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.

10/16/2026

Closing out Latinx Heritage Month with two siblings who landed on the same answer to the same problem, on the same land.

Marcella Juarez (NLC South TX Frontera 2022) and her brother Manuel Juarez (NLC South TX Frontera 2025) grew up around Palo Blanco Farm & Ranch outside Laredo, Texas, land their family has held for more than 160 years. The farm began with microgreens grown inside the family ranch house, and today it grows fresh produce sustainably alongside grass-finished beef and pasture-raised eggs. Both siblings are Texas State University alumni, and both came home with the same mission: get healthy, local food to a community where food insecurity is real, and make room for the next generation of BIPOC farmers.

Every NLC Fellow builds a Capstone project during the Institute, and these two keep building on theirs. Capstone Clash is NLC's annual alumni competition on Instagram, where alumni rally their networks through three rounds of voting to win prize money for their projects. Marcella finished as runner-up in the very first Capstone Clash in 2023 with The Forever Farm, her plan to convert two shipping containers into year-round production of local, healthy food. Manuel took runner-up in 2026 with Farming For Me, an online education platform that teaches people to build food security by raising their own food, starting with a beginner's course on backyard eggs. Between the two of them, $500 in prize money has gone toward expanding their reach in farming.

Three years apart, two different cohorts, one ranch and one mission, carried by a family that keeps showing up for it together. Happy Latinx Heritage Month to the Juarez family and to every leader building something that lasts.

Alt text: Photo of Marcella and Manuel Juarez smiling on their family farm, with Marcella holding a head of lettuce. Text reads "160+ years on the same land and this Laredo family is still building power," with their names and NLC South TX Frontera class years, "Latinx Heritage Month," and the New Leaders Council logo.

10/13/2026

The 2027 Institute application deadline is officially extended.

You have at least until October 31st to finish, and the official new deadline will be announced soon. Trust us, you won’t be able to miss it.

If you already submitted, congratulations on being the overachiever we always knew you were.

If you didn’t, consider this the universe clearing its throat at you, so go finish what you started.

And if there’s someone you’ve been mentally nominating all season, send them the link while you’re at it.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply.

Alt text: A grid of dozens of headshots of New Leaders Council alumni from a range of backgrounds, dimmed under a dark overlay. Centered text reads “2027 Institute Applications Extended,” with “2027” in large magenta type, “Institute Applications” in white, and “Extended” in black on a green banner. Below it reads “newleaderscouncil.org/apply” in green. The New Leaders Council logo sits above the headline in a black speech bubble with a magenta and green outline.

10/12/2026

America didn't need discovering. But it sure does need uncovering.

Indigenous Peoples' Day honors the truth that thriving nations, complex societies, and sophisticated cultures existed here long before 1492. The real work now is uncovering the histories that got erased, the systems that got built on stolen land, and the leadership that's been here all along.

Leadership means confronting uncomfortable truths. It means learning whose land you're standing on and what happened to the people who were here first.

Today we recognize Indigenous resilience, Indigenous leadership, and Indigenous futures.

ID: Graphic with text reading “America didn't need discovering. But it sure does need uncovering.”

10/08/2026

New Leaders Council's Institute wraps in June, but Fellow status doesn't end there.

Alumni get access to ongoing programming, chapter events, and a national network they can actually use, not just a group photo from graduation day.

The introductions, the opportunities, the people who pick up the phone, you. Twenty years of Fellows are still showing up for each other.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply.

Alt text:

Slide 1: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Question" in pink above "What happens to you after NLC Institute ends?" in bold white text, with a green arrow icon pointing to the next slide.

Slide 2: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Answer" in pink above "You become part of something that keeps going." in bold white text, followed by "Alumni get access to ongoing programming, chapter events, and a national network they can actually use" in green text, with a green arrow icon pointing to the next slide.

Slide 3: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "The introductions. The opportunities. The people who pick up the phone." in white text, followed by "You." in pink, then "Twenty years of Fellows are still showing up for each other" in green text, with "newleaderscouncil.org/apply." in white at the bottom.

10/05/2026

Big App Energy Tip #9: Your Alarm App's Big Moment

The New Leaders Council application deadline is closer than it feels, so let's make this official.

New Leaders Council applications close October 14th at 10:00 AM CT sharp. Not 10:01. Not "I was basically done." The system does not care about your feelings at 10:02.

Set it now. Thank yourself later.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply

Alt text: Graphic with headshot grid background and gradient overlay reads "2027 Institute Applications Now Open" at top, "Big App Energy Tip #9" in black banner, and "Your Alarm App's Big Moment" in bold black text. Bottom text reads "Apply Like a Leader" and "newleaderscouncil.org/apply."

