Applications

This transcript has been edited for clarity.

LATOYA SAHADEO:
Well, good afternoon, good afternoon, and thank you all so much for joining us for our DELPH Open House.

I am Latoya Sahadeo, Director of Leadership Development Programs, and I've had the pleasure of serving as the DELPH Director for the last four years. I'm here with my colleagues, that you'll hear from today, Allyson Belton, Keon Lewis, and Jamia Ponder.

As we go throughout the session today.

You'll be able to share more, we'll be able to share more information regarding the program objectives, goals, and review the application components. There'll also be an opportunity for you to ask, ask questions. So, if you could just hold all your comments for now and we'll give you opportunity in just a moment.

As we float through some of these slides here, I wanted you all to highlight our current cohort, our C6 Wolf Pack. We're excited for these scholars as they have matriculated throughout this journey in the last 10 months.

They will be graduating from the DELPH program this month, during our Power of Leadership, micro-conference that will be held July 22nd and 23rd, and more information will be shared to you all at the conclusion of this presentation.

These pictures are just truly just evident of the collaboration, the connection, and also some of the fun things that we do throughout this leadership development program.

As we mentioned, the Developing Executive Leaders in Public Health program aims to strengthen leadership capacity of our mid- to senior-level governmental public health professionals.

Throughout this cohort-based experience, our program participants explore and deepen their leadership identity, improve communication, set strategic goals, and positively influence their organizations.

Each participant is paired with an executive coach, as well as accountability partners and a DELPH partner. More to come on that.

So, throughout our session today, we will provide you with some introductions to our DELPH team, as well as go over the application components, review some of the FAQs, things that you will want to know and listen in on.

And as I mentioned before, we'll have time for some question and answer, and we'll conclude today right at 3 p.m.

We appreciate you all again for joining us.

So, DELPH, you've heard the name, you heard it online, you've probably seen us somewhere.

I'm out in the community and seeing some of our amazing scholars from cohorts one through six. Our Developing Executive Leaders in Public Health program, again, is a 10-month intensive leadership development program designed to enhance your skills, your visibility, and networks in public health leaders.

This program is open to professionals regardless of your race, ethnicity, gender identity, expression, sexual orientation, religion, age, or ability.

Our program offers leadership skill-building workshops, personalized executive coaching, professional networking opportunities, peer-to-peer support, as well as exposure to national public health thought leaders.

Our program has, changed over the years. However, we remind ourselves that one thing remains the same, is our network.

We have a program that includes our alumni engagement, and we track the progress with a long-term impact evaluation.

So, I wanted to pause for a moment and share with you all my teammates. These are the people that helped make the magic happen.

So, if they're on the call, if you can remove me from spotlight, if you all would just wave so you can see them. As we all remind you all that DELPH is a personal connection, program.

So, we have Avia Mason as our Vice President of Leadership and Learning. We have Sharon Gloyer, who's our Senior Director for Leadership Development Programs and Convenings. Myself as the Director of the DELPH Program. Jamia Ponder, she is our Manager for our Leadership Development Programs. We have Rain Cardenas, she is our… excuse me, her title changes at times. It says coordinator, but she's our specialist for our DELPH program. Christian Watts is our coordinator for our leadership development programs, our partner with Satcher Health Leadership Institute Morehouse School of Medicine. We have Allyson Belton. She's the Director of Education and Training. We also have Dr. Kimberly Wyche Etheridge. She is our Senior Vice President for Health Initiatives, as well as our Senior Director for Culture and Collaborations here at ASTHO, Ms. Natasha Levy. All of these, members on our DELPH team, comprise of an array of expertise and excellence in leadership and development programs to help ensure that your leadership experience is exceptional.

I do apologize. As I mentioned before, we are partnered with Satcher Health Leadership Institute and Morehouse School of Medicine with funding and support from CDC to create this unique leadership development program.

As always, this program is created to increase and strengthen participants' visibility and exposure in public health systems, access to key networks, and leadership development opportunities.

The DELPH program provides opportunities for our participants to explore their leadership identity and actions to positively influence their lives.

One of the things that you've probably heard us say and seen us on social media, we talk about our DELPH family. We truly believe in ingraining that networking piece within our program, and allow, allow our scholars to have those immediate connections during our in-person convenings.

We generally meet in person about three times throughout the year, and that'll be shared at the beginning of the cohort experience.

I wanted you all to hear from someone that has experienced the DELPH program, someone that understands what leadership means, and how it has changed them, after completing a program.

So, without further ado, I'm going to turn it over to Mr. Keon Lewis.

