LEadership
Development

The Leadership Academy is an immersive, experiential course in sustainable food systems leadership, in which participants will learn about the problems and challenges inherent to industrial animal agriculture and take a leading role in co-creating solutions to them.

The Leadership Academy will:

  1. Introduce you to current challenges inherent to industrial animal agriculture.
  2. Connect you with the lived experience of individuals most directly affected by those challenges, and those in our partner network who are actively working to solve them.
  3. Lay the foundation for the campus and community-based work you'll be undertaking with the guidance and support of our staff and partners.

Hear from Our alumni

“My experience at New Roots Institute was so amazing. I learned so much every single week and it was fun because I was so interested and intrigued. I loved the workshops and especially the elective hours. My cohort had such great conversations, and so many people helped me expand my knowledge, and think of perspectives I never thought of before.” - College Participant
“I have never been a part of a more supportive community dedicated to uplifting each other and putting good into the world. The work we do is incredibly impactful and at New Roots Institute, activism does not feel like work. I know that everyone around me is pouring their passion into everything they do and that we are making a difference.” - High School Participant
“This isn’t just a haphazard group of recent grads who are protesting. This program is channeling capable advocates into careers which make this movement stronger.” - College Participant

Previous Partner Organizations

Participants in the Leadership Academy have the opportunity to work with a wide array of partners in our network!

Our Fellows & Alumni in the Media

Teen Vogue

New Roots Institute alumni Noa Greene-Houvras had an op-ed published in Teen Vogue. In her piece, Noa dives into her experience voting for the first time and lays out some crucial recommendations for President Biden to step up as a stronger climate advocate. 

Check out her insightful OP-Ed “Joe Biden Approved Drilling Projects, Now Young Climate Voters Are Watching for 2024”

UnchainedTV: How Gen Zers Are Fighting to Save the Planet!

Parker Do (New Roots Fellow) and Natalie Amezcua, M.A Humane Education (New Roots Lead Educator) spoke with Jane Velez-Mitchell on Unchained TV. Parker spoke about how their experience as a New Roots fellow fueled their readiness to advocate for a just food system.

Watch the interview here!

Campus Cafés Launch Oat Milk Defaults

New Roots Institute Fellows at both the University of San Diego and Pomona College successfully advocated for oat milk defaults in their campus cafés. 

Their advocacy was featured in VegNews, in addition to other campus publications.

Read more about this fantastic news!