Since we began our work in the Edgewater community in 2013, our main mission has been cultivating partnerships for a thriving community. We are excited to announce that we are developing another partnership to continue promoting community leadership development. Edgewater Collective is honored to welcome the successful Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) program to our leadership development pathway!

Since 2018, the Family Leadership Training Institute program has been sponsored by Jefferson County CSU Extension Office. FLTI Site Coordinator Kim Massey has been instrumental in developing the program and sending graduates into Jefferson County prepared and equipped to oversee community-led projects. Edgewater Collective has been referring community members to this highly effective program since it began in North Lakewood. So when we heard that Kim would be retiring, and FLTI could be looking for a new home, we jumped at the opportunity.

Through the pandemic we saw firsthand the power and leadership of our immigrant and marginalized communities in Jefferson County. We are convinced that all our communities would benefit from diverse leaders serving in our schools, businesses, city governments, nonprofits, and county agencies. The Family Leadership Training Institute will join our Worker Cooperative Training and Support Program as we fully develop a leadership development pathway for youth and adults in our community.

Stay tuned for more information about Family Leadership Training Institute by joining our email newsletter here.

What is Family Leadership Training Institute?

The Family Leadership Training Institute of Colorado (FLTI) is a nonpartisan, multi-sector, and community-driven collaborative focused on cultivating healthier, more inclusive communities and systems in which all Coloradans thrive. Systemic oppression, economic inequalities, and other barriers to civic engagement have long existed in the U.S. FLTI’s model reduces barriers to participation while growing individual and community capacity for change. FLTI is a 20-week program offered to Jefferson County adults and teens at no cost that develops effective civic leaders for healthy families and communities. Participants also complete community project as part of the FLTI experience, which provide an opportunity to get hands on experience and network. FLTI graduates learn how to utilize information and resources, while working together with others of different viewpoints, to improve their communities. 

This training is designed to increase civic participation and promote greater collaboration between individuals, families, institutions, public administrators and elected officials as they seek strategies to respond to pressing social, health, and economic issues in their communities.