Courses | Nonprofits

Do you desire more meaning in your work? Are you ready for a change but don't know how to get started? Or maybe you just need some extra help getting that special project off the ground? Our courses in life & career planning can help you plot your course through life's challenges and changes and guide you to the path that leads to greater personal satisfaction.

Legacy Leadership Institute on the Environment
Tuesdays and Wednesdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Jan. 29 to March 12
Tuition: $1500

The Legacy Leadership Institute, an initiative co-sponsored by Antioch University Seattle and Leadership Tomorrow, prepares you to make a significant contribution in a professional volunteer role within an environmental nonprofit. First launched by the University of Maryland in 1998, the Institute bridges the gap between professionals who would like to contribute active leadership in an unpaid capacity and nonprofits that need their professional services. Graduates combine their extensive experience with classroom learning to fill predetermined professional roles within participating nonprofit organizations.

According to surveys conducted by the University of Maryland with participants three to five years after graduation:

  • More than 30% report a transition from unpaid to paid work in nonprofits.
  • Many go on to become social entrepreneurs.
  • All graduates found more meaningful engagement in their unpaid work with nonprofits in their community.

The first Legacy Leadership Institute has more than a dozen local environmental agencies signed on to participate. For complete information, read the 2007 Legacy Leadership brochure (PDF) and to apply download the application here.

Instructors: Ellen J. Wallach leads the institute, along with scientists, environmental educators and graduate instructors. Wallach is an organizational development consultant, speaker, writer and filmmaker. For the past 33 years, she has worked with public, private and nonprofit clients.

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The Consultant's Challenge: Nonprofit Myth and Reality
Thursday, Sept. 27, 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Tuition: $25 Antioch alumni and friends of Next Chapter

Are nonprofit organizations really unique? Do they require a different consulting perspective? What kind of skills and understanding help consultants work successfully with their nonprofit clients?

In this workshop, you'll learn the secrets of becoming a successful volunteer consultant by exploring the similarities and differences between for-profit and nonprofit culture as well as ways to introduce and inspire needed changes within a nonprofit organization. You'll leave with more insight into the eight characteristics of nonprofit culture consultants need to understand in order to be effective. You will also gain skills consultants need to work successfully with their nonprofit clients. 

Instructor: Amanda Madorno, owner and principal of Roam Consulting, specializes in developing authentic leaders and assisting nonprofits in strengthening and sustaining organizational achievement. Roam Consulting partners with their clients to eliminate barriers to effective leadership so the organization can move forward and share its purpose with the world. Madorno brings more than 20 years experience in developing leadership, governance and fundraising skills in nonprofit boards and executives. She serves as an executive coach and interim executive. A well-known and popular speaker in the Pacific Northwest, she frequently presents at regional forums, guest lectures at Seattle University and the University of Washington nonprofit management programs.

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Professional Sabbatical: You Can Take One
Wednesdays, 3 to 5:30 p.m.; Oct. 17 and 24
Tuition: $99 general public, $79 Antioch alumni and Centerpoint members

Being able to take a sabbatical may seem like wishful thinking to you right now – but it doesn't have to be just a distant dream. This class explores how to make your own personal sabbatical a reality including how to plan and finance your time off as well as how to talk to your employer. Kari Knudson brings together her expertise in both career counseling and financial planning to help you make it happen.

Purpose:
• This class explores the nuts and bolts of how to plan and finance a sabbatical.

You should attend if:  
• You've been dreaming about taking time off but can't figure out how to make it happen.
• You need to step back to reassess, renew and regenerate your life and work.

You can learn to:
• Create a vision of what your sabbatical would look like.
• Explore how you can pay for your sabbatical.
• Learn how to talk to your employer about taking time off.

Instructor: Kari Knudson has her master's degree in counseling and is a Certified Financial Planner™. She has been a core faculty member with Centerpoint since 1999 and facilitates various workshops as well as working with clients individually. Also, she has been instrumental in the development of Centerpoint's Cycles of Change Certification Program and has been a member of its faculty since its inception in 2002. Her goal is to use her experience to help people gain insight into their relationship with money, ultimately transforming that relationship into one in which money works for them.

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Passion Search Workshop
Offered again winter 2008
Tuition: $578

Uncover what gives your life meaning and purpose. Identify what's really important to you in your life and work. Create a map to help you navigate the changes you're experiencing and gain a fresh, new perspective on your life and work. Articulate all of your passions and discover the things you can't live without. Break out of the bounds of reality and really dream big. Summarize what you want in your life and career and create a written vision statement you can use in your career exploration and job search.

Instructor: Vickie Chaffin, M.A., Psychology, is a core facilitator and career counselor at Centerpoint Institute for Life and Career Renewal.

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The Creative Job Search: A Crash Course (.3 CEU)
Offered again winter 2008
Tuition: $75 general public, $65 Antioch alumni, staff

In this three-hour, fast-paced workshop, discover:

  • Your current readiness for tackling a job search
  • The keys to a successful job search
  • How to network effectively
  • Time wasting strategies to let go of
  • The rules of thumb for résumés and cover letters
  • Interviewing and salary negotiation made simple

This evening workshop provides an overview of job-search components and prepares you to design your job-search plan. It helps you avoid common pitfalls and mistakes made by job seekers.

Instructor: Carol Vecchio, co-founder and executive director of Centerpoint Institute for Life and Career Renewal.

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