Since 2011, the EMERGE Leadership Project (ELP) has been offering intensive workshops, leadership summits, mentoring, and other resources to the sustainable building community. Hundreds of professionals and activists in the field have benefited from learning about a strategic leadership approach emphasizing collaboration, service, and inclusion that is founded on proven principles of behavioral change and systems thinking. Participants in what some have called “life-altering” EMERGE educational events have successfully launched policy initiatives, commercial enterprises, professional career transitions, community projects, and more.

In recent years, EMERGE has been a popular offering at the International Living Future Institute’s annual event the Living Future unConference  and now, the ILFI is delighted to announce that EMERGE will be an integral part of the organization’s educational programming going forward. In addition to live workshops at ILFI’s conferences, ILFI will offer online leadership training and resources.

By merging with ILFI, the EMERGE Leadership project will be able to expand its reach and leverage the resources of ILFI’s breadth and depth. EMERGE founder Kathleen O’Brien adds, “It was a natural fit, as the missions of both ILFI and the ELP are so well aligned. ILFI has established an important destination, and developing leadership capacity within its international community can only accelerate our collective ability to get there.”

“We are delighted to further our collaboration and integrate the core sentiments of the EMERGE leadership model with our education programming and beyond,” say Amanda Sturgeon, CEO of the ILFI.

O’Brien is a long-time leader in the sustainable building field, recognized in 2008 as lifetime Cascadia Green Building Council Fellow for her 30+ years developing collaborative green building programs, conducting research to support enabling green building policy, coordinating policy demonstration projects, and empowering professionals through tailored continuing education curriculum. She developed the EMERGE leadership approach based on her 30-plus years of experience and study, codifying it in the book EMERGE: A Strategic Leadership Model for the Sustainable Building Community, which ILFI founder Jason F. McLennan called a “great gift to the green building community.” This book will be offered through ILFI’s publishing arm, Ecotone, and to celebrate this merger will be offered at a 25% discount until March 31st!

Register for first EMERGE training offered under this new arrangement and join us in Portland, OR, on Tuesday, May 1st, 12:30 – 5:30 pm.

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