The Maryland Climate Leadership Academy was established primarily to build capacity at the community level to effectively plan for and take action on climate change.  While other Academy programs will focus on building competencies throughout the workforce, it is critically important that the Academy establish and delivery programs aimed at elected officials and city/county mangers, whose leadership and policymaking activities will play an invaluable role in shaping the community’s success in climate-related endeavors.  Additionally, these individuals play a significant role in the community’s awareness and understanding of key issues that affect people’s health, security and economic vitality.

To ensure that elected and appointed officials are sufficiently knowledgeable about the implications of climate change upon their communities and/or agency missions, the following programs will be offered through the Maryland Climate Leadership Academy.

Upcoming Programs

This program is currently in development. The first classes will be announced in Summer 2019 and will take place in Fall/Winter 2019.

Class #1

A two-hour primer on climate change implications for Maryland communities and local governments that will help participants understand how economies, markets, infrastructure and public health will be affected.  The program would primarily be conducted as an attached activity at events that traditionally convene Maryland’s local elected officials.  This class will serve as lead-in to a broader stand-alone training program.

Class #2

A one-day program that builds upon the two-hour primer to educate participants on building dialogues and partnerships with public/private sector stakeholders, policy authorities that affect local government leaders, tools that policymakers can apply, and the related governance/workforce needs.  This training activity will be held at sites across the state and will be tailored to the specific regions and challenges where they are hosted.