Imagine a new generation of nonprofit leaders armed with the integrity, courage, and know-how to create a truly responsive public sector. That’s the ambitious mission of On The Verge, a program begun in 2003 that coaches young people aspiring to move into positions of power in community-based organizations, government agencies, and schools.

On The Verge grew out of a series of conversations among the co-founders: Leslie Medine, Diana Gordon, and Roger Jordan. Medine, an educator and youth leader, and Gordon, a program developer, had created a class in effective citizenry in Alameda, California that coached high school students on how to plan and implement community projects. The students—many underachievers in traditional classes—flourished in the program they called HOME, but they had difficulty sustaining the same “can-do” optimism out in the world after graduating from high school. Jordan, a marriage and family counselor, was also bothered by the lack of direction plaguing so many young people.

Adding urgency to their concerns is the pending leadership vacuum in the nonprofit sector. An estimated two-thirds of executive directors will reach retirement age by 2009i and agencies will be hard pressed to replace them with qualified leaders. The crisis is predicted to grow more acute in the next decade.


Swinging into action

Swinging into action, Medine, Gordon and Jordan recruited 20 young people between the ages of 21 and 28 from around the Bay Area to participate in a two-year leadership training program. In keeping with the co-founders’ large vision, the program set overlapping goals of strengthening participants’ personal, interpersonal, and professional skills.

“The most unusual aspect of our program,” says Medine, “is the emphasis on the integration of personal, interpersonal and professional skills. Many leadership programs focus on developing professional skills, but underneath is all the human stuff that holds people back. What makes our work exciting and challenging is our willingness to ask questions about what’s really going on.”

Kriztina Palone was a program manager in an employment training agency when she signed up for the first training group. She wanted to initiate actions that would raise the economic standards of “working poor” African-American families. All that stood in her way were her fears.

“I was unhappy in my work,” says Palone, “but afraid to rock the boat. In the training, I was pushed to ask myself questions about where I wanted to be and what I would settle for. It was intense. Finally I realized that if I wanted to be part of the next wave of leaders and that I couldn’t assert myself at this level, how would I be able to do it at a higher level? “

Palone says that On The Verge gave her the confidence to step into a leadership position. Now, at age 27, she works in the community relations department of the office of the mayor of San Francisco. Besides acting as a liaison to two primarily African-American districts, she also serves the African-American community citywide through the mayor’s Neighborhood Services office.


Process of building group trust

A one-week intensive retreat at an oceanside location kicks off each new training. There, the participants, called Vergers, begin the process of building the group trust required to do the hard work of finding their professional path and holding themselves and one another to high standards. To accommodate the Vergers’ work schedules, the staff and participants meet twice a month as a whole group. One meeting is devoted to coaching Vergers on the different community projects they have chosen to work on. The other is set aside for a group inquiry process, called Adult Reflection, that focuses on critical life questions rarely discussed in the workplace. Through dialogues entered into with genuine curiosity and without judgments, staff and Vergers alike discover new meaning in their work and a deeper understanding of themselves and one another.

“We start with the premise that we bring everything of who we are to our work,” says Roger Jordan. “Adult reflection is not about problem solving, but about learning how to use the self as an effective tool in the world. That means becoming aware of your power and creativity as well as the fears and insecurities that get in yourway.”

In keeping with the On The Verge philosophy of responding to the needs of Vergers rather than having participants fit a packaged curriculum, staff provide “real-time coaching” to Vergers individually or in small groups on problems as they arise in the workplace. In doing so, they intentionally model a style of leadership that is responsive to immediate needs and adaptive to the current conditions within an organization. Depending on the circumstances, the staff also consults with the board and staff of Vergers’ agencies.


