Calling all affordable housing residents, staff members, and advocates—applications are NOW OPEN for Leadership Academy 2025! The application deadline is January 31st, 2025 by 11:59pm Pacific Time.
EBHO’s Leadership Academy is a free 8-week community organizing program on the essentials of affordable housing advocacy for affordable housing residents, staff members, and community members.
Our 2025 Leadership Academy program will be held in Oakland on Wednesdays and Fridays from 10am-1pm, beginning on Wednesday, March 12th. We will be diving deep into the issues that affect East Bay residents with a focus on organizing, advocacy, and solutions.
Read on for more information about Leadership Academy and to hear from some of our program alumni.
Contact Ronnie Boyd (ronnie@ebho.org) and Damion Scott (damion@ebho.org) if you have any questions regarding Leadership Academy or to request a presentation about our program for your building or organization.
What is Leadership Academy?
EBHO’s Leadership Academy is designed to train up to 25 affordable housing residents, staff, and community members each year to become effective leaders in their communities and buildings. It focuses on developing community knowledge and skills to impact policies and programs that help expand affordable housing opportunities as well as create safe and healthy communities. Leadership Academy prioritizes and centers experience of residents of affordable housing, so they can continue to play a critical role in decision-making about program and policy priorities and campaigns.
In order to grow a powerful resident and community organizing base for the affordable housing movement and to change policies and systems, EBHO believes that residents and staff in particular need the knowledge and skills to be effective organizers, advocates, and community leaders. Leadership Academy is a deep investment in promising and emerging affordable housing leaders who will help shape and grow the affordable housing movement.
This year, Leadership Academy will consist of 16 sessions over the course of 8 weeks, focusing on the essential elements to be an effective affordable housing advocate, community organizer, and leader. Sessions will take place on Wednesdays and Fridays rom 10am-1pm in Oakland, beginning on Wednesday, March 12, 2025. Workshops will feature a mix of interactive exercises, lessons, and presentations from experts.
Graduates will obtain a certificate of completion, a stipend, and a one-year EBHO membership at the end of the course.
Leadership Academy Alumni
Since the launch of Leadership Academy in 2015, over 100 affordable housing residents and staff have graduated from the program.
Graduates of Leadership Academy have gone on to serve on local and state Boards and Commissions, help draft policy that has been implemented statewide, and even joined EBHO’s Board of Directors!
Resident Community Organizing Program
Many of our Leadership Academy graduates continue their involvement with EBHO through our Resident Community Organizing Program (RCOP), one of our six committees that seeks to empower affordable housing residents to be affordable housing advocates alongside our non-resident members and allies, and to engage them in EBHO’s campaigns and programs. Based in Oakland and expanding throughout the East Bay, RCOP runs transformative leadership trainings and engages affordable housing residents in the policy and neighborhood decisions that affect them directly.
We recently featured several ROCP members in our 40th Anniversary video series, 40 Years, 40 Voices. Check out the video on our Instagram to hear about their experience with EBHO and RCOP, and how they work to further housing justice in the East Bay and statewide.
EBHO Board Members
EBHO is proud to have several Leadership Academy graduates serve on our Board of Directors: Board Vice President Willam Goodwin (class of 2020), Cathy Eberhardt (class of 2018), and Board Member-Elect Renee-Marie Telefoni (2022).
By centering the voices of those with lived experience housing, we ensure the solutions we advocate for are truly responsive to the needs of those most impacted and that the solutions we champion for are both authentic and effective in promoting housing justice.