The Rochester Center for Collaborative Leadership (originally named the Frederick Douglass Center for Collaborative Leadership) was launched in 2019 as a charitable initiative of the Institute for Collaborative Leadership (a 30-year-old Rochester-based coaching firm).
In 2022, the Center adopted our url as our nickname: "RocLeads".
”… supporting and strengthening the individual and collective capacity and impact of antiracism and anti-hate leaders – particularly those in civic, community and nonprofit roles that can contribute to building strong children and families in Rochester NY …”
Rochester is the hometown of Frederick Douglass, Susan B Anthony, and scores of important social justice leaders. It's been noted by many Rochesterians who grew up in the shadows of these leaders and legacies that, despite their historic and ongoing leadership, Rochester continues to suffer unacceptably high rates of residential segregation and concentrated poverty with a city school district that ranks near the bottom abutting suburban districts that rank among the best in the nation. With the region’s talent and resources, our schools should be better, our rates of poverty should be lower, and our racial and ethnic tensions and inequalities should be long-remedied.
The Leadership Center is an initiative of local leaders, dedicated to helping Rochester reach for excellence, resolve these problems, and become a model of racial equity ... building its capacity one-leader-at-a-time!