Last week, the National Conservation Foundation’s (NCF) Next Generation Leadership Institute (NGLI) 2025 Cohort met for their mid-year Advocacy, Communication, and Partnerships training session. The five-day experience was the second of three in-person sessions the cohort will attend during their year-long, leadership development journey.
NCF launched NGLI in 2019 with the goal to provide conservation district officials with the skills to become national leaders through personal, civic and organizational leadership development. By increasing their capacity to navigate and manage complex conservation challenges at the national level, conservation districts can continue to be relevant through locally led conservation.
After traveling to Washington D.C., the cohort started the week with session content provided by the NACD Government Affairs Team along with guest speakers from the 9B Group, NRCS, and Ducks Unlimited. Participants had discussions on how to have an effective Capitol Hill visit with legislators, the scope of NRCS conservation programs, and how partnerships can promote a common effort to guide conservation policy. NGLI participants then headed to Capitol Hill to put their new skills to work.
The following day the cohort was in a classroom near Shepherdstown, WV discussing effective communication. Session content included working effectively with print and broadcast media which included a practice on-air interview, social media best practices where each participant developed and posted an NGLI recruitment message. The cohort also worked to build public outreach plans and discussed identifying the needs of conservation district stakeholders and customers.
On Thursday, the West Virginia Association of Conservation District’s Executive Director Heather Duncan and staff from the West Virginia Conservation Agency hosted an entire day of field tours. The cohort discussed soil health practices, creative grazing strategies, and farm operation diversification with the Tabb family at Vinemont Farms. The cohort then toured the Green Horizons Sod Farm to learn about the extensive conservation practices the Ware family uses in their operation to ensure the conservation of soil and water resources. The field day concluded with a tour of the Devil’s Dew Distillery and how the owners use only local farm products and provide a market for conservation farming families.
The session concluded on Friday morning with a wrap-up discussion on their individual Capstone Projects before the cohort returned home.
If leadership training like this sounds like the right next step in your conservation journey, visit NCF’s website to learn more about NGLI and apply by October 31, 2025 to be a part of the next cohort!