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Welcome to:
The Dorothy I. Height
Global Leadership Academy (DIHGLA)
In The Midst Of A Global Pandemic, Economic Insecurity And Resource Challenges, The World Needs Prepared Leaders More Than Ever.
IBWPPI is prepared to ready the next generation of global leaders and advocate for their deployment into non-traditional spaces.
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Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Dorothy I. Height
Honoring the legacy of Dr. Dorothy I. Height, an iconic member of the civil and women’s rights movements, IBWPPI sought to establish a global leadership academy to prepare young women to be agents of change to challenge the systems that oppress and disenfranchise Black women and girls.
IBWPPI has accomplished this goal through the launching of the Dorothy I. Height Global Leadership Academy on January 12, 2021. The Academy began with 18 Fellows, 10 Faculty and 14 Success Coaches.
The 6-month leadership program requires that each candidate dedicate one Saturday per month to a professional development session with interactive classroom lectures, breakout sessions and a final group project. These sessions are taught by distinguished faculty who are leaders and experts in social justice and change with decades of experience in their subject matters. The candidates are also paired with an accomplished global leader (success coach) who will provide virtual professional coaching throughout the program.
In a closing letter, our President encouraged them to “grow and develop their leadership footprint.” They are now the Alumnae of the organization.
IBWPPI is prepared to ready the next generation of global leaders and advocate for their deployment into non-traditional spaces as well as newly expanded industries, such as Cyber Security and Trade that will provide opportunities for their uniquely effective leadership model.
Congratulations to DIHGLA's Cohort 3 Graduates of 2023
To see all our graduates
Read Articles on the DIH GLA Experience:
A Six-Month Training Program for Women of African Descent Who Have:
Our Faculty
In a rapidly changing marketing ecosystem, you should learn from the best. Our instructors are proven experts worthy of your attention.
Life Mission Statement:
Everyone is of value & has something to contribute.
A Pasadena native, Lena Kennedy has a vision and passion for her community. She is CEO/President of L.L. Kennedy & Associates, which provides consulting services on consensus-building strategies for political candidates, philanthropic organizations, corporations and individuals. In addition, she serves as President of Community Women Vital Voices, a non-profit organization whose mission is to improve women’s health and wellness.
Community Women Vital Voices sponsors a major conference each year, the So. Calif. Women’s Conference. Since 2000, over 32,000 attendees have received information on topics such as cancer prevention, stress reduction, nutrition, and overcoming trauma. Kennedy has also launched a consortium: Women in Leadership Vital Voices, as a means to help women lead public policy conversations on local and national stages.
Kennedy’s strategic consulting work led her to being named one of the top ten national fundraisers as reported by the Wall Street Journal in 2009. She is the former National Finance Vice-Chair of the Democratic National Committee, and she was appointed to the board of the Kennedy Center by President Barack Obama. Locally, she has served as a board member for many organizations, including the Pasadena NAACP, the Pasadena Arts Council, and Pasadena Playhouse Diversity Project.
Lena’s service to God is her guiding principle and central to how she lives her life. She describes herself as being part of a club, the “AME-ers” – people who were born into the AME family. Over the years, she has served the church in many capacities: YPD area director, local YPD director, trustee, Sunday school teacher, delegate to the Southern California Conference, delegate the General Conference, Vacation Bible School director, government affairs president, and missionary president. Currently, she is the local missionary historiographer, lay member and serves as an evaluator for Bishop Fugh Homeless Initiative.
Her diamonds are her children: Tyesa, Jonathan, Kari, and Chris, and her heartbeat are her grandchildren, Christopher and Savannah. Lena’s joy comes from her family and friends.
Her mission statement in life is: Everyone is of value and has something to contribute. Every voice is valuable to our society. She believes in the words of Mark Twain: Life is short, forgive quickly, kiss slowly, love truly, laugh uncontrollably, and never regret anything that made you smile.
Life Mission Statement:
To prepare African American women for leadership in public policy, government, and public affairs
Tina McKinnor has been working for the public good for more than twenty years. She is the founder and president of The McKinnor Group, which provides campaign management, event production, lobbying, public affairs, public relations and political treasury services to candidates and municipalities. The McKinnor Group also ensures campaign finance compliance at the federal, state, and local levels for candidates, officeholders and political action committees
Ms. McKinnor also currently serves as the Director of Civic Engagement for LA Voice and LA Voice Action. She leads civic engagement work, including campaigns, as well as voter engagement between elections around housing, immigration and criminal justice to build long-term power. During the 2020 election cycle, she led and managed a $4 million campaign building a coalition of community organizations, unions and system-impacted individuals to elect Holly Mitchell for LA County Supervisor and George Gascon for LA County District Attorney. She was the Principal Officer for two Independent Expenditure campaigns for the Mitchell and Gascon seats.
