About the Austin Welcome Center

“The mission of the Austin Welcome Center is to connect newcomers to the resources and information that will facilitate their becoming a vital part of our community, and to provide programs and services that will promote self-sufficiency and multi-cultural understanding.”

Two BCLP alums strive to create leadership opportunities for others

“A woman who enters politics changes; a thousand women who enter politics change politics,” – Chilean President Michelle Bachelet

That quote from Chilean President Michelle Bachelet is one that provides inspiration for two BCLP alums, who organized one of northern Minnesota’s most ambitious leadership initiatives for women, the Iron Range Go Run!

Rural Pulse Results Are In…

Attracting and Retaining Business, Education and Health Care Top Alumni Priorities

Reflections on Leadership

From the Winter 2007/2008 issue (Vol. 6 No. 4) of the Community Leader newsletter.
By Jim Krile, Retired BCLP Director

“Start where you are, Use what you have, Do what you can.”

This quotation has been attributed to sources as diverse as Arthur Ashe, Theodore Roosevelt and my brother-in-law, Maury. 

Regardless of its origin, it captures three key elements of effective leadership, which in my 36-plus years of community work, I have seen stand the test of time.

Tapping Untapped Potential

We all know, without being expressly told, that our individual economic opportunity plays a vital role in the health, happiness and quality of our own lives and the lives of our family members.

Resources on Poverty:

Books to Read:

Duluth Alums Reflect on Leadership Experiences

“The difference Blandin is making is monumental,” according to Abbot Apter, a member of the first Duluth cohort to participate in the Blandin Community Leadership Program in October 2005. Since then, three more Duluth groups have become BCLP alumni and a fifth is scheduled for January.

New Director of Leadership

Dr. Valerie Shangreaux has always gravitated toward thinking in terms of the “big picture.”

Big picture thinking ­ or looking at community as a whole – is part of what made the leadership director position with the Blandin Foundation so attractive.

“I like the Foundation¹s strength-based approach to leadership and community,” she said. “It’s an approach that says, ‘Let’s look at people’s strengths and let’s look at what¹s already working.”