For two decades, Leadership Program of the Rockies (LPR) has been strengthening, training, and equipping emerging leaders to reach new heights in the public and private sectors of civil society. With more than 2,000 alumni impacting politics and culture in Colorado, LPR decided in 2019 to expand to other states, beginning with Connecticut. leadershipprogram.org
Former US Congressman and Chairman of Leadership Program of the Rockies Bob Schaffer doesn’t hold back in singing the praises of LPR President Shari Williams. It isn’t just her expertise in policy, he says, but in the community:
“In the private sector, in ministry, in education and academia, Shari saw that we needed to move further ahead than politics and start focusing on the culture of communities—the way people think, the way they think about freedom.”
Well-formed leaders can make tremendous progress wherever they serve. So, LPR identifies and brings together emerging leaders from the legal, economic, business, political, nonprofit, and civic sectors to learn how visionary, principle-centered leadership can positively impact their community.
During nine monthly sessions, LPR students participate in a challenging series of lessons and discussions about the freedoms that make America unique, with an emphasis on the principles of free markets and limited government. Many of the most respected conservatives in the country—including experts on current events, leadership, and the political process—lead each session.
The impact in Colorado having been so profound, LPR agreed to expand its dynamic programs to Connecticut. And thanks to the enthusiastic support of partners and funders in the Constitution State, the Charter Oak Leadership Program graduated its first cohort in 2020.
The goal, as Shari says often, is to “Build an Army for Freedom.” And given recent encroachment on civil liberties in seemingly every corner of society, LPR looks to continue expanding as long as there are partners in liberty ready to join them.