Lived Experience Leaders

Our flagship program amplifies and supports changemakers to create the change they want to see in their community. The program welcomed its first cohort in 2020, and its fourth in the fall of 2024!

 

What is Lived Experience Leaders?

Lived Experience Leaders deepens and diversifies Winona’s pool of community leaders.

The cohort program provides training and resources to amplify voices and support changemaking ideas of folks across the Winona area - including surrounding rural communities, whose diverse lived experiences have given them unique and powerful expertise to create equitable change for Winona.

Lived Experience Leaders trains and supports diverse residents with leadership skill-building, training and workshops on civic engagement, and mentorship to support their individual leadership goals. The program consists of an immersive leadership workshop and mentorship arrangement in addition to cohort participation.

Over the past three cohorts, 30 individuals have graduated from the program and continue to work on community projects related to arts and culture, community resilience, accessibility, youth advocacy, and more!

 

  • "(I learned)...that everyone can be a leader given the right situation, circumstances, support and ability to move forward a dream or idea."

    Lived Experience Leaders Alum

  • "The program meets people where they are at and provides resources so they can amplify their ideas."

    Lived Experience Leaders Alum

  • "Relationships allowed for this to be community-led, where it's owned by community members through an advisory committee. There's a culture of community engagement."

    Lived Experience Leaders Alum

  • "Quieter voices in our community were able to be heard and become louder. People were given the tools to be able to do this through the program."

    Lived Experience Leaders Alum

Ripple Effect Mapping

In the summer of 2024, Engage Winona joined the Highlighting Stories of Community Resilience project, a collaboration between the Blandin Foundation and the University of Minnesota Extension. This initiative aims to showcase stories of resilience while refining strategies to support rural leaders and communities through cross-sector projects.

As part of the project, leaders from Engage Winona’s Lived Experience Leaders (LEL) program partnered with project staff to conduct a Ripple Effects Mapping (REM) evaluation. REM is an interactive method where participants visually map the ripple effects of a program, highlighting its outcomes and broader impact.

This report shares the key findings from the REM process, shedding light on how the LEL program contributes to community resilience and inspires meaningful change.


Thank you to our sponsors!

Thank you to WNB Financial for sponsoring Lived Experience Leaders! Their sponsorship helps us provide support like childcare, transportation, and technology to reduce barriers to participation.

Thank you to Target, United Way of Olmsted County, and our local Walmart #5397 on 955 Frontenac Dr. for contributing a Walmart Spark Good Community Grant to support Lived Experience Leaders.