Call for Applications

Transforming Safety Leadership Cohort

 

Applications are due Friday, June 5 at 5pm Pacific Time. Submit your application using the form linked in the How to Apply section of this page. Decisions will be announced the week of June 22, 2026.

Questions? Please contact Mariana Lindsay at mariana@yargfoundation.org

 

Overview

The Transforming Safety Leadership Cohort is an opportunity for leaders across Oregon to come together, build meaningful relationships, and think collectively about the future of community safety.

We’re seeking a group of 12-15 leaders who are deeply embedded in and accountable to the communities they serve, and who are actively working to transform safety in Oregon. This cohort is designed to support connection and shared learning, with the goal of strengthening how community safety leaders across Oregon understand, align, and move work forward together. Participants can expect to build meaningful relationships with peers across Oregon, strengthen their approach to leadership, and gain new clarity on how to move their work forward in connection with others.

This opportunity is supported by Northwest Health Foundation, Yarg Foundation, Meadow Fund, Ronald W. Naito M.D. Foundation, and Meyer Memorial Trust.

 

Who Is This For?

This opportunity is for leaders who are:

  • Based in Oregon and actively working to advance community safety or justice (For example: violence prevention, re-entry support, restorative justice, survivor advocacy, efforts to reduce incarceration)

  • Deeply connected to and accountable to the communities they serve, including those most impacted by the criminal legal system or violence

  • Hold leadership in their organizations or communities, formally or informally, and bring experience doing this work in practice

  • Are interested in building relationships, working across differences, and participating in a shared cohort experience

We’re intentionally seeking a mix of leaders working in direct service, organizing, advocacy, and systems change.

 

Why This Cohort?

Across Oregon, leaders working to advance community safety have named the need for more space to connect across communities, build relationships, and step back from day-to-day work to think together about the broader landscape. Creating that space opens up the possibility for leaders to reflect on the collective power they hold and how they might want to use it. This cohort is designed to support that process by bringing together a small group of leaders to build trust, deepen shared understanding, and explore what stronger alignment and shared strategy could make possible.

Participants will:

  • Build trusting relationships with other leaders across Oregon

  • Strengthen their leadership through reflection and peer learning

  • Develop a shared analysis of Oregon’s community safety landscape

  • Explore opportunities for alignment, coordination, and shared strategy

  • This cohort is grounded in the idea that strong relationships and shared understanding can create the conditions for more connected and impactful work across Oregon.

 

Cohort Activities and Dates

Cohort Timeline: August – December 2026

Time Commitment:

Cohort members will be asked to:

  • Attend three in-person convenings and a half-day closing session.

  • Engage in preparation and reflection between convenings

  • Stay connected with cohort members between sessions as needed

We strongly encourage applicants who are able to attend all cohort retreats, as each gathering builds on the last. Attending the first retreat is especially important. We also know that leaders are balancing many commitments, and that things can come up. If you’re interested in the cohort but already know you may need to miss a session, we still encourage you to apply or reach out to talk it through with us.

Key Cohort Dates:

  • First Retreat - August 13-14, 2026, 9am-5pm, Oregon Coast location TBD

  • Second Retreat - Friday, September 18, 9am-5pm, Portland location TBD

  • Final Retreat - Friday, October 9, 9am-5pm, Portland location TBD

  • Closing Session - Friday, December 11, half-day, Portland location TBD

 

Shared Project Opportunity

As part of the cohort, participants will have the opportunity to explore a shared project that reflects what the group is learning and building together, and that supports community safety efforts across Oregon. This could take different forms, such as:

  • A statewide gathering or convening

  • A coordinated effort or shared strategy

  • A resource, tool, or structure that supports others doing this work

By the end of the cohort, participants will have the option to put forward a collective project idea for additional funding.

 

Selection Criteria

Applications will be reviewed based on the following criteria:

  1. Community connection and accountability
    The applicant has strong relationships with the community they serve or organize with and is trusted by that community. They are accountable to a group of people, a constituency, or a network beyond their own organization.

  2. Leadership and Influence
    The applicant plays a leadership role within their organization, community, or network. They are able to move people, ideas, or resources in ways that support community safety and justice work. This leadership may come through a formal role or through influence within a movement or community. They also demonstrate self-awareness about their own leadership style and a genuine desire to grow, learn, and be challenged through the cohort experience.

  3. Understanding of the Broader Ecosystem
    The applicant understands that challenges related to community safety and incarceration are systemic and connected. They’re interested in thinking beyond their own organization and exploring how different parts of the ecosystem can work together.

