Apply to this one-day leadership training for those formerly incarcerated

JustLeadershipUSA (JLUSA), the advocacy organization aiming to cut the U.S. prison population in half by 2030, is known for its leadership training programs specifically aimed at those who have been formerly incarcerated.

The idea is that returning citizens are the best advocators because of their experiences.

Here’s a new opportunity the organization is launching in Philadelphia: the Emerging Leaders (EL) training program. As opposed to its 12-month Leadership with Conviction training, EL is just a one-day training program taking place Saturday, April 15, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Community College of Philadelphia.

If you’re thinking about applying, get on it because the application deadline is this Friday, April 7.

The Philly EL training will be the organization’s seventh; previous trainings took place in Austin, Chicago, New York, New Haven, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

As noted by a press release, these trainings continue the trend of helping up-and-coming leaders by “introducing them to other people, campaigns and practices closely linked to successful criminal justice advocacy efforts, enabling them to take on greater challenges, implement their visions for reform, and to generate quantifiable impact in their work.”

Notable JLUSA alums include Jondhi Harrell, the Rastafarian-Quaker founder of The Center for Returning Citizens, and Bill Cobb, the local advocate for criminal justice reform who recently joined the ACLU’s Campaign for Smart Justice as deputy director of organizing and partnerships.

The only big requirement to apply is getting a referral from a partner organization, which Khalil Cumberbatch, manager of trainings at JLUSA, said in an email are “orgs that work with/serve people who have direct first-hand experience with the criminal justice system.”

And while Cumberbatch didn’t specify how many people will be accepted, he still encourages people to just go ahead and apply.