Overview

Leadership North Carolina is a two-year commitment. For the first year, participants attend program sessions around the state from October through May. After graduating, they help plan content for the next program year.

The program fee covers session materials and programming as well as meals during sessions. Accommodations and travel expenses are the responsibility of each participant. The program fee for Class 33 is $7,000.

Schedules for the first year of the next two cohorts are provided below.

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, Greenville
March 2-4, 2027: Economic Development, Charlotte
April 6-8, 2027: Environment, Asheville
May 4-5, 2027: Planning Meeting/Graduation, Raleigh

*Full attendance is mandatory for the October Orientation and the January Inclusive Leadership sessions. 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

Class 35 (2027-2028)
Schedule and Locations for Year 1

October 5-7, 2027: Orientation, New Bern*
November 3-5, 2027: Government, Raleigh (W-F)
December 7-9, 2027: Education, Greensboro
January 12-13, 2028: Inclusive Leadership, Durham*
February 8-10, 2028: Economic Development, Wilmington
March 7-9, 2028: Health and Human Services, Charlotte
April 4-6, 2028: Environment, Asheville
May 9-10, 2028: Planning Day and Graduation, Raleigh

*Full attendance is mandatory for the October Orientation and the January Inclusive Leadership sessions. 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, 2027

Structure for Year 1: Program Participation

Orientation (October)

  • Tuesday: 2:00 – 6:30 pm
  • Wednesday: 8:15 am – 4:30 pm plus Class Dinner (required)
  • Thursday: 8:15 am – 12:30 pm plus Optional Lunch

Participation in the full Orientation session is mandatory. Missing any element of Orientation requires withdrawal from the program with no refund.

 

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

  • Tuesday tour or activity 2:00 – 4:30 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. The November Government session for Classes 34 and 35 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: 2:30 – 5:00 pm the afternoon before graduation (optional)
  • Class Gathering: 6:00 pm the evening before graduation (optional)
  • Full-Class Planning Meeting: 8:30 am – 3:00 pm (required)
  • Graduation Ceremony: 4:00 – 5:30 pm, reception immediately following

 

Time Commitment Outside Sessions

Each participant will be assigned to a Learning Team for the program year. Learning Teams schedule one hour-long phone call 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. LNC may also facilitate optional Class Connections calls each month. There are no other requirements outside the scheduled session programming.

Structure for Year 2: Planning for the Next LNC Cohort

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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