  4. Interest in Collaboration
    The applicant is interested in building relationships with other leaders and exploring shared strategy. They’re open to working across different communities and perspectives, and have experience collaborating with others to move work forward.

  5. Meaningful Participation
    The applicant is able to commit the time needed to meaningfully participate in the cohort, including attending the in-person gatherings and staying engaged between sessions as needed. They bring openness and curiosity, and are willing to reflect on their practice and engage in personal and leadership development.

Note: We also aim to build a cohort that reflects the diversity of communities across Oregon, including geographic, cultural, and lived experiences.

 

Cost and Stipends

The true cost for this cohort is $7,350 for each participant, which we are covering for all participants. Meals and lodging for in-person convenings will be covered directly by the foundations partnering to create this cohort. In addition, each participant will receive a $1,000 stipend to help cover travel and other expenses associated with attending the in-person retreats.

 

About the Facilitator

The cohort will be guided and facilitated by Andrea “Coop” Cooper, Partner at March Strategies. Previously, Coop (she/her) served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Chief of Staff to two Oregon Governors. She was also Political Director for SEIU 503, Chief of Staff for the Oregon House Majority Office, and brings extensive campaign leadership experience, including managing Governor Kate Brown’s successful re-election campaign and serving as Executive Director of Future PAC, the campaign arm of the Oregon House Democrats.

​​As a certified executive and leadership coach, Coop brings deep experience designing and facilitating transformative cohort-based programs for leaders who are too often left out of traditional leadership development spaces. Her facilitation work includes a six-month policy and systems change cohort for women and gender expansive professionals, a multi-month peer learning cohort for BIPOC executive directors focused on dismantling grind culture and building collective vision, and a leadership development program for women and gender expansive college students in Oregon centered on finding their voice, leading confidently, and reshaping the narrative of their leadership. She has also supported BIPOC leaders in the recovery space in building strategic direction and co-creating a unified organizational vision for their shared advocacy work.

 

How To Apply

Applications are due Friday, June 5 at 5pm Pacific Time. Click the button below to submit your applicaton via our Google Form.

Application Form

We’re committed to making this application accessible to people with disabilities, people who communicate in languages other than English, and anyone with other access needs. If you need support or accommodations to apply, please let us know. We’re happy to provide materials or accept applications in other languages or formats.

 

Application Questions

The application questions are listed here for reference and to help you prepare your application. Please submit your responses on the application form here.

Contact Information

  • First & Last Name

  • Pronouns

  • Email Address

  • Phone Number

  • Mailing Address (Street, City, State, Zip)

Organization Details (for applicants representing an organziation only)

  • Organization Name

  • EIN (if applicable)

  • In 2-3 sentences, tell us about your organization, including its mission, the type of work it does, and the communities it serves.

  • What’s your role in the organization (Executive/Senior Staff, Staff Member, Board Member, Volunteer Leader, Other)

Narrative Questions

  1. Community Connection and Accountability
    Please describe the communities you’re accountable to in your work and how you are connected to them. You’re welcome to describe communities in terms of geography, shared experiences, and/or cultural identity, if relevant.

  2. Leadership and Role
    What role do you currently play in advancing community safety or justice? This can be through your organization, community, or other spaces where you lead or influence work.

  3. Interest in Cohort
    What interests you about participating in this cohort? What would make this experience meaningful or valuable for you?

  4. Leadership Development and Skill Building
    What strengths, skills, or experiences are you most excited to bring into this cohort? What areas of growth or skills are you most interested in building to help advance your vision for community safety or justice?

  5. Ecosystem Perspective
    At a high level, what is your vision for community safety and justice for Oregon? What has helped shape this vision? This could include lived experience, your day-to-day work, or things you’ve learned along the way. What challenges or opportunities are you seeing in making this vision a reality?

  6. Collaboration
    Tell us about a time you worked with others across organizations, communities, or perspectives. What did you learn about how you show up in collaborative spaces?

  7. Time and Commitment
    This cohort includes four in-person gatherings (one two-day retreat, two single-day sessions, and a half-day closing session), along with some preparation and connection with fellow cohort members between sessions. Each session builds on the last, and consistent participation is important to the cohort experience. How will you make space to participate in the cohort? Please also let us know if you already anticipate missing any of the scheduled sessions.

References
Please share one or two references who can speak to your leadership and experience working with others. For each reference, include their name, email address, phone number, any relevant organizational affiliations, and their relationship to you.

Note: References help us gain a fuller picture of applicants’ leadership and collaborative experience and provide additional context as we review applications. While we may not contact all references directly, we appreciate you taking the time to include them.