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LEAD Local
LEAD Local extends our commitment to leadership development beyond our 10-month Immersion Programs, offering continued learning opportunities for leaders in San Mateo County.
Through a flexible, mix-and-match format, participants select from a catalog of standalone workshops that align with their interests, availability, and leadership goals.
LEAD Local includes two distinct, but complementary, series:
LEAD Local: Elevate
EAD Local: Engage
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Elevate
For Established Senior-Level Leaders
Strengthen your leadership toolkit with this three-part series designed for San Mateo County professionals and community members. Taken on their own or as a series, these high-impact, half-day workshop offers practical skills to help you lead through change, think strategically, show up with presence, and communicate clearly.
Each in-person workshop includes follow-up virtual sessions to deepen your learning and share with peers.
Join one session for a powerful leadership boost. Take all three for a cohesive, guided learning journey.
ELEVATE Workshops
2025-2026
Workshop Time & Location
Elevate 2025-2026 workshops will be in-person at the CZI Community Space in Redwood City, from 8:30 am - 12 noon.
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Engage
Designed for Rising Stars
This civic knowledge series offers engaging learning experiences that bring San Mateo County’s most pressing issues into focus, because informed leaders build stronger communities.
Through a flexible, mix-and-match format of interactive sessions led by local experts and thought leaders, you will explore critical civic systems in SMC and dive deeply into key issues shaping the County.
These sessions connect policy, people, and leadership to action.
ENGAGE Workshops Topics
2025-2026
Media Matters: Engaging Local Press and Managing the Message
Shifting Shorelines: Adapting to Climate Change on the Coast
On the Ground: Field Visits to Human Services Champions
Bridging the Gap: Jobs, Skills, and Inclusive Growth
Supporting What Moves Us: Arts, Culture, and Civic Leadership
Workshop Dates, Times, and Locations
Engage 2025-2026 workshop details will be announced soon.
Who Should Apply?
We welcome and encourage senior leader candidates from diverse backgrounds and organizations who live and/or work in San Mateo County.
Commitment and Class Schedule
- Mandatory two-day Opening Session in September
- Monthly Learning Days are on Fridays through early June 2026
- Learning Days are generally 8:30 a.m.–4:00 p.m.; December's Learning Day is 8:00 a.m.-4:30 p.m.
- Pre-work and small-group project time is 3-4 hours per month
Learning Day Schedule (2025-2026)
Previous Learning Day topics have included: Healthy Communities, Economic Development, Human Services, Intelligent Urbanism, Education, Climate Resilience, Safe Communities, and Civics & Being a Community Citizen
Two-Day Opening Session (Mandatory)
September 11 and 12, 2025
Healthy Communities
October 17, 2025
Economic Development & Opportunity
November 14, 2025
Leadership in Action
December 5, 2025 *
Human Services: Addressing the Needs of All Members of Our Community
January 30, 2026
Intelligent Urbanism
February 27, 2026
Educational Equity & Opportunity
March 27, 2026
Climate Resilience & Adaptation
April 24, 2026
Safe Communities
May 8, 2026
Civics & Being a Community Citizen
May 29, 2026
Closing Session and Graduation
June 5, 2026
Joint Session with the Emerging Leaders Program
* Hours for December's Leadership in Action are 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Application Process
- Applications for CORPS Class of 2026 available March 1, 2025.
- Application deadline is May 1, 2025. Applications are now closed. Complete your application to join our waitlist for Class of 2026.
- Applicants will be notified by July 1, 2025.
Those who are not accepted will be placed on a waitlist and, if not accepted off the waitlist, are encouraged to reapply in future years.
Selection Criteria
Candidates are selected through a highly competitive application process. Emerging Leaders applicants must:
- Be an established senior-level leader within their profession (including elected officials and experienced leaders in the community)
- Demonstrate a significant level of leadership in the community
- Have the full support of their employer if applying as part of an organization
Program Costs - Leadership CORPS Class of 2026
- Tuition is $3,900 plus a non-refundable $100 application fee.
- Fees can be paid by the individual or employer.
- Scholarships are available and payment plans can be arranged.
FROM OUR PARTICIPANTS
I appreciate the care Leadership Council SMC takes to create meaningful agendas and recruit a top-level cohort. It feels really good to be considered part of this high-functioning group of leaders. Thank you.
Stefanie Brugemann
Senior Director of Development
Special Olympics
Leadership CORPS has been hugely beneficial in helping me establish the much-needed connections and networks to hold important conversations to help leverage existing resources to help our communities.
Eddie Flores
Councilmember, City of South San Francisco
Leadership CORPS, Class of 2022
Pronouns: he/his/el
Leadership CORPS helped me build collaborative connections to better serve San Mateo County's LGBTQIA+ community. I gained a network of community leaders that also serve San Mateo County’s LGBTQIA+ community. I have gained an opportunity to network with community leaders that also serve in the capacity of ally’s to help bring equity and inclusion to the LGBTQIA+ community.
Dana Johnson
Co-Chair, LGBTQ Commission, San Mateo County
Co-Chair, PRIDE Initiative, San Mateo County
Leadership CORPS Class of 2022
Pronouns: they/them/theirs
Leadership Council SMC is a connector of great ideas and of the people critical to getting them implemented. The collaboration and cooperation they encourage is invaluable to solving entrenched county problems.
Amanda Anthony
Program Manager, Renaissance Entrepreneurship Center
Pronouns: she/her/hers
The Leadership CORPS Program ‘WOWs’ me every month, with each Learning Day taking us to a higher level of understanding. The program should be orientation for every large scale organization doing business in the County of San Mateo and mandatory at the executive level.
Steve Van
Business Owner, Victory Consulting
Pronouns: he/him/his
