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Leading from the Middle Academy

Develop Leadership. Build Community. Lead Change.

The Leading from the Middle (LFM) Academy is a year-long project-based leadership development experience for cross-functional teams of California community college practitioners committed to advancing meaningful change within their institutions. By bringing together faculty, classified professionals, mid-level administrators, researchers, and other practitioners, the Academy helps colleges build shared leadership capacity across roles and perspectives. 

Through coaching, collective learning, and applied practice, participants strengthen their leadership capacity while learning alongside colleagues from their own college and peers from across the state. 

Select an option below:

Application Deadline: Tuesday, April 7, 2026

Download the application questions to help you prepare.

Applicants will be notified of selection in early May 2026.

2026–27 Academy Dates

Virtual Kick-Off
September 11, 2026 | 10:00 am–1:00 pm

In-Person Convenings
All convenings will be held at Kellogg West Conference Center, Pomona, CA

  • October 15–17, 2026
  • February 25–27, 2027
  • June 3–5, 2027

Virtual Celebration of Learning
September 10, 2027 | 10:00 am–1:00 pm

Between convenings, teams participate in virtual onboarding, coaching, and sustainability planning.

The cost for a college team (up to six members) is $7,500.

The academy fee includes:

  • An assigned LFM coach for the full 15-month experience
  • Three facilitated in-person convenings (lodging and meals included)
  • Structured virtual onboarding and sustainability sessions
  • Leadership development curriculum grounded in equity and systems thinking
  • Participation in a statewide learning community of cross-functional teams

Participation positions your college within a visible statewide network of institutions advancing Vision 2030 priorities.

Travel to and from the convenings is not included.

The LFM Academy Journey

Supported by continuous coaching and team learning, teams move through seven interconnected experiences: kickoff, onboarding, three in-person convenings, sustainability planning, and a Celebration of Learning. Throughout the journey, teams advance a college-based project and strengthen their individual and collective leadership capacity.

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For more than 13 years, the LFM Academy has focused on developing the leadership capacity of middle leaders across California community colleges. It is the only leadership development program in the system that centers practitioners who lead from the middle, where influence is shared, authority is often informal, and change depends on collaboration across roles.

The LFM Academy is a project-based leadership experience grounded in real campus work. Participants learn alongside peers from across the system while applying new insights directly to a college-based initiative aligned with institutional and statewide priorities.

The following features are the heart of the LFM Academy:

  • Cross-functional teams that reflect the complexity of college systems
  • Leadership identity development, especially for practitioners whose leadership is often informal or unrecognized
  • Equity-centered practice grounded in reflection, dialogue, and evidence
  • Systems thinking to navigate culture, power, and resistance
  • Coaching and relationships that support growth over time

What Makes the Academy Different?

The LFM Academy is intentionally designed to help participants develop their leadership while advancing meaningful change on their campuses. Rather than separating leadership development from day-to-day work, the Academy integrates learning, coaching, and real institutional practice into one continuous experience. 

Learning Through Real Work

Rather than working through hypothetical scenarios or case studies, teams develop their leadership while addressing a real institutional priority and or challenges that are meaningful to their college and aligned with student success.

The project is not the destination; it’s the vehicle for learning. Through real work, participants strengthen their leadership capacity while advancing work that matters to their institution.

Coaching helps teams make meaning of that experience. Through reflection, dialogue, and guided support, participants deepen their learning, strengthen their leadership practice, and translate insights into action.

Through project work, participants learn to:

  • Build relationships across roles and perspectives

  • Engage stakeholders and build support for change

  • Use data and evidence to inform decisions

  • Navigate institutional culture and complexity

  • Apply leadership concepts, tools, and frameworks

  • Practice collective leadership in action
 

Leadership Development Through Coaching

Each team is paired with an experienced LFM coach who provides support, reflection, and guidance throughout the Academy experience.

Many coaches are LFM alumni who bring firsthand knowledge of the Academy along with practical experience navigating institutional change, building coalitions, and leading student-centered initiatives on their own campuses.

Rather than providing answers, coaches ask thoughtful questions, encourage reflection, help teams navigate challenges, and create space for new perspectives to emerge. Through ongoing coaching conversations, teams strengthen their leadership practice, deepen collaboration, and continue growing throughout the Academy journey.

Leading from the Middle Academy participants.

Learning Beyond the Convenings

Leadership development doesn't happen only during the convenings. LFM intentionally creates opportunities for participants to move between dedicated time for reflection and the realities of leading change on their own campuses.

