The Adaptive Food Systems Leader: Managing Projects for Lasting Change

Course Description

As nonprofits, community-based organizations, government agencies, and others seek to make progress on the civic challenges communities face, they must navigate complex systems and intervene skillfully to catalyze systemic change through their projects. It takes time, however, to identify and articulate the deep-rooted issues at the core of our communities before jumping to solutions, strategies, and tactics. It takes acts of intentional leadership, and it is critical to (re)assess what constitutes “leadership” as we contribute to the larger movement to transform our food system, especially in uncertain times.

This free, 4-session course explores the traditional components of project management and incorporates Adaptive Leadership, which offers an approach to achieving large-scale impact through complex systems navigation within a shifting and changing landscape. As a “how” for project management, Adaptive Leadership differentiates the types of civic challenges we face to strategically cultivate leadership approaches and create the environment in which these approaches can be applied. This is an applied course, so participants will translate concepts learned to the context of their current or prospective project. Each session will build upon concepts from the previous session, following a format of engagement among participants to warm-up, introduction of project management components and corresponding leadership concepts and tools, interactive application exercises, and time for reflection.

Instructors

The Food Systems Leadership Network is excited to partner with Kolia Souza and Tina Khan to bring you this training.

Kolia Souza is a health equity advocate, trainer, and project manager with over 10 years experience in local and regional food systems development and strategic communications each. In addition to offering consulting services, Kolia has worked in university outreach and national technical assistance centers, and has been a community organizer. She has experience collaborating with government at all levels, national nonprofits and community-based organizations, academic institutions, local and state agencies, health and wellness coalitions, and communities at large. Most recently, Kolia co-coordinated the Michigan Local Food Council Network and led the national Racial Equity in the Food System workgroup. She is also a national trainer for Coming Together for Racial Understanding.

Tina Khan has dedicated years of professional service to Kansas communities through Rural Food System Development. By way of Food & Farm Councils, she works to connect multiple sector partners within production, processing, distribution, access, and consumption. Through her position with the Kansas Leadership Center, Tina emphasizes leadership development at a local level as communities work through food system barriers. Previously, Tina spent 13 years in Dual Language Bilingual classrooms as a teacher-advocate for families from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds. She has nearly 20 years of experience in team training and group facilitation, while certified to teach and coach the tools of Adaptive Leadership.

FSLN PM Session #1 Slides_ April 29. 2025 FSLN PM Session #2 Slides_May 6. 2025 FSLN PM Session #3 Slides_ May 13. 2025 Community of Practice FSLN Slides_May 21.2025 FSLN PM_Case Scenario_May 2025 Comfort Zone Faction Map Faction Map Full Message Box Tool Purpose Triangle Technical and Adaptive Work