WHO SHOULD CONSIDER APPLYING?

We are looking to train individuals who want to help progressive candidates and causes during the 2022 campaign cycle. This training is valuable for current paid campaign staffers, aspiring paid campaign staffers, as well as “super volunteers”.

We will also be accepting a limited number of CANDIDATES who are running for office in 2022 into this Campaign Staff Academy cohort.  A healthy amount of what we cover for campaign staff is similar to what we cover in the Candidate Academy, PLUS it’s helpful for the staffers in the class to have real candidates to work with on the activities we facilitate throughout the Academy.

One of our goals at LEAD Ohio is to help train those who are underrepresented in government, like women, people of color, new Americans, union members, and those in the LGBTQ+ community.  While we place a special emphasis on recruiting these individuals, our classes are diverse and all are welcome to apply.

WHY TRAIN WITH LEAD?

The LEAD Ohio Campaign Staff Academy will feature panels, speakers, and workshops led by campaign professionals from across the state of Ohio. At every class you will train with some of the most renowned experts in their respective fields from across the state with a specific focus on what we call the “Ohio flavor”.  Our trainers live and work in Ohio and know the ins and outs of the issues most important to Ohioans, the politics of the various regions of our state, and the laws and guidelines that factor into campaigns in Ohio.

While winning campaigns depend on a number of factors, we know that expert training, mentorship and support all help candidates and campaign professionals alike to be set up for success. The Academy also exposes you to a network of like-minded folks from across Ohio who can serve as a support system during the election cycle and beyond.

There is no cost for accepted applicants to attend the LEADership Academy, but accepted applicants must be willing to commit to all training dates and provide a “security deposit” to ensure compliance.  Since the process is competitive, and we may not be able to accept all who apply, we need to know that everyone accepted takes this opportunity seriously.

WHERE DO WE TRAIN?

With the pandemic (hopefully) starting to subside, we will be hosting a combination of in-person and virtual training dates.  We’ll be using Zoom for any virtual trainings and any in-person trainings will take place in Columbus.

WHEN IS THE ACADEMY?

The Campaign Staff Academy will be hosted over the course of 8 weeks. In person we typically do 8-8.5 hours in a single day, but for virtual learning we’ll do about 3 hours on Saturday and 3 hours on Sunday because Zoom fatigue is a real thing.  Training dates are as follows:

• In-person: Saturday, March 26th
• Virtual: Saturday, April 9th & Sunday, April 10th
• Virtual: Saturday, April 23rd & Sunday, April 24th
• In-person: Saturday, May 14th

Each class builds on the last, so it’s important to attend ALL classes.

HOW DO I APPLY?

If you’ve read everything here and are ready to apply for the Academy, click below for the application.  The application is available online via Google Forms and must be completed in full for consideration.  If you have any questions or run into issues accessing or completing the form, please email info@leadohio.org.