and an in-person session at MCEL's National Convening. The culminating session and graduation will be held in person in the summer of 2023. Participants will:

• Take a 360-degree assessment in advance of the Institute, and the assessment will be used to understand their strengths and developmental needs and personalize their experience.
• Analyze Case Studies/Research/Articles
• Engage in discussion and reflection relevant to their leadership development
• Engage in growth sessions focused on healing and self-care
• Mindfulness, demystifying mental health in men of color
• Culturally relevant experiential learning experiences
• Facilitated mini-lectures around MCEL’s essential leadership competencies and other leadership development themes
• Learn strategies for assessing the effectiveness of their organization’s support for leaders of color
• Learn from fireside chats from premiere current and former executive/system leaders from around the country
• Personal/professional vignette exploration
• Participate in consultancy protocols to unpack the essential leadership competencies
• Curate an integrated leadership support plan with an execution strategy
• Receive a “best match” accountability partner
• Individual coaching around their integrated leadership support plan for 1-year