The Professional Development Collaborative is committed to deepening connections that contribute to more inclusive and resilient communities across Alamance County.
Professional Development Collaborative
This collaborative seeks to offer residents of Alamance County skills, connections, and information that will lead toward personal, professional, and community success in a constantly changing world. We offer free monthly sessions focused on inclusive and equitable changemaking. You can register you, your team, or your organization below. Interested in facilitating a session? See below to apply!
Partnering Organizations
We are proud to partner with the following organizations to create a network of support and collaboration. Click on the links below to learn more about the organizations and their associated events.
- Alamance Chamber
- Alamance County Public Library
- AmeriCorps Seniors of Alamance County
- Burlington Downtown Corporation
- City of Graham
- Elon University
- Impact Alamance
- United Way of Alamance County
- Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County
Better Together Series
Inclusive and Equitable Changemaking in Alamance.
Sessions feature changemakers & facilitators from across Alamance County, including the Director of the African American Cultural Arts and History Center, NC Representative Hurtado, Burlington’s Mayor Ian Baltutis, and local leaders.
Finding and Keeping Your Community of Givers
February 2 2:30-3:45
“Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much.” – Hellen Keller.
How might our institutions support their mission and support one another? Sustainable funding is a critical component of this work. Yet for many organizations, raising money is not an easy feat. In this workshop, we will discuss the goals of fundraising, review the most common funding sources (e.g., grants, individual donors, and sponsorships), and examine tips to be strategic with fundraising efforts. We’ll close with a discussion on mastering the skill of “story-telling” to connect with the right givers for your mission.
Grant Writing Session (session II)
February 9 2:30-3:45
Join us for an interactive workshop on “the good, the bad and the ugly” of grant proposals. Novice grant writers will acquire the techniques to research and draft grant proposals for various funders, and experienced grant writers can expect to polish existing skills. During our time together we will cover:
- Finding the right grant for your project or idea
- Writing for your target audience
- Integrating the right content into a proposal (solution-focused, sustainable, and scalable)
- Developing pragmatic budgets
- Responding to notices of award and non-award
As you sign up for this workshop, please reflect on a project or program you would like to obtain grant funding for. It can be in the infancy stages of design or well-developed and nearing implementation. I want to hear what is on the horizon for your organization!
Better Together Session on Municipal Government: Mayor’s Keynote Talk
The People
Tim Jeffers
Project Director, AmeriCorps Seniors
Susana Goldman
Director, Alamance County Public Library
Mary Faucette
Downtown Development Coordinator, City of Graham
Susan Watson
Executive Director, Women’s Resource Center in Alamance County
Workshop Requests
If you do not receive a response to your workshop request within three business days, please email dlake@elon.edu.
Past Workshops
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- Purpose, Passion, and Play at Work – Elon Design Thinking Catalysts shared the latest research on purpose and play in order to help participants frame barriers and challenges, explore the relevance of their work projects, and visualize their preferred play styles. Participants had the opportunity to generate a prototype for their work life that integrated their own goals and personal playstyles. Occurred October 6, 2020
- Designing for Equity and Justice at Work I: Addressing Implicit Bias – Elon Design Thinking Catalyst’s helped participants frame the role of bias in their own lives, explored its impact, and generated actionable opportunities for how they might contribute to redesigning oppressive processes and systems in order to foster greater diversity, equity, and inclusion at work. Occurred November 10, 2020
- Designing For Equity and Justice II – Participants in this workshop learned about how cycles of socialization play a role in our lives, actions, and mindsets. They explored opportunities for disrupting these cycles, generating actionable strategies for transforming their workplace environments, and leaving with prototypes for creating more inclusive, equitable and just workplaces. Occurred December 8, 2020
- Exploring Alamance’s African American History – This session explored Alamance’s African-American Histories with the Executive Director of the African American Cultural Arts & History Center (AACAHC), Shineece Sellars. The AACAHC is inviting community members to explore their exhibits and stories. Attendees learned about the stories of African American residents that have made a lasting impact across Alamance county. Occurred August 10, 2021
- Urban Innovation and Design through Civic Engagement – In this Better Together session, participants explored the factors and forces that play out between residents and city leaders to design urban environments that meet the evolving needs of our society with Elon graduate and Burlington Mayor Ian Baltutis. Also looked at how the most successful communities always lead this process with collaborative community involvement and input. Occurred November 9, 2021
- Boosting Your Resilience – In this Better Together session, participants explored research from across sectors showing that intentional design practices that build social support systems, daily behaviors, and mental practices can foster resilience. Occurred December 9, 2021
Cultivating Me-We-Us: Leading with Emotional Intelligence
Melanie Bullock Harris – Tuesday, July 20, 2021, 3:30 – 5:00 pm
This Better Together session taps into the best theories and practices surrounding emotional intelligence in order to support your professional goals and deepen your leadership skills.
Watch this session to explore the theories and practices behind emotional intelligence for leadership development and professional success, learn best practices in feeling, thinking, and behaving in an emotionally intelligent manner, and apply strategies for personal, professional, and civic growth with the Director for the Center for Leadership at Elon University, Melanie Bullock Harris.
Organized By: Elon’s Center for Design Thinking and Alamance Public Libraries, AmeriCorps, Burlington Downtown Corporation, Center for Leadership, Chamber of Commerce, Kernodle Center for Civic Life, Impact Alamance, Student Professional Development Center, United Way of Alamance, & Women’s Resource Center of Alamance County
Designing for Life’s Transitions
Kristin Bradley-Bull – Tuesday, September 14, 2021, 3:30 – 5:00 pm
How might you design for life’s major transitions?
Becoming a parent. Losing a job. Recovering from a serious illness. Getting divorced. Graduating. Becoming a senior citizen. Getting elected. Winning the lottery. Whether welcomed or not, major life transitions provide great opportunities for learning and growing. In this Better Together session, we discussed the concept of major life transitions and explored approaching transitions with more trust, creativity, and intention.
Kristin Bradley-Bull, founder of Roots to Canopy, is a coach and consultant – supporting individuals and organizations to live their most vibrant, purposeful lives.
Civic Engagement for Inclusive Changemaking: Designing from Alamance Community Conversations
Ricky Hurtado – Thursday, October 7, 2021, 3:30 – 5:00 pm
This Better Together session explored how non-profit leader and House Representative Ricky Hurtado is harnessing freedom dreaming and inclusive change-making to support more diverse, inclusive, and equitable communities across our county and state. Representative Hurtado shared stories and strategies from his experiences engaging with Alamance community members. Attendees got the chance to explore what strengthening our county’s civic culture for inclusive change-making can look like for our community.