Leadership Greater Jackson - Reflection
Published on 30 May 2023.
Leadership Greater Jackson
In January 2023, I started a community-oriented leadership program called Leadership Greater Jackson based in Jackson, MS. The program introduced me to community leaders across the city, county, and state, and helped create and shape new relationships with other members of this 35th cohort of the program. A number of my colleagues at C Spire have gone through this program and after chatting with them I decided to apply and was lucky enough to be invited!
This post is intended to highlight my experiences, as well as serve as an open invitation to my fellow Leadership members to stay in touch by joining my dev Discord. LGJ35 members should send me a direct message on Discord @michaellambgelo to receive the official @LGJ35 role.
Closing Retreat
Here’s the last Instagram post commemorating our closing retreat. We spent the morning at the Mississippi Museum of Art before enjoying lunch at the Capital Club. Then we enjoyed an afternoon of fellowship, offering reflection on our time together. A small group joined us for a short walking tour where we heard about the history of Jackson from John Spann. At the end of the day, we celebrated with a rooftop after party!
The first post
I started this program with no prior relationships with anyone else in the cohort. I have since established some solid relationships and created a number of acquaintances such that my local network is significantly enriched. Here’s my first post featuring Akilah and Randy!
Cultural Differences Retreat
Most of our class days were spent in Jackson but this post features photos from a weekend retreat in Tupelo, MS.
Criminal and Civil Justice and the Law
This particular day was difficult because the controversial bill HB 1020 was being debated in the state legislature. HB 1020 expands a state police force within the city limits of Jackson and establishes an unconstitutional, unelected judicial district. The bill was signed into law by the governor in April.
State and Local Government
Again, this day had some challenges because of the contents of HB 1020 as well as some other differences but one of the things was was amazing about LGJ35 was how we used these opportunities to push ourselves into some stretching, necessary conversations.
Healthy Food Day
Our cohort split into different groups to organize some fun, educational events in an inner city community. Healthy Food day found us potting chard, making veggie tacos, and sauteeing collard greens.
Health and Human Needs
The Jackson Medical Mall is a revitalization of Jackson’s first commercial mall. It was reimagined as a place for community services. Check out the Instagram post for more! I was certainly surprised by everything offered there.
Quality of Life
Quality of life was an important theme to consider in the context of the city of Jackson. We spent a lot of time learning about the cultural and art experiences offered by the city’s museums and arts districts, Fondren and Belhaven.
About michaellamb.dev
Michael Lamb is a software engineer working at C Spire. If you have a blog-specific inquiry please create a new issue on GitHub. Feel free to fork this blog and build your own!Get to know who I am in my first post Hello, World!