Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy

Want to join campaign teams or run for office?

LA Forward’s Progressive Campaign Leadership Academy (PCLA) will recruit and train LA County residents to be effective potential campaign leaders and candidates, leveraging hands-on experiences in the current primary election cycle to build the knowledge, skills, and vision to be successful in future grassroots election cycles. 

PCLA is a cohort experience launching in December 2023 and lasting through April 2024, and will: 

  • Provide almost 40 hours of in-person workshops, Zoom-based, and individualized conversations with a designated and experienced mentor. 

  • Support participants to select and volunteer for a campaign of their choice as a way of extending their learning into experience and practice, not only for direct voter contact shifts (like canvassing and phone-banking), but also for other support roles that might prepare them for future campaigns

  • Create ongoing opportunities to debrief and process learnings with peers and mentors, accelerating participants’ ability to synthesize theory and practice 

Prospective applicants should be available during the following dates:

  • 10am-3pm, Saturday, Dec. 2

  • 10am-4pm, Saturday, Dec. 16

  • 10am-4pm, Saturday, Jan. 13

  • 6-9pm (tentative), Thursday, Mar. 14

  • 10am-3pm, Saturday, Apr. 6

Overall, prospective applicants should expect 10 hours of engagement weekly between the first and last workshops of the cohort, sans holidays. The 10 hours of weekly engagement are inclusive of workshop hours during workshop weeks, but consist of other self-scheduled engagement (1:1s with mentors, volunteer opportunities, etc.) outside of workshop weeks as well. 

Applications are now closed.

A majority of our budget comes from our members’ monthly donations. In 2024, our goal is to raise 70% of our budget from dues-paying members. That will enable us to be 100% accountable to people like you. Your gift allows us to respond rapidly to emerging issues, to take on powerful interests, and spend as little time possible on fundraising so we can focus on the crucial work that needs to get done every day.