Leading with Conviction™

LEADING WITH CONVICTION™

Leading with Conviction™ (LwC) is a FREE, cohort-based, 12-month opportunity for systems-impacted leaders from around the country.

LwC takes place both in-person and virtually. Components of LwC include four weekend-long forums, six networking webinars, executive coaching, peer coaching, and regular communication.

LwC trainings benefit leaders by introducing them to the people and practices closely linked to successful community and regional criminal justice advocacy efforts, enabling them to take on greater challenges and to generate quantifiable impact in their work.

JustLeadershipUSA is accredited by the International Accreditors for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) and offers IACET CEUs for its learning events (Leading with Conviction™) that comply with the ANSI/IACET Continuing Education and Training Standard. IACET is recognized internationally as a standard development organization and accrediting body that promotes quality of continuing education and training.

Download our Leading with Conviction™ one-pager to learn more.

Nominations for Leading with Conviction™ 2025 are now closed.

For any questions, please reach out to leadership@jlusa.org.

Being able to fully understand what it means to ‘Model The Way’ has taught me to lead with my best authentic self even when no one is following because eventually they will catch up.

Leading with Conviction opened the door for me to have a better understanding of my purpose and my ‘why,’ and not only provide these tools to individuals and coworkers but to my community as well.

We have committed to building a better future not just for us but for our communities. We have invested in our leadership and through this program we have continued to grow as leaders. We are each living as the wildest dreams of our ancestors.

I came into this—in many ways—alone, and now I am a part of something so much bigger than myself. I am so incredibly grateful for JLUSA for taking this chance on me and investing in me as a leader. My trajectory and that of so many others has forever been changed.

I realized that if I wanted to lead great change in the system I had to begin by doubling down on owning my own greatness.

The Leading with Conviction™ program includes the following elements:

Leadership Skills

Grounded in the Leadership Challenge® curriculum, leaders will develop and sharpen their leadership skills based on their 360 degree assessment and learn tools to practice leadership.

The training covers five “Practices of Exemplary Leadership”:

Model the Way
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart

Peer Coaching

Paired with a coach to analyze and understand pre- and post-360 degree assessments, leaders will create a one-year work plan outlining learning goals throughout the program.

Personal Development

Acknowledging the need for individual skills and development and understanding oneself, leaders are encouraged to take time for themselves. Leaders will be provided with training on trauma and will be able to practice mindfulness and to implement strategies for selfcare. Our leaders have powerful stories, and it is imperative that their stories are given the platform they deserve. They will be provided with elements of effective storytelling and given opportunities to practice storytelling with their peers.

Internal Development

Building community is vital to ensuring that a team shares the same vision, and team members must be able to rely upon one another. Within their own organizations, leaders will identify skills each person brings to the process of achieving a common goal. Ensuring equity must permeate everything a leader does, and the training emphasizes the importance of not marginalizing anyone. Leaders will be able to identify structural and organizational barriers to equity and will develop tools and strategies to minimize inequalities in all that they do. Board development and conflict management will also be covered.

External Development

Policy advocacy relies on both storytelling and inspiring a vision in the listener. And building a coalition is not the same as building a team. Knowing your coalition partner’s values, communication style, and stories are prerequisites for creating solid campaigns organized around shared strategic goals. External development will cover fundraising, grant writing, and communication skills with both traditional and social media.

LwC alumni in the news

Melissa Ludin on the importance of physical mail for incarcerated people in Wisconsin

Khalif Ali on “Biden pardon drama”

JLUSA leaders kick off Live Free Decarceration Fellowship

Timothy Lanier speaks about his experience with disenfranchisement

Already a Leader? Get Engaged.

Our JLUSA ENGAGE platform is for JLUSA leaders, members, and alumni to receive exclusive access to learning materials via online courses, as well as other relevant and critical information, to further JLUSA’s long-term mission goals.

Leading with Conviction™