New Leaders Council

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New Leaders Council

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NLC provides local change makers place-based training and a national network of support – propelling our community of leaders to create the country we aspire to be.

06/06/2026

Exciting updates for NLC as we continue to build and grow together!

newleaderscouncil.org/apply

06/02/2026

The 2026 Spark!Talks are here.

8 leaders. 8 ideas. One room. This July, some of the sharpest minds in the NLC network take the stage in Louisville to challenge how we think about power, voice, identity, democracy, and resilience.

Clyanna Lightbourn (NLC Capital District NY 2020). Edgar Villaseñor (NLC South Texas Frontera 2024). Lem Cartman (NLC Detroit 2025). Dr. Basel Touchan (NLC Kentucky 2026). Michalina Kulesza (NLC Capital District NY 2021). Nicole Aghaaliandastjerdi (NLC Kentucky 2014). Tamira Samuel (NLC Houston 2021). Kamye Hugley (NLC Broward County 2018).

You don't want to miss this. Register now at newleaderscouncil.org/convention.

Alt text: Group graphic featuring eight Spark!Talk speakers against a Louisville skyline background. Text reads: 8 Spark!Talks. 8 Leaders. 8 Ideas. One Room. newleaderscouncil.org/convention. Louisville, KY. July 16-19, 2026. 2026 NLC Convention, Celebrating 20 Years of Power, Built Together. New Leaders Council logo and 20th anniversary badge in the top corners.

05/31/2026

Jewish American Heritage Month. We're spotlighting the leaders already in the work.

Igor Tregub (NLC Los Angeles 2009) came to America as a Jewish refugee from Ukraine. He stayed to fight for clean energy for everyone.

After 12 years as a federal regulatory agency employee, Igor made a full-time transition into climate and energy justice work. Today he serves as Strategic Partnership Director and Senior Policy Advisor at Reimagine Power, where he has helped build the largest coalition in California history in support of local renewable energy policies. Over 650 organizations. Renters. Schools. Frontline communities. Rural communities. Labor. All organized to take on investor-owned utility monopolies and fight for the right to access rooftop solar, battery storage, and community microgrids.

The work doesn't stop at California's borders. Igor has raised funds to deliver batteries to critical facilities in Ukraine impacted by Russia's energy warfare. He is also an elected member of the Berkeley City Council.

His NLC community gave him the courage to make the leap. As he puts it, the NLC community is "the force that recharges me and gives me joy even — especially — in tough times."

20 years of NLC means 20 years of leaders who know that the fight for a cleaner world is also a fight for a more just one. Igor is one of them.

: The Leaders Changing the Game.

Alt text: Photo of Igor Tregub against a blue background with a wind turbine silhouette. Text reads: He came to America as a Jewish refugee from Ukraine. He stayed to fight for clean energy for everyone. Igor Tregub (NLC Los Angeles 2009). , The Leaders Changing the Game. New Leaders Council logo in the bottom right corner.

05/30/2026

AAPI Heritage Month. We're closing it out with someone who has been telling Kentucky's stories one conversation at a time.

Abeer Sikder (NLC Kentucky 2023) is a proud Kentuckian, Bengali American, dog daddy, everlasting educator, and lifelong learner. And he has the podcast to prove it.

As host of Local Global Leaders on WUKY and NPR, Abeer sits down every month with changemakers across the Commonwealth of Kentucky and asks them how they are shaping their communities and connecting Kentucky to the world. Nearly half of his guests are BIPOC. More than half are women. He has featured the first transgender person elected to a city council seat in Kentucky, mayors, CEOs, college students, poets, and organizers.

He has served as Co-Director of NLC Kentucky, a Project Coordinator with Recovery Corps at Voices of Hope, and a board member of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Lexington and the Access Lexington Commission. Before all of that, he was a Math teacher in Memphis through Teach For America.

Abeer began his NLC capstone with a vision to build an organization focused on leadership development for educators in Kentucky. The podcast became his classroom. The guests became his curriculum.

20 years of NLC means 20 years of leaders who know that every community has a story worth telling. Abeer is making sure Kentucky's stories are heard.

