Investing in BIPOC Leadership: Celebrating the 10th Cohort of MLP
This year, NASTAD is celebrating the tenth cohort of our Minority Leadership Program (MLP). MLP is a leadership development convening for persons of color working at various levels in state- or CDC-funded health department positions across HIV care and prevention, viral hepatitis, and drug user health programs. MLP was developed in response to the numerous barriers that persons of color working in health departments and other government agencies face pertaining to job advancement, leadership development, and workforce wellness. NASTAD recognized the need to increase the capacity of emerging leaders in health departments and equip them with skills, mentors, and introspection to help them advance in their varied personal career trajectories. In 2012, the first MLP cohort was launched. The program then took a three-year hiatus and has continued on since 2018. Throughout the years, MLP has continually evolved as a valuable space, rooted in social justice, for health department staff of color across the nation.
Each year, health department staff throughout the U.S. are selected to participate in a MLP cohort. The participants engage in critical conversations about career advancement; overcoming institutional barriers to equity; managing emotions and burnout; identifying racial and gender-based microaggressions and triggers; successful staff and project management; effective communication; and more. MLP participants are paired with peers in their cohort and with professional coaches for support, accountability, and practice after retreats. The year-long program consists of in-person convenings, accountability check-ins, and coaching sessions with alumni across jurisdictions. Throughout the retreat, fellows hone and develop both hard and soft skills that assist them as they matriculate through their careers in public health.
When the program is complete, MLP facilitators provide opportunities for MLP alumni to continue to connect, mentor, learn from, and share resources with each other. Participants build meaningful professional relationships with members of all cohorts, forming a national presence of active professionals of color working towards equitable public health practice.
MLP has created a launchpad for more than 130 public health professionals of color to visualize and own their leadership roles in ending health inequities. MLP participants have returned to their jurisdictions to successfully negotiate their salary, implement staff promotions, influence culturally relevant public health strategies, promote health equity, create anti-racist workforce development opportunities, and sustain professional connections that last a lifetime.
“When I participated in MLP, I was going through an incredible period of transition both personally and professionally; I was unsure of my next steps. MLP was transformational in providing me with the space, skills, and support to navigate all these changes. It was the boost I never knew I needed to speak my truth to power. Also, I am forever indebted to MLP for connecting me to peers who I now consider family. It is a training program like no other.”
As we look back and celebrate MLP, we are also looking towards the future with new opportunities to encourage and increase the number of people of color in leadership roles across public health systems. NASTAD’s newest leadership development program, Minority Leadership Program: Executive Activator (MLP EA), builds on the foundation of MLP by including classic MLP elements, with the addition of some of the latest, organizationally relevant content. This content includes topics that center empowerment strategies for BIPOC senior leaders across jurisdictions. MLP EA curates a space, rooted in social justice, for senior level health department leaders of color to engage in critical conversations around relinquishing power; program sustainability; overcoming institutional barriers to equity; developing succession plans; addressing workforce wellness; dismantling white supremacy; and establishing leadership accountability mechanisms. The 2024 inaugural cohort consisted of thirteen participants, with a wide reach across drug user health, viral hepatitis, and HIV prevention and care programs.
This year’s Chair’s Challenge, “Black Women and BIPOC Leaders: Breaking Barriers and Building Bridges”, uplifts MLP and MLP EA to emphasize the importance of investing in BIPOC leadership across jurisdictions. NASTAD will continue to invest in leadership development opportunities and encourage emerging leaders in the public health field to participate in these transformative programs.