Class 34 (2026-2027)
Schedule and Locations for Year 1

  • October 6-8, 2026: Orientation, New Bern*
  • November 4-6, 2026: Government, Raleigh (W-F)
  • December 1-3, 2026: Education, Greensboro
  • January 13-14, 2027: Inclusive Leadership, Durham*  
  • February 2-4, 2027: Health and Human Services Session, Greenville
  • March 2-4, 2027: Economic Development Session, Charlotte
  • April 6-8, 2027: Environment Session, Asheville
  • May 4-5, 2027: Planning Meeting/Graduation, Raleigh

*Full attendance is mandatory for the October Orientation and the January Inclusive Leadership sessions. Missing any element of either session requires withdrawal with no refund.  Attendance across the remaining sessions must meet the requirements outlined in the Program Protocols included in the application materials.

Application window: June 1 – June 24, 2026

General Session Structure for Class 34

Orientation (October)

  • Tuesday, 2 pm – 6 :30 pm
  • Wednesday, 8:15 am – 4:30 pm plus Class Dinner
  • Thursday, 8:15 am – 2:00 pm
  • Participation in all Orientation content is mandatory. Missing any element of Orientation requires withdrawal from the program with no refund.

 

Program Sessions (November, December, January, February, March, April)

  • Tuesday tour or activity 2:00 – 4:00 pm (optional).*  Start and end times may vary slightly.
  • Tuesday reception 5:30 – 7:00 pm (optional).*
  • Wednesday morning and afternoon programming and class dinner.
  • Thursday morning and afternoon programming, adjourning around 3 pm.

All Wednesday and Thursday elements are required. The LNC attendance policy allows participants to miss a limited number of segments throughout the program year. Note that the November Government session for Classes 34 follows a Wednesday through Friday schedule, with the required elements falling on Thursday and Friday.

*There are no Tuesday elements for the January Inclusive Leadership session. All programming will take place Wednesday and Thursday. Participation in the full Inclusive Leadership session is mandatory. Missing any element of the Inclusive Leadership session requires withdrawal from the program with no refund.

 

Planning Meeting and Graduation Ceremony (May)

  • Reflections Session: 2:00 – 5:00 pm the afternoon before graduation.
  • Required Planning Meeting: 8:00 am – 3:00 pm.
  • Graduation Ceremony: 4:00 – 5:30, reception immediately following.

 

Time Commitment Outside Sessions

Each participant will be assigned to a Learning Team for the program year. Learning Teams schedule 1-hour-long phone calls between each session (monthly from October through May). Calls are optional but encouraged. For some sessions, participants are asked to review materials in advance to enhance the session experience. There are no other requirements outside the scheduled session programming.

Planning Committee Participation for Year 2

Participation in Leadership North Carolina is a two-year commitment. The schedule for the first year is outlined above. Following graduation, each participant is required to serve on a planning committee for one of the five program sessions or play another role in preparing the program for the following class. There is one in-person meeting held the day of graduation. The remainder of the planning, research, and outreach to presenters is done by conference call (approximately one call per month) and email. Planning committee members are expected to attend the session they help plan.

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