Empower Kentucky Leadership Network
Building a movement for Just Transition and climate action in Kentucky
In 2019, KFTC launched a new, exciting leadership development opportunity called the Empower Kentucky Leadership Network.
The leadership network is a diverse cohort of 40 grassroots leaders who will inspire and support each other to propel a grassroots movement for Just Transition, equity, affordable and clean energy, climate action, and a healthy democracy in Kentucky.
The core program entails two in-person weekends of training and relationship building, individual goal setting, periodic peer coaching calls, and 6 monthly video trainings (including sessions on centering racial and economic in our work; Kentucky’s energy landscape, and communicating about the climate crisis)
Additional optional site visits, training opportunities, and exchanges are also possible for members of the cohort.
For reflections on our first weekend together in Bowling Green, take a look at this blog post by Maria Truitt.
What we’re learning
As the cohort continues to learn about what it's going to take to win on climate, environmental, racial, and economic justice in Kentucky, we want to share what we're learning with you! Take a look at the below resources to watch or learn about the content from our webinars, and to review some of the most important resources the network has identified.
Webinars
More cleaned up versions of our monthly webinars are coming soon. For now, take a look at our unedited webinar recordings below!
January Webinar: Centering Racial, Economic, and Social Justice in our Work
February Webinar: The Climate Crisis and the Green New Deal
March Webinar: Kentucky's Energy Landscape
April Webinar: The Race-Class Narrative
- Recording (13 minutes of this recording, from 1:02 - 1:15 can be skipped, as the group was in Zoom breakout rooms at the time)
May Webinar: Cultural Organizing
June Webinar: Organizing and Movement Building
Resources
Collectively, participants from the Empower Kentucky Leadership Network have assembled a long and rich list of additional resources. Here is a curated list of a few that we've found particularly important.
- Just Transition Zineby Movement Generation
- Jemez Principles for Democratic Organizing
- “A Green New Deal must be rooted in a just transition for workers and communities most impacted by climate change” - the Climate Justice Alliance
- KFTC's Empower Kentucky Plan
- 7 Evidence-Based Communication Tips for Climate Action by our friends at the Climate Advocacy Lab
- The Podcast “Real Hot Take” has several great episodes that review powerful media coverage about the climate crisis and Green New Deal from 2018 and 2019. Each of these episodes also provides tons of links to the articles discussed
- The Red Deal
Member Reflections
"I love being a part of the Empower KY Leadership Cohort, because we're working to educate and lift up the voices of Kentuckians, build new power, identify and address systemic racism, build energy democracy with local practical solutions, and shape a just transition that'll help create healthier communities and a healthier democracy for All!" - Serena Owen, Northern Kentucky
"This network has provided me with a space to process my work in energy, equity, and environment in new dimensions. It's clear to me that facing climate change calls us to look inward as well as outward, and having a group of people you trust to learn and grow with has been incredibly supportive." - Rachel Norton, Central Kentucky