KEON LEWIS:
All right, thank you, Latoya, and good afternoon, everyone. To all of the DELPH team members, thank you for granting me this opportunity to share a little bit about my journey and my purpose and my experiences through DELPH and what that has meant for me, from my own career trajectory, but also just overall leadership development. So, just to kind of give you all Some general background about myself. My name is Keon Lewis, and I bring you greetings from the Queen City of Charlotte, North Carolina, where I serve as the Community Health Assessment Coordinator for Mecklenburg County Public Health and our Population Health Division. And I've had the privilege of being in this role now for a little over a year.

And over the course of the past five years, I've grown in my respective leadership positions throughout public health, a lot of it public-facing, a lot of community engagement, leadership development, equity strategic planning, and so forth. So one of the first things I really wanted to highlight about DELPH was that what was the, you know, initial learning experience like? So, I was a part of C3, and my cohort three, we came on board in 2023, and we completed our sessions in 2024. And so, at the time of me becoming a part of DELPH, I was going through my respective transition in public health, and at that time, it was roughly around two years for me that I had served in the field, but my supervisor at the time was challenging me to figure out what learning opportunities and leadership development programs existed that would give me the experience and the tools that I would need to grow as a leader, not only within the scope of public health, as well as outside of it.

And I was fortunate enough to stumble upon DELPH. And so, after researching it and learning about its curriculum and its agenda, I knew that it would be a perfect fit for me. And so, I was fortunate enough to be one of the few applicants that was accepted into my amazing group. And from there, it began this 10-month journey of leadership growth and development that I really can't even put into words about how much it has meant to me since then. One of the ways that I have identified my own respective leadership identity as a result of DELPH It's really just kind of looking at.

How, within each convening, there was a different theme, a different aspect about leadership, about just the development process in which we all were responsible for coming in and learning from it within the scope of those three or four days, and then taking back with us and applying it in real time.

And so one session in particular, we looked at three things as a leader. We looked at leadership presence, our communication skills, and even on down to our style and our sense of clothing and what we wore and how we presented ourselves in the rooms.

And I vividly remember this because as we went through each different scenario. 

It challenged us to look at the qualities in which we felt we had the strengths in, the areas in which we felt we needed to improve upon, but it was a moment of transparency and honesty amongst all of my colleagues and myself, in which we had a chance to really learn from each other, to learn from our lived experiences, but to also challenge one another to get better and to find those ways of improving as leaders within the scope of public health.

That was one thing that really stood out. Another thing that really stood out from our different convenings was the notion that we were all experts of our own lived experience. Whatever that may be, we came from different regions across the nation, we all had different backgrounds of education, different family dynamics. 

So to be able to put us all together in a room, it granted us an opportunity to really learn from a lot of unique and diverse perspectives. And that just elevated the experience even more.

One thing I could definitely say is, when I sum up the long-term impact from being a part of DELPH, and now an alum of it, is that the skills that I learned from DELPH transferred into things far beyond public health.

And I think that was the thing that I appreciated most is that they were transferable. It wasn't just strictly for being within the scope of public health, but it was about being a leader in all spaces.

And outside of public health, I serve in a variety of capacities of different types of roles, one being for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, where I serve on the National Chapter Leadership Council. And as fate would have it, I was actually transitioning from becoming a the resigning, or not, not resigning, but I was finishing up my term, for the North Carolina state chapter of AFSP.

And as I was transitioning into DELPH, I got the invite to become a part of the National Chapter Leadership Council for AFSP. So immediately, just by becoming a part of DELPH, I was able to apply these new skills in a new national role where I'm sitting amongst other national leaders in the space of mental health and suicide prevention. The third component in which I was able to apply the skills and the different tools I learned in DELPH was through my fraternity, so I'm a proud member of Omega Psi Phi Fraternity Incorporated. Shout out to any and everyone on the call who was a member of the Divine Nine, and your respective leadership roles, and where you're from. And I just vividly remember being a part of the different tools and the different sessions that I've learned in DELPH, and how I was able to apply that into the things I was doing within my fraternity, not only from a committee standpoint, but inevitably getting into an executive leadership role.

And the following year, in 2024, as I was wrapping up with DELPH, I helped to lead an exploratory committee into creating the newest chapter that was chartered in my district within North and South Carolina.

So there was things and tools that I was able to grasp from DELPH that I was able to apply immediately into my life in a variety of ways, from public health to suicide prevention and mental health allyship, and even to my leadership roles in the fraternity, these are not just things that is just gonna be singled out in one area. It is a way of changing your life.

And also, one of the things that I think that any and all of my colleagues from my cohort would tell you that we were most appreciative of was getting the experience of being a part of executive coaching up until that point, I had never been a part of executive coaching, didn't know what the dynamics were like, never had a chance to really sit down and speak with an executive on that one-on-one level, and really be open and transparent.

