About this course

Southeast Michigan (CLP)

CLP Programs in Southeast Michigan offer a credential for students who have a passion for being a community change agent – a change agent focused at the grassroots level where change happens WITH the community, not TO the community.  Our Certificates provide an on ramp to a career for change agents who believe that change happens best when it is from the bottom up, not the top down.  Community change agents are leaders and organizers in many careers: community development, social work, environmental justice, housing & food security, voting rights, community health, policing & criminal justice, law, or arts & culture. And at the systemic level, certainly those interested in careers in public service who are concerned about the human and community impact of public policy.  Internships are a key requirement of each program.  Bringing the classroom into the real world.

Latest Information:

In the fall of 2022, CLP and its partners will launch Pathways into Community Leadership Careers: Dual Enrollment at University of Michigan Dearborn for Detroit Public School Students.  This program is a first of its kind – it is the first time DPS will have dual enrollment with UMD and the first time that UMD will have a dual enrollment program where high school students gain a credential. Our long-term goal is for this dual enrollment program to serve as a model that gets replicated at additional DPSCD and other Southeast Michigan high schools and, over the long-term, makes a significant contribution to building the human capacity needed for organizations in Detroit to achieve equitable development.  

CLP Programs in Southeast Michigan are offered at Macomb Community College and the University of Michigan-Dearborn.  Both programs prepare students to work with the community to address systemic inequity in Southeast Michigan.  These programs provide pathways into careers in community development, social work, environmental justice, education, housing & food security, voting rights, organizing, community health, policing & criminal justice, law, policy, or arts & culture. 

• Certificate in Community Leadership at Macomb Community College
  A stand-alone credential or included as part of a related Associate Degree program.  The certificate emphasizes skills in conflict resolution, social and political power dynamics, leadership development, and using power strategically to bring about positive community change.
• Certificate in Community-Based Leadership at the University of Michigan-Dearborn.
  A stand-alone credential or included as part of a related Bachelor Degree program. The certificate emphasizes skills in community development, organizing and advocacy, power analysis, social movements, Detroit power dynamics, and theories of community change.
• A new high school dual enrollment CLP model.
  A new dual enrollment program for high school students from Detroit to earn a 15-credit hour Certificate in Community Based Leadership from the University of Michigan Dearborn. The program provides an educational and career pathway into Community Leadership careers for young people directly impacted by injustice and who want to effect positive community change. Program learning experiences prepare students to be career ready and degree ready!

Testimonials From Current Participants and Alum

Community Partners and Funders

Community Partners hosting students for internships and practicums:

• ACCESS
• Diversity Dialogue
• Chaldean Community Foundation
• Focus Hope
• Foster Friends
• Gleaners
• Judson Center
• Live Rite Community Center
• Medical Project?
• Mini Kampus Child Care
• Transplant Project?
• On-Line Tutoring
• Organizing Humanitarian  Project in Peru
• Rite Recovery Center
• St. James Hospice
• Staffing Network
• YMCA