Environmental Leadership
Hope for the Future

By John Roanhorse

One of the first lessons I learned in life was to respect the land. I learned this lesson by observing my parents as they as planted seeds during spring on the arid land in Northern Arizona on the Navajo Indian Reservation. For them and many other Navajos, planting seeds is an investment in our future. Each seed was placed in the soil with the hope that the rain and sun would come and sprout a new life. The first and most important lesson I learned in the tradition of my people was that hope and faith are necessary in the universe.
In 2000, a new seed was planted in the soil of my life: I became an Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) fellow. Over the past three years, ELP has nurtured and cultivated my career directions through my fellowship experience. This experience has proven to be more than simply an investment in my future as an environmental professional; it has also led to nothing short of a personal transformation.

History
During 1997 and 1998, the organizers of the Environmental Leadership Program began developing the program through extensive consultation with more than 40 emerging and veteran environmental leaders. Following two focus group meetings in Washington, D.C., and Oakland, California, 11 individuals in their mid-twenties to early thirties?\representing a range of academic and professional niches, geographic areas, and cultural and ethnic backgrounds?\formed an organizing committee (now called the board of trustees) and staff to bring the leadership program to life. In 1999, the organizing committee met and began working closely with the advisory board (now called the advisory committee) to design program elements and raise money. In December 1999, ELP selected 22 individuals for the inaugural class of ELP fellows. ELP now supports three classes of active fellows and one cohort of senior fellows.
The advisory committee, board of trustees, and staff meet regularly to design ELP?fs program components and plan for future initiatives. Because the ELP is a collaborative project that builds community and peer networks through its organizational development, ELP fellows take an active role in shaping the organization.

In 2000, a new seed was planted in the soil of my life: I became an Environmental Leadership Program (ELP) fellow

Creating Community
The ELP fellowship is a family that binds together a diverse group of people from a wide range of experiences, stories, and ideas through shared values and concerns about the environment. Fellowship interactions occur largely though group retreats in isolated, natural settings. ELP retreats evoke a sense of ritual, and the meetings and discussions that take place are sacred to all members of the group. These interactions create community within ELP, and a vision blossoms of a more optimistic future in which everyone can share. This vision is an ancient one. It speaks to the tradition of many Native peoples, where the land, the sea, and all living things are protected and respected for our future generations. It is the hope that through the ELP community, our collective experiences, wisdom, and traditions will nurture a protective spirit in our world. This has been another important lesson that I have learned in my life?\this time through ELP.

Exploring Ideas
Through the ELP, I have developed a leadership plan and a renewed sense of professional direction. By interacting and sharing with many other fellows, I have explored different perspectives and ideas about the environment and our future. These opportunities evolved through many group activities and formal discussions with my class of fellows and colleagues, which were unique and insightful. These conversations posed challenges that enlightened me with a personal awakening. Thankfully, I was not alone on this journey. This experience is common to all fellows in ELP.
ELP holds significant importance in both my personal and professional life. By being a fellow, I have learned a great deal personally about being a leader and finding wisdom from within. I have also contributed to this fellowship by bringing the wisdom of my people and sharing it with others. Through the ELP experience, I have also gained many new and lasting friendships with people I have connected with on an individual, rather than strictly professional, basis. This is one of the unique characteristics of the ELP experience: it is inherently designed to foster professional development through personal journeys with one another.
By training and supporting such a diverse and broad network of visionary, action-oriented leaders, ELP will inevitably succeed in its mission to transform the public?fs understanding of environmental issues. ELP is also working toward a vision that speaks to me personally. In the tradition of my people, ELP is creating a tribe of environmental stewards, one that will nurture the many seeds of social change that require so much care in these challenging times.
Tribal professionals are encouraged to apply and contribute to the ELP community. To learn more about ELP, visit the community online at www.elpnet.org or contact ELP directly at info@elpnet.org.

John Roanhorse, Navajo, is program manager for the Institute for Tribal Environmental Professionals at Northern Arizona University and a senior fellow with the Environmental Leadership Program.