The West/Southwest IAF is a 'University of Public Life' – a space for formation where community leaders can develop the skills to make local democracy work.
Through formal training, collaborative learning, and hands-on experience, leaders within affiliate organizations build skills and relationships to leverage their own power and act effectively in public life, forming leaders to strengthen their institutions and influence the decisions that affect their communities since 1974.
Local affiliate organizers work with institutional members to lead and learn from public actions, including “house meetings,” or small-scale gatherings where people share personal stories and practice deep listening. These conversations reveal the pressures on our communities, surface new leaders, and guide collective action.
Leveraging more than 50 years of experience, National Training gathers leaders across the country to develop key organizing skills, including how to understand power, discover and act on the interests of your institution, and develop relationships that lead to strategic and fruitful action.
Seminars provide a deep understanding of critical issues by integrating research and the lived experiences of families and communities through lectures and engaging conversations between local leaders and renowned academics and experts. Past guests include academics like Danielle Allen, Teresa Ghilarducci, and Robert Putnam.
IAF training draws on a wide range of literature and traditions — from ancient Greek texts and political theory to Scripture, theology, history and reflections on the civil rights movement. These traditions are put in dialogue with the experiences of community leaders, refining both our thinking and our practice as organizers.
“That’s the good practical work that this organizing does…it helps people recognize their solidarity and their ability to work together.”
Cardinal DiNardo
The Metropolitan Organization
“I became a different person and a different pastor…What changed me as a pastor was the whole experience with DAI including the national training…Meetings went better, I’m clearer about the agenda….I began to understand what leadership was about. I began to pay very close attention to (people’s) self-interest - what they were passionate about, what they care about. That makes it easy to find people - if you know what their passion is then you ask them to do what they’re passionate about.”
Rev. John Lee King
Dallas Area Interfaith
“Organizing has changed me because I am now more relational, I am more patient, I have a wider perspective. I am no longer searching for the community whom I can do ministry with - I have that…This is gospel - this is the missionary work we are called to do."
Rose Liu
Silicon Valley Allied for the Common Good
"Being a part of really learning the process of developing relationships just by doing one-on-ones, listening to people - it helped…me get back into learning to listen more”
Dr. Joyce Brooks
“The IAF has transformed me from a 'me' person to a 'we' person. I know how to help my brothers and sisters improve their quality of life. I know how to find and recruit more leaders to the fight…With the IAF, I am a leader and I am equal.”
Edgar Cage
Together Baton Rouge
“I never knew I had the right to speak to public officials to tell my story publicly….What I’ve learned in this organizing work is the power we can have if we get together and fight for something and we figure out who has the power to change it…I have learned that this is where democracy comes to life….I’ve strengthened my understanding that I can do many things through relationships.”
Marta Villela,
Marin Organizing Committee
West/Southwest IAF organizations work with institutions (schools, congregations, non-profits, union locals, and neighborhood associations). If you are interested in strengthening your institution and making life better for families in your community, click below.
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