Ms. McKinnor has held a number of increasingly more responsible roles in California politics. She has served as Operational Director for the California Democratic Party, where she managed the daily operations of a $30 million-a-year organization with over 100 staff members across the state and led fundraising efforts generating over $10 million annually. She also served as Chief of Staff to several State Assembly Members from 2009 through 2016. In these roles, Ms. McKinnor led the successful passage of over 100 bills for multiple members, including groundbreaking legislation to ensure minority, women and LGBTQ contractors are given equal consideration as state contractors and suppliers.
Ms. McKinnor also served as Campaign Manager for the 2006, 2009 and 2014 State Assembly election cycles. During this same period, she worked for Kaufman Legal Group as a Political Treasurer, providing campaign finance compliance at the federal, state, and local levels for candidates, officeholders and political action committees.
Ms. McKinnor is a graduate of the Los Angeles African American Women’s Public Policy Institute (LAAAWPPI), whose mission is to prepare African-American women for leadership in public policy, government and public affairs.
Course Descriptions
session 1: Public Policy, Protocol, and Ethical Leadership
Preparing to lead in the public policy arena requires both the ability to think at a systems level and identify points of entry for change and impact. The ability to turn needs into public policy and build the coalition necessary for its drafting, promotion, and adoption requires a unique set of skills. This session provides the fundamentals of what is public policy and the ethical grounding to be an effective leader and advocate. Topics included are legal considerations when operating within a traditional nonprofit, the importance of lobbying, and external affiliations.
session 2: Fundamentals of Coalition Building and New Industries Post Covid-19
Public policy is an endeavor that requires the ability to build coalitions and persuade unlikely allies to share a common goal. Being fearless, diplomatic, and principle-centered pragmatist makes for an effective coalition builder. This session provides the skills necessary to be an effective coalition builder.
Covid-19 has brought about new challenges and opportunities for Black women to chart new paths in non-traditional industries often prevented by common barriers. Industries such as Cyber Security, International Trade and Remote Learning Technology are desirable and lucrative industries that would benefit from the leadership models of Black Women. Part II of this session will explore and highlight strategies for entry.
session 3: Dialogue, Problem Solving, & Leadership Assessment
This session is aimed at emphasizing the importance of dialogue as a critical tool of leadership. The world is rapidly changing and requires an astute understanding of forms of communication. The use of dialogue in today’s instability, changing demographic and political polarization is necessary.
Part II of this session will uncover how prepared leaders will be called upon to solved world impacting problems and become creators and promoters of effective solutions. The discovery of self, strengths and readiness will be the focus of this session.
session 4: Philanthropy, Charity and Funding
This session is designed to teach the basics of traditional fundraising. It will explore the essentials of writing stories that would lead to funding streams for causes and for creating legacy funds for charitable endeavors. The business requirement, market changes and Covid19 opportunities of philanthropy are area of expertise required to be successful in funding your charitable efforts. Funding public policy initiatives or political endeavors requires a unique set of skills and understanding of the world resources. How leaders are prepared in this area will make a difference in your ability to make a significant impact in the world.
session 5: Organizing, Activism and Campaigns
To be an effective public policy advocate requires the ability to understand issues, design and implement action strategies, effective messaging, and good communication plans. Candidates will be guided through the complexities and distinctions between these activities. The subject matter experts and world game changers, facilitating this session, will provide opportunities for real time engagements. There will also be resources introduced that can be useful immediately to candidates in this session.
session 6: Models of Black Women’s Leadership
Black Women are transforming the world. There is no one size fits all model of leadership, however, Black women have used culture, gender diplomacy and intuitive wisdom, as tools for their success. This course will examine Black Women who demonstrate exemplary leadership throughout the diaspora, in government, academia, public policy, media, technology, and the nonprofit sectors.
Candidates will have an opportunity to meet with women Influencers and find out first-hand what motivates them. Candidates in the program will meet with Success Coaches for two private one to one sessions. We know that Black Women are severely underrepresented in senior leadership positions, and this program will help to change that.
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