The Civic Leadership Program
GenUnity convenes people who are passionate about the health of their communities — across race, class, and generation — to build the relationships, skills, and civic muscle it takes to drive change. The Civic Leadership Program, our flagship 8-week experience grounded in the social determinants of health, isn't textbook civics. It's about any way you engage with people to build connection and understanding, from a conversation with a neighbor to showing up at a public hearing, reimagining civic leadership as something bigger than legislative advocacy and policy work alone.
Apply for our program
GenUnity is built for people who see injustice and recognize that a different reality is not only possible but necessary.
Our program unlock a shift from being overwhelmed by the magnitude of systemic injustice to being engaged co-creators in our neighborhoods, communities, and society.
We've started in Greater Boston, our home community, with the intention to support new communities as we learn and grow.
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Community-Centered
Community partners host proximate learning
Tailored to local issues
Diverse & Equitable
Cohorts represent community's lived expertise
Free to participate
Systems-Based
Unpack how systems & power structures shape local lived experiences
Impact-Oriented
Execute on action plans
Influence decisionmakers
Tailored for Growth
Understand local issues
Learn lifelong civic practices
Accessible
8 wks, 2-3 hrs/wk
Member Stories
Through the GenUnity program, Gloribel met Suffolk Law School's Prof. Bill Berman, who was studying housing voucher discrimination. She connected his research to her work as a legislative aide for Rep. Adrian Madaro and helped introduce new fair housing legislation in the MA House.
Miles, a musician, drew on his learnings from GenUnity to collaborate with peers and advocate for the preservation of a community arts space that was going to be replaced by a new development. Their advocacy persuaded the developer to commit to relocating the arts space to a nearby location.
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Through discussions at GenUnity—with community organizations, local leaders, advocates, and peers—Justina learned about different ways each of us can actively address health inequities. She committed to developing a suite of tools to help communities of color advocate for better care and promote generational health.
Through the GenUnity program, Gloribel met Suffolk Law School's Prof. Bill Berman, who was studying housing voucher discrimination. She connected his research to her work as a legislative aide for Rep. Adrian Madaro and helped introduce new fair housing legislation in the MA House.
Miles, a musician, drew on his learnings from GenUnity to collaborate with peers and advocate for the preservation of a community arts space that was going to be replaced by a new development. Their advocacy persuaded the developer to commit to relocating the arts space to a nearby location.
Through discussions at GenUnity—with community organizations, local leaders, advocates, and peers—Justina learned about different ways each of us can actively address health inequities. She committed to developing a suite of tools to help communities of color advocate for better care and promote generational health.
Post-program, 97% of members
Feel more prepared to drive systems change
Have gotten more involved in the community
Our program unpacks how people's lived experiences connect to systems, power structures, and their agency to drive change.
Through our program, members experience a new vision of community–one by everyone, for everyone–and start practicing the skills to bridge our current reality and a just future.
Our cohorts are selected to represent a diverse, equitable cross-section of our community; most members are experiencing or tackling the issue today.
Cohorts meet for 2-3 hours/week, for 8 weeks, embarking on an inquiry-based journey to answer the questions essential for driving positive change in their communities and organizations:
Who is being affected?
Why are our systems designed the way they are?
How does change happen–and what can I do?
Programs are delivered alongside 40+ community partners, in a space facilitated by DEI/racial/social justice experts trained to lead deep dialogue.
Community is the end and the means: upon completing our programs, members join our lifetime community, where they continue to build a microcosm of the community they hope to see.