Washoe County Leadership Academy

I just wrapped up 12 weeks of the Washoe County Leadership Academy. Anyone looking to get more involved in the community should check this out. It was an amazing experience.

The academy is 12 weeks long and meets every Thursday night from 5:30 - 9:00PM. Every week we learned about a new aspect of our county. There were about 20 participants, all inspiring people in and of themselves. I also had the opportunity to meet our county commissioners, district attorney and public defenders, county manager, treasurer, sheriff, and the head of just about every department in the county. I also met our county epidemiologist. Yep - look that one up.

My favorite week was the night we visited the Jan Evans Juvenile detention center and the county jail. Visiting the juvenile detention center was a mixture of sadness and hopefulness. It was sad to learn that children as young as thirteen come from homes that are so messed up that they wind up entering the justice system at such a young age. On the other hand, our county is dedicated to working with the children and their families to address the root of the problem. Locking a child up is a last resort. Seeing the proactive approach they're taking was really inspiring.

We also visited the county jail that night. Not so inspiring, but definitely a once in a lifetime experience. At least I hope I'll never be back there! :-) We got to visit a cell block that was being "tossed" for contraband. Very eerie to be wandering about with the inmates. The women inmates were actually scarier and more aggressive than the men.

On the last night of the academy, we had the opportunity to present ideas for new programs or initiatives for the county. Tell me, when else would a citizen have the opportunity to present an idea to their county manager, commissioners, and several department heads? I noted several of the commissioners taking notes during the presentations. Several ideas from past academies have already been implemented. Again, when else would an opportunity like this present itself? How awesome is it to be surrounded by people who are dedicated to making our community a better place?

On the whole, I was excited to see that almost every department is taking a proactive approach to addressing our county's issues. I was so excited about what's happening in our community, I was inspired to apply to the Citizens Advisory Board for my district. Now I'm just waiting to hear back from my commissioner on whether my application was accepted.

If you have 12 weeks of Thursdays free, I highly suggest you apply. One of the most incredible things about this program is that it is absolutely free! An opportunity like this is rare. Get involved. Get inspired!