Learn All About The National Leadership Consortium

Posted on November 1, 2021

By Mary Kay Rizzolo, CQL President and CEO

All of us at CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership are so excited to share the big news that the National Leadership Consortium (NLC) is going to become an affiliate of CQL starting January 3, 2022. Our two organizations share a long history together, and we’re proud to have been an industry partner and Leadership Institute sponsor since the organization’s inception in 2006.

While we know that many of you are already familiar with the National Leadership Consortium, we thought this would be the perfect opportunity to expand your knowledge of their important work. And if you’re not familiar with them, you will find a lot of useful information here that will offer insight into how they support leaders and advance leadership development in the human services sector.

An Overview Of The National Leadership Consortium

The National Leadership Consortium – which has been around for more than a decade – involves a partnership of 18 national disability organizations, including CQL. Their main focus is on strengthening the next generation of leaders in the human services field specific to people with disabilities.

They have a targeted mission to “provide quality training, technical assistance, and support aimed at the development of values-based leadership in disability sector leaders. The National Leadership Consortium is focused on promoting the rights of people with disabilities to direct their services and lives and to fully belong in their chosen communities.”

While the National Leadership Consortium provides a range of offerings including diverse training, technical assistance, support, research and evaluation, and an online community of practice, they are best known for the internationally-renowned Leadership Institutes.

The Impact Of NLC’s Leadership Institutes

Created in 2006, the NLC’s Leadership Institutes support current and emerging leaders to gain knowledge, skills, resources, and values. These intensive workshops – carried out both in-person and virtually – involve a mix of lecture, discussion, interactive activities, personal assessments, and skill-building sessions. National experts, which include alumni of the Leadership Institutes, share best practices in organizational leadership, sustainability and transformation, and service delivery for people with disabilities.

The National Leadership Consortium now holds between 8-10 Leadership Institutes each year. Since they first started, more than 3,000 people have participated in more than 90 Leadership Institutes across 14 countries, including all 50 states within the United States.

The National Leadership Consortium Team

The National Leadership Consortium was founded in 2006 by Steven Eidelman, MBA, MSW and Nancy Weiss, MSW, who now serve as advisors to the organization. Today, the National Leadership Consortium includes the following staff members who carry out all services and activities of NLC:

• Caitlin Bailey, Ph.D., Co-Director
• Kristen Loomis, Co-Director
• Cory Gilden, Ph.D., Research and Evaluation Manager
• Nicole Jones, Program Coordinator

The National Leadership Consortium Partners

The National Leadership Consortium has strong relationships with national disability organizations, both its industry partners and Leadership Institute sponsors, that have provided generous support over the years.

Industry Partners

• The American Academy of Developmental Medicine and Dentistry (AADMD)
• The American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD)
• The Alliance
• The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) Foundation
• Association of People Supporting Employment First (APSE)
• The Arc of the United States
• The Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN)
• CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership
• Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)
• The Learning Community for Person Centered Practices (TLC-PCP)
• National Association of Councils on Developmental Disabilities (NACDD)
• NADD
• National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP)
• The National Association of QIDPs (NAQ)
• National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)
• Research and Training Center on Community Living, Institute on Community Living at the University of Minnesota (RTC)
• Self-Advocates Becoming Empowered (SABE)
• TASH

Leadership Institute Sponsors

• The American Network of Community Options and Resources (ANCOR) Foundation
• CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership
• Human Services Research Institute (HSRI)
• National Association of State Directors of Developmental Disabilities Services (NASDDDS)
• National Alliance for Direct Support Professionals (NADSP)
• Qlarant

The Future Of The Partnership

Both CQL and the National Leadership Consortium are looking forward to the years ahead as we’re able to work more closely together, leverage our collective expertise, and collaborate on practical resources. From authoring articles, developing guides, publishing research, co-presenting webinars, and more, this new affiliation opens up more opportunities for our organizations to partner on important work that makes a big impact on services, and most importantly, the lives of people receiving those services.

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About CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership

Since 1969, CQL | The Council on Quality and Leadership has been a leader in working with human service organizations and systems to continuously define, measure, and improve quality of life and quality of services for youth, adults, and older adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, and psychiatric disabilities. CQL offers accreditation, training, certification, research, and consultation services to agencies that share our vision of dignity, opportunity, and community for all people.