Working in the public sector

The idealism of the Vergers is tested by the realities of working in the public sector.
After decades of government budget cuts, nonprofit employees can expect to work long hours for relatively low pay in financially strapped organizations. Moreover, their efforts to introduce innovation are likely to bump up against entrenched bureaucracies, especially in larger agencies. To prepare them for the inevitable frustrations, On The Verge stresses team building so that after they have graduated from the program Vergers will have a community of people to turn to who share the same values and outlook.

“Most young people don’t know how to find allies to support their desire to be leaders,” says Diana Gordon. “They need coaching and encouragement on how to network and how to effect change in organizations so they don’t give up or burn out.”

After working with preschoolers for several years, Nick Challed signed up for Group Two to discover whether he could take on a leadership position at the school. Today, Challed, age 30, is the director of Home Sweet Home, a preschool in Alameda, California. Committed to bringing more men into the childcare field, he created an apprentice program to train high school students to work in the school. Recently, he refined the model and developed a tool kit that would allow other preschools to replicate Home Sweet Home’s program.

“When I joined Group Two I didn’t know how to express my feelings and thoughts in a respectful way,” says Challed, “Now I know how to use my voice as a leader to make things happen. Group Two’s motto was ‘We’re not going to take business as usual anymore.’ Sometimes I feel frustrated, but I’m sustained by having a solid network of Vergers who share my passion for doing great things in the world.”


New non-profit organization On The Move

On The Verge defines itself as a learning community that changes and adapts to new information. At the end of each training, the staff assess what they have learned and modify the program accordingly. Early on, they agreed that participants needed at least two years of nonprofit work experience to get maximum benefit from the training. They raised the minimum age to 24 and the maximum age to 34.

The staff also shortened the training to one year. Currently, Level One concentrates on developing Vergers’ personal and interpersonal skills. Those who want further training will be able to apply for Level Two training beginning September 2006. A guiding principle of On The Verge is developing leadership by providing opportunities to co-create and co-lead programs. To that end, a group of 14 graduates of Level One are developing the Level Two training. They set three overarching goals: to support Vergers starting new organizations or moving into leadership positions; to sustain relationships among Vergers through ongoing Adult Reflection groups; and to build a network using community resources to promote the work of individual Vergers.

Originally, the training groups were composed of participants from different Bay Area counties, which made it hard for them to get together. Now participants are recruited from a cross-section of government and community agencies in the same geographic area. Besides having cohorts close by, Vergers working in the same community can begin building collaboration and cooperation among their agencies.

With only three full-time and four part-time staff members, On The Verge has racked up an impressive track record. Seventy percent of Vergers finish the training and, in just three years, 35 have moved into positions of leadership in nonprofit agencies. In that same period, the staff coached 200 board and staff members in agencies where Vergers work.

While attending college, Alissa Gentille was managing a beauty store and volunteering at the YMCA. She enjoyed working with marginalized young people, but she regarded it as volunteerism rather than a viable career option. Now two years later, Gentille, 25 years old, is the program director of VOICES in Napa, California. The first youth-led center in the nation for teenagers transitioning out of the foster care system, it brings together in one place the multiple services teens need before going out on their own. Gentille, in collaboration with On The Move, brought in 25 Verger graduates to serve as mentors to the transitioning youth.

“Besides giving me the practical tools for doing this job, everything from using Excel to the basics of organization development,” says Gentille, “the training instilled in me a way of thinking about obstacles, of finding ways to turn the tide of whatever problem comes my way. But the most important thing I took away from the training was the notion of aligning the personal, interpersonal, and professional parts of my life. I don’t think it can happen in the business world, but doing this work, in this place, with these people, I can keep shooting for it.”

On The Move has an annual operating budget of $762,000. Running two On The Verge groups a year costs about $150,000. What could On The Verge do if it had a bigger budget? Medine, who has spent her career prodding young people to think big, had a ready answer. “If we had $5 million, we could hire more staff, set up place-based trainings in different communities, develop cadres of young leaders from different agencies to work collectively on local problems, and document what we are doing over the next decade. Only money holds us back.”