Creating Community Through Cohort Learning: A Training Model for Youth Development Professionals

University of Minnesota Extension Center for Youth Development (CYD) initiated a learning cohort for their local youth development professionals, 4-H Extension educators (EEs) to fulfill a need to better support staff beyond onboarding. The Youth Development Learn and Lead (YDLL) cohort is grounded in integrative leadership that influences professional relationship building through the sharing of applicable skills and theory across hierarchical boundaries while providing a community of practice to discuss ideas and share resources. The cohort has positively impacted employee engagement and has shown impressive results around networking, relationship building, and learning objectives. The YDLL cohort has been deemed an essential training by CYD, and has been replicated internally to encompass a larger audience with unique staff development needs.