Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc.

Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc. (ALP) is a Harlem, New York-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that provides leadership development training to high school youth of the African Diaspora. Founded in June 1968 as the Archbishop's Leadership Project by Terence Cardinal Cooke, the organization was originally created to cultivate African-American leadership in the Catholic Church and to serve the broader community. Over the decades it has evolved into a coeducational, multi-faith program serving students of African, African-American, Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and Caribbean-American backgrounds. The program is structured as 12 to 24 months of intensive leadership development training. During the first year, students participate in six transformational theme-based weekend retreats. Weekly sessions expose students to local and national authors, activists, and executive leaders through lectures and book discussions; summer reading has included works such as Things Fall Apart and The Autobiography of Malcolm X. Students also visit four to six competitive colleges, evaluating issues of race, equity, and financial aid, and practice leadership techniques through student-led community engagement projects measured for impact. Every student is aligned with a seasoned alumnus or alumna for leadership coaching. ALP has worked with over 100 high schools since its founding, including A. Philip Randolph Campus High School, Bronx Science, Brooklyn Technical High School, Fordham Preparatory School, Hunter College High School, and Democracy Prep Public Schools, among many others. Its alumni include Theodore Shaw, former Director of the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund; Kweku Forstall, Executive Director of Year Up Atlanta; Professor Alford Young, Jr., Chair of the Sociology Department at the University of Michigan; Laurie Cumbo, founder and curator of the Museum of Contemporary African Diasporan Arts; and Dr. LaFleur Small, Chair of the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Wright State University. Singer Mary J. Blige was a retreat guest in 1990. The organization incorporated as an independent not-for-profit in March 2005, changing its name from the Archbishop's Leadership Project to Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc. It continues to operate in New York City, preparing young men and women for leadership roles of mid-level management or higher in education, government, domestic and international community affairs, social justice, and philanthropy.

Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc. (ALP) was founded in June 1968 as the Archbishop's Leadership Project by Terence Cardinal Cooke, with the mission of cultivating African-American leadership in the Catholic Church and serving the broader community. In 1968, Father John Meehan was chosen to direct the first group and was tasked with designing a program that would encourage young Black men to pursue vocations in the priesthood. However, by the middle of their first weekend retreat, he discovered that the young men were less interested in joining the priesthood and more interested in exploring their history and the issues facing their community. Keeping the needs of the youth in mind, by the end of the first two years the original objective of attracting Black youth to the priesthood was subsumed into an approach to motivate, inspire, and encourage young boys to consider roles of leadership within the African-American community. In the summer of 1985, Fr. Meehan and alumnus Peter Sanders '74 met with Cardinal O'Connor to provide an introductory report on the program started by his predecessor, Cardinal Cooke. Impressed with the program, Cardinal O'Connor decided to keep ALP in the Archbishop's discretionary budget and felt that the work of ALP could be extended to young women. When a new ALP group was formed in the spring of 1986, it included over twenty Black high school girls and a female co-coordinator, Ms. Taur Orange, making ALP a coeducational program. Singer Mary J. Blige was a retreat guest in 1990. In March 2005, ALP incorporated as an independent not-for-profit organization, changing its name to Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc. The development and training process emphasizes critical thinking, presentation skills, leadership dynamics, an appreciation for history and culture, and service to others. Over the years, the program has come to include students of various religious backgrounds and African Diasporan origins (African, African-American, Afro-Latino, Caribbean, and Caribbean-American). The organization has worked with over 100 high schools since its founding and continues to operate in Harlem, New York.

• 2005

  In March 2005, ALP incorporated as an independent not-for-profit organization, changing its name to Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc.

• 1990

  Singer Mary J. Blige was a retreat guest.

• 1986

  New ALP group formed in spring 1986 included over twenty Black high school girls and a female co-coordinator, making ALP coeducational.

• 1985

  Fr. Meehan and alumnus Peter Sanders '74 met with Cardinal O'Connor to report on the program.

• 1968

  Founded in June 1968 as the Archbishop's Leadership Project by Terence Cardinal Cooke.

• 1968

  Father John Meehan chosen to direct the first group.

A community-rooted non-profit leadership pipeline for high school youth of the African Diaspora, emphasizing critical thinking, presentation skills, leadership dynamics, cultural and historical appreciation, and service to others.

• 12-24 month intensive leadership development training

• Six transformational theme-based weekend retreats

• Weekly lectures and book discussions

• College trips to 4-6 competitive colleges

• Student-led community engagement projects

• Leadership coaching with alumni

1. 1Achieving Leadership's Purpose - Youth Leadership Trainingalp-nyc.org
2. 2Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc. - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Achieving Leadership's Purpose, Inc. - Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org