We Lead

We Lead is a personal development leadership program for folks who work in libraries or archives and identify as Black, Indigenous, or People of Color (BIPOC). The program is designed for folks interested in deconstructing and challenging traditional leadership frameworks, regardless of your current position or background. Participants will read and engage with critical theory, some of which includes dense, scholarly works.

This is not your typical leadership program. We recognize leadership and management are two different things with their own bodies of knowledge, so with that in mind, we will not be teaching you how to become better managers. Instead, we hope to explore who gets to be a leader and why, understanding and wielding personal power and agency, and expanding our idea of what is possible within institutions. How can we change the way we work and lead to go beyond “the way things have always been done”? 

Learning Goals/Outcomes:

• Deconstruct conventional ideas around leadership

• Understand the nuances of your personal and organizational context

• Learn to utilize antiracist and anti-oppressive leadership frameworks in daily work

• Build deep communities of praxis with attendees and accountability partners 

We are looking for 20-30 individuals seeking to build communal leadership skills from an anti-racist, critical pedagogy lens. Applications will open November 2025 in our private spaces. Questions? Email us at weleadinstitute@gmail.com.

This program is free of cost to participants with gratitude to the Mellon Foundation.