Leadershift
Gain leadership skills, share stories, build community, and connect with fellow changemakers on the Colorado Plateau.
LeaderShift is an immersive environmental justice and advocacy training program for college-age students.
With the land as our classroom, we travel across various corners of the Colorado Plateau; sleep under the stars; and spend our days learning from local changemakers and each other.
Join us for LeaderShift in August 2025. Stay tuned for specific dates!
LeaderShift is a place-based environmental justice training
LeaderShift examines the legacy of energy extraction, its impacts on local communities, and paths toward a just and equitable future. Participants see firsthand how Native communities are transitioning away from fossil fuels toward healthy economies.
Who can sign up for LeaderShift?
This program is for young leaders between the ages of 18 and 27 who love the Colorado Plateau and are eager to be part of the environmental justice movement.
Join us at LeaderShift in August 2025!
The application for LeaderShift 2025 is open until May 30, 2025, or until all 12 spots are filled. We will review and accept applicants on a rolling basis. Contact us if you have questions about applying.
What to expect
Locations range from Tuba City to Kykotsmovi Village to Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon. Participants should expect to camp out. The Trust will provide all meals, snacks, and equipment. Our gear packing list will help you prepare. We have some camping items to loan. Please contact us if you need to borrow gear.
This is an immersive field-study experience with pre-readings and homework.
The LeaderShift curriculum and program are based on feedback from past participants. Young people are both the teachers and the students. We balance our days of lectures, workshops, and discussions with hands-on farming projects, hikes, shared meals, and lots of fun. The facilitators for LeaderShift are Danya Gorel and Amber Benally.
What will I learn at LeaderShift?
Topics, field trips, workshops, and program structure vary from year to year. Typically, LeaderShift runs during the summer, with the application cycle starting in February.
Examples of past activities
- Meet Native entrepreneurs in Tuba City
- Help out at the Hopi Tutskwa Permaculture Institute
- Listen to Indigenous perspectives of the Grand Canyon
- Learn about renewable energy options to power homes on the Navajo Nation
Examples of past workshops
- Understanding the Black Mesa and Peabody Coal story
- How to be an ally
- Campaign planning
- Leveraging your personal narrative
Workshops and skill-building
Students learn action-based strategies to create social and environmental change in their own communities.
Environmental justice theme
LeaderShift looks at the legacy of resource extraction, its impacts on local communities, and paths forward.
Hands-on learning
Students get to dig in the dirt, hike through slot canyons, and practice their newfound skills through hands-on learning.
Apply for LeaderShift 2025 today
Rising Leaders blog
