The Community Learning Partnership (CLP) program is a national initiative aimed at building the capacity of leaders and organizers from low-income communities, communities of color and immigrant communities, equipping them with them skills to build power in their communities through organizing and development. Through CLP, leaders learn the ins and outs of organizing from seasoned organizers in two eight-week sessions focused on Community Organizing and Community Development.

On January 14th, 2025, the second cohort of the CLP pilot program began their journey into the Community Development portion of CLP. Led by James Rudyk, Organizer and Professor, the class embarks on discovering what community development looks like as it relates to community organizing. Through this class, students will come to understand different models of community development and evaluate the roles community, race, class, data and elected officials play in this process. Leaders will also be able to understand common issues and challenges related to community development as well as articulate their own model that is informed by organizations and communities in Chicago.

Briana Washington, a current CLP student and Digital Equity Organizer for SWOP, shared this regarding what she is looking forward to for this session. “I’m excited about being able to work with and learn from James. Having that lived experience of trying to bring about changes in one of our communities makes him a wealth of knowledge for us to be able to tap into. I get the sense that this won’t be like any other community development class out there and I’m looking forward to it.”

‍