And this July, NLC is coming to his backyard. Join us July 16-19 in Louisville, Kentucky. Register at newleaderscouncil.org/convention.

: The Leaders Changing the Game.

Alt text: Photo of Abeer Sikder smiling in a floral shirt against a blurred background. Text reads: "I am a proud Kentuckian, Bengali American, dog daddy, everlasting educator, and lifelong learner." Abeer Sikder (NLC Kentucky 2023). , The Leaders Changing the Game. New Leaders Council logo in the bottom right corner.

05/27/2026

Over a billion people. One collective act of faith, sacrifice, generosity, and community. That's Eid al-Adha.

The holiday marks four pillars: The Eid Prayer, a communal moment of devotion, reflection, and gratitude. Qurbani, honoring Prophet Ibrahim's willingness to sacrifice as an act of faith and obedience. Zakat and charity, giving to those in need as a central act of the holiday. And sharing meals, gathering with family and community to celebrate togetherness.

No matter what you practice, there is something to admire in a billion people stopping to center faith, sacrifice, generosity, and community all at once.

To our NLC family and everyone celebrating, Eid Mubarak.

Alt text: Illustrated graphic with a prayer rug, lanterns, sheep, paper bag, and tea tray on a cream background. Text reads: The Eid Prayer, Qurbani, Eid Mubarak, Zakat and Charity, Sharing Meals. Eid al-Adha commemorates faith, sacrifice, generosity, and community through prayer, charity, and gathering with loved ones. New Leaders Council logo in the bottom center.

05/25/2026

They were someone's everything. A child. A parent. A sibling. A friend. People with plans and dreams and people who loved them.

They put on a uniform and never came home.

They gave everything for this country. The least we can do is build it worthy of that sacrifice.

This Memorial Day, the work of building a better country is how we honor those who gave everything for it.

Alt text: Black graphic with green saluting soldier silhouette in the top right corner. Text reads: Memorial Day. A child. A parent. A sibling. A friend. People with plans and dreams and people who loved them. The work of building a better country is how we honor those who gave everything for it. New Leaders Council logo in the bottom center.

05/21/2026

It's voting season. And one thing is certain... we can all use a little community right now.

That's exactly what Louisville is. July 16-19, NLC is gathering leaders from across the country to do what we've done for 20 years. Build power. Together.

Ballots cast. Now pack your bags. Kentucky, we're still coming.

Register and reserve your room at newleaderscouncil.org/convention.

Alt text: Graphic featuring a yellow suitcase against the Louisville, Kentucky skyline at dusk. Text reads: Ballots cast. Now pack your bags. Kentucky, we're still coming. newleaderscouncil.org/convention. Louisville, KY. July 16-19, 2026. 2026 NLC Convention, Celebrating 20 Years of Power, Built Together. New Leaders Council logo and 20th anniversary badge in the top corners.

05/18/2026

The hard part means you're in the right fight.

Nobody told you it would be easy. And if they did, they lied. The rooms that matter are the hardest ones to get into. The policies worth passing are the hardest ones to move. The communities worth fighting for are the ones the system was designed to ignore.

You already knew that when you started.

The weight you're carrying right now is not a sign that you chose wrong. It's proof that what you're doing matters. Leaders who are changing things feel the resistance of the thing they're trying to change. That's physics. That's also this work.

20 years of NLC means 20 years of people who stayed in the fight when it got hard. Who built power in difficult seasons. Who showed up on the days it cost them something.

You're one of them.

Alt text: Graphic with a purple and green gradient background. Bold text on a white rectangle reads: The hard part means you're in the right fight. New Leaders Council logo in the bottom center.

05/11/2026

Motherhood looks like a lot of things.

Birth moms. Bonus moms. Chosen moms. Single moms. Working moms. Grieving moms. New moms. Those still figuring out what that word means for them.

Every single one of them is leading something.
At NLC, we know that care is power. That showing up for a person, a movement, or a dream is how a just future gets built.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone who mothers in bold, boundless ways. You are seen. You are valued. You are leading.

Alt text: Illustration of a hand with rings and bold text celebrating all forms of motherhood. Text reads: You are seen. You are valued. You are leading.

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Washington D.C., DC

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http://www.newleaderscouncil.org/

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