Each in-person convening
is held in a retreat-like setting that allows teams to step away from the demands of daily campus life, build relationships, think strategically, and focus on leadership without the distractions of their everyday responsibilities.

When teams return home, 
the learning continues. Participants work alongside colleagues—their home team—to apply new ideas, advance their projects, and share what they are learning. This ongoing exchange extends leadership development beyond the participants attending LFM and helps strengthen leadership capacity across the college.

Coaches further connect
learning to practice through campus site visits, developing an understanding of each team's unique context, relationships, and challenges. This allows coaching conversations to be grounded in the realities teams face while helping teams translate learning into meaningful action.

Each in-person convening is held in a retreat-like setting.

The new surroundings allow teams to step away from the demands of daily campus life, build relationships, think strategically, and focus on leadership without the distractions of their everyday responsibilities.

When teams return home, the learning continues.

Participants work alongside colleagues—their home team—to apply new ideas, advance their projects, and share what they are learning. This ongoing exchange extends leadership development beyond the LFM participants and helps strengthen leadership capacity across the college.

Coaches further connect learning to practice.

Coaching continues through campus site visits, where coaches develop an understanding of each team's unique context, relationships, and challenges. This allows conversations that are grounded in the realities that teams face while helping teams translate learning into meaningful action.

Participants leave with:

A stronger sense of leadership identity and purpose

Stronger relationships across roles and institutions

Greater confidence navigating complexity and change

New tools and approaches for leading collaboratively

Lasting connections to a statewide network of peers

 

Leadership Beyond the Academy

Participation in the Academy is not the end of the journey. Graduates become part of a statewide community of leaders committed to continued learning, collaboration, and advancement of student success.

Through the Alumni Network and Leadership Impact Series, LFM alumni continue to learn, connect, and share promising practices long after the Academy concludes.

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Meet the Team

Explore the LFM Academy

See the Academy in Action

The Academy culminates in a Celebration of Learning, where teams share the stories, lessons, and impact that emerged through their leadership journeys. 

These stories, created by past participants, offer a glimpse into what it means to lead, learn, and grow through the Academy experience.

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LFM Academy Team

Meet our 2026 LFM Academy Team.

How the Academy Works

Learn how LFM supports teams to lead equity-centered change.

View LFM Academy details

College Projects & Participants

View initiatives LFM teams have advanced to strengthen student success.

Past participants & projects

Evaluation & Impact

Evidence of strengthened leadership capacity and campus change.

Peruse the findings

Meet Our LFM Academy Team

Click the photos to learn about each team member.

Ghada Al-Masri
Academy Team

Ghada Al-Masri

Fresno City College

Coach
Shireen Awad
Academy Team

Shireen Awad

Chaffey College

Coach
Jennifer Cooley
Academy Team

Jennifer Cooley

The RP Group

Logistic Coordinator
Saleem Gilmore
Academy Team

Saleem Gilmore

Chabot College

Coach
Curtis Martin
Academy Team

Curtis Martin

Modesto Junior College

Coach
Ben Mudgett
Academy Team

Ben Mudgett

Palomar College

Coach
Wendy Nelson
Academy Team

Wendy Nelson

Palomar College

Coach
George Parker
Academy Team

George Parker

Santiago Canyon College

Coach
Toni Parsons
Academy Team

Toni Parsons

Crafton Hills College

Facilitator
Rob Stevenson
Academy Team

Rob Stevenson

Modesto Junior College

Facilitator
Michael Takeda
Academy Team

Michael Takeda

Fresno City College

Coach
Lila Tavelli
Academy Team

Lila Tavelli

The RP Group

Logistic Coordinator
Samantha Tseng
Academy Team

Samantha Tseng

Chaffey College

Coach

Explore More of LFM

LFM Homepage

LFM Homepage

LFM Alumni Network

Sustain Leadership

Leadership doesn’t end with the Academy.

Explore the Alumni Network

LFM Impact Series for Student Success

Amplify Learning

Learn from leadership in action.

View upcoming sessions

LFM Academy Details

See what participation in the LFM Academy involves.

View LFM Academy details

Apply for the LFM Academy

Apply with your college team

Evidence of Impact

Evaluation is embedded throughout Leading from the Middle. We gather participant reflections, coaching insights, and independent evaluation findings to continuously refine the academy and understand its impact.

Our evaluation work helps us answer critical questions:

  • How does middle leadership capacity grow over time?

  • What conditions support cross-functional collaboration?

  • How does leadership development translate into institutional change?

Peruse LFM’s evaluation findings that demonstrate growth in leadership identity, systems thinking, equity-minded practice, and sustained cross-role collaboration across campuses.