In the fall of 2008 the American Red Cross Leadership Institute (ARC-LI) was created to develop leadership skills for emergency workers involved in disaster response. The program was a partnership between the Center for Public Health Practice and the Ohio Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The program was funded by the state's Ohio Disaster Readiness Project.

The goal of the institute was to develop and acknowledge individual, collective, and organizational strength-based values. Participation in the experience fostered deeper membership accountability toward fulfilling requisite disaster response functions. Participants were able to create a customized leadership curriculum to endow skill and capacity development germane to organizational obligation.

The first group of participants began the Institute in the fall of 2008 with 22 members and concluded in the Spring of 2009. The second group began the Institute in the winter of 2009 with 30 members graduated in June 2009. Participant profiles include ARC representatives from rural and urban chapters throughout Ohio, volunteers, chapter directors, and state agency executives.

Based upon demand, two abbreviated versions of the LI were offered at the ARC Ohio Training Institute at Kenyon College in June 2009 with 68 graduates. Exciting developments include the formation of a social network for the ARC-LI Alumni Association, and a national ARC review of the LI methodology for inclusion in a national training portfolio.

For more information please contact Dr. Anne Drabczyk at 614-292-1940 or adrabczyk@cph.osu.edu.

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The Center for Public Health Practice is a part of The Ohio State University's College of Public Health. The center is home to federally funded public health programs, including the Center for Public Health Preparedness, Pennsylvania and Ohio Public Health Training Center and the Buckeye Bluegrass Regional Leadership Academy. The center provides training to hundreds of public health practitioners every year through in-person and online programs. It also offers contractual and fee-for-service support in the areas of organizational and leadership development.