09/30/2026

Six months, and New Leaders Council finally lets you show your work.

June is Capstone presentation month, and also graduation. You'll present the project you built around your own community, in front of the cohort who watched you sweat over it since March. Then you're an NLC Fellow, alumni status included, permanently.

Six months, one presentation, a new title, a new network, you. Twenty years of Fellows stood exactly where you're standing.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply.

Alt text:

Slide 1: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Question" in pink above "When does NLC Institute end?" in bold white text, with a green arrow icon pointing to the next slide.

Slide 2: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Answer" in pink above "June. With a graduation." in bold white text, followed by "Capstone presentations, then Fellow status, for good" in green text, with a green arrow icon pointing to the next slide.

Slide 3: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Six months. One presentation. A new title. A new network." in white text, followed by "You." in pink, then "Twenty years of Fellows stood exactly where you're standing" in green text, with "newleaderscouncil.org/apply." in white at the bottom.

09/29/2026

Big App Energy Tip #8: No Rec Letters Needed

You do not need a recommendation letter to apply. No chasing down a former boss, no waiting on a professor to reply to your email, no awkward ask over coffee. This application is about you and your own story, told in your own words.

Save the favors for later. Right now, all you need is your own honesty and a little time to sit with the questions.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply.

Alt text: Graphic with headshot grid background and gradient overlay reads "2027 Institute Applications Now Open" at top, "Big App Energy Tip #8" in black banner, and "No Rec Letters Needed" in bold black text. Bottom text reads "Apply Like a Leader" and "newleaderscouncil.org/apply."

09/23/2026

New Leaders Council isn't interested in you watching change happen from a folding chair in the back. May is when you start actually organizing it.

Sessions cover multiplying your impact, civic engagement, and movement building, plus your second Goal Stack checkpoint. Your Capstone plan is nearly locked by now, sharpened by months of sessions built around your own city's real landscape.

The room, the voice, the seat, the moment, you. The table gets built by whoever shows up to build it.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply.

Alt text:

Slide 1: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Question" in pink above "What does organizing look like at NLC Institute?" in bold white text, with a green arrow icon pointing to the next slide.

Slide 2: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "Answer" in pink above "Real, not theoretical." in bold white text, followed by "Civic engagement, movement building, and your second Goal Stack checkpoint" in green text, with a green arrow icon pointing to the next slide.

Slide 3: Black graphic with New Leaders Council logo reads "The room. The voice. The seat. The moment." in white text, followed by "You." in pink, then "The table gets built by whoever shows up to build it" in green text, with "newleaderscouncil.org/apply" in white at the bottom.

09/22/2026

Big App Energy Tip #7: Not a Scavenger Hunt

Nobody applying to New Leaders Council has to guess what selections teams want to see.

New Leaders Council's application prep guide includes real sample responses, written and video, from actual past applicants. Read them. Watch them. Steal the energy, not the sentences.

Calibrate first. Panic later, if at all.

2027 New Leaders Council Institute applications are open now at newleaderscouncil.org/apply

Alt text: Graphic with headshot grid background and gradient overlay reads "2027 Institute Applications Now Open" at top, "Big App Energy Tip #7" in black banner, and "Not a Scavenger Hunt" in bold black text. Bottom text reads "Apply Like a Leader" and "newleaderscouncil.org/apply."

09/21/2026

New Leaders Council wishes our Jewish community an easy and meaningful fast as Yom Kippur begins.

This is the holiest day on the Jewish calendar, a day set aside for atonement, reflection, and starting over. It opens with Kol Nidre, a service known for its haunting melody, and moves through a full 25-hour fast from food and water, a chance to step away from the noise of everyday life and take stock of the year behind. The day closes with Ne'ilah, the final service before the gates close, marked by one last blast of the shofar.

G'mar Chatimah Tovah to everyone observing, may you be sealed for a good year.

Alt text: Cream-colored graphic titled "Yom Kippur, The Day of Atonement" with four illustrated elements. Fasting, shown with a crossed-out plate of food and drink, reads "A 25-hour fast from food and water, an act of reflection and repentance." Kol Nidre, shown with two lit candles, reads "The evening service that opens the holiday, marking the start of the Day of Atonement." Ne'ilah, shown with an open gate, reads "The closing service at sundown, the final chance to seek forgiveness." Shofar, shown with a shofar horn, reads "Blown once at the very end of Ne'ilah, marking the close of Yom Kippur." New Leaders Council logo at the bottom center.

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Washington D.C., DC

Website

http://www.newleaderscouncil.org/

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