And as fate would have it, Latoya and the team matched me up with, who I like to say prophetically represented me. It was Dr. Lewis.

Dr. Larry Lewis, and so getting a chance to speak with him, to learn about his executive experience, to learn about his experiences in, not only in healthcare and public health, but also as a psychologist. So what turned out to be an executive session also became therapeutic in a lot of different ways. And in having these conversations, he challenged me to look at the things and to look at the manner in which I carried myself as a leader, but most importantly, how do I leverage these skill sets to achieve goals, but to also make those around me better, and make the communities in which I serve better? And I can honestly say that since then.

I've applied that to the max, and I've leveraged that to develop some phenomenal relationships. I've grown into my respective leadership roles.

I've been able to lead different committees on both local, district, and national levels. And that's all because of being a part of DELPH. It's all about being amongst a group who inevitably became family to me, who still, to this day, we still check in with one another, we still challenge one another, but we also want to make sure that we're well aware of the opportunities that come as a result of being a part of this unique family. So, in closing I would say that come into this with an open mind, an open heart, and open ears, and really think about not only what DELPH can mean to you in a professional sense, but how it's really going to shape and mold you and transform you into a leader outside of this space, because it's gonna be applicable in all aspects of your life. It is gonna be truly beneficial.

You are going to look back on those memories and on those opportunities, both good and bad, and realize that it was truly worthwhile. And that is something I will always forever carry with me. I truly appreciate the DELPH family and the DELPH experience. And I hope for those of you who would express interest in being a part of this program, really consider that and understand that this is truly a life-changing opportunity.

SAHADEO:
Well, future Dr. Lewis, thank you so much for eloquently just sharing about your experience in the DELPH program. I think hearing from someone that has experienced it versus someone that is, you know, providing this experience for someone is a little different.

And we appreciate your leadership, throughout the years. We appreciate how you've been able to utilize the, the skill sets and being able to test your own assumptions as you've developed other programming within public health and outside of public health.

So DELPH, I know many of you all, wonder, how do we do what we do? What makes this program unique?

As you go throughout this 10-month experience, we create monthly learning opportunities for our scholars that allow them to explore their own assumptions about themselves.

How they identify as a leader, how they can positively influence others at work and the culture of their organization through communication, leadership, setting your own goals, as well as, utilizing some, external tools, such as this, executive coach that Keyon mentioned earlier, so that you can have an individualized goal, to establish throughout the program.

Our program faculty and our staff are here to help customize that pro… Customize that program experience.

For the BISM, identify goals for our scholars.

I might have lost you all somewhere and I apologize.

As we always say, we grant grace and we give grace throughout the process, because sometimes our internet just does not do us just well. Repeat myself, throughout it.

So, as I mentioned before, we talked about executive coaching. We also offer intercession assignments, what we love to call good old homework. As you all know, anyone that's done any virtual learning, online in the last couple years.

That can incorporate a learning module, it could be readings, discussion board, posts, and some group assignments. We are in the process of modifying and critiquing our process for our intersection assignments, so for cohort seven… and it will be something new that we'll be sharing with you all. Another, as we mentioned, is our networking piece. So being able to learn from other public health professionals, we allow you all to attend either our Executive Leadership Forum, our Spring Forum, or another opportunity that our organization offers here at ASTHO so that you can meet like-minded public health professionals and have an opportunity to meet others that may be a part of the C-suite.

That you're aiming to get to a part of this program, we create these networking opportunities as well as with other public health professionals, but with our guest speakers that we bring. We create each experience to be customized specifically for our DELPH program.

So each of our speakers come with some level setting and understanding about public health, but also ways that can positively influence you throughout the process.

We create activities that you can take back to your teams, things that you can utilize, in your own workspace and or adapt for your own use.

A part of the program, as we mentioned, is some managed peer-to-peer connections, so those accountability partners. We ask that you connect with your accountability partner on a monthly basis, but it's up to you as frequently as you would like to participate in that part of the program.

Another part of the program that we created is our DELPH partners. We have our DELPH team that serve as a DELPH partner, and we connect with you more on a self-care level, as well as helping you to achieve the goals that you've set at the beginning of the program.

As part of the program, you will have the opportunity to publish blog posts.

That you've probably seen on some of our social media posts, our scholars have just created. We also… Need for you all to present on your capstone.

Every year we come up with a different capstone project, so cohort seven, it hasn't been developed just yet, but cohort six just completed a public health designated capstone project where they had to present out to their fellow peers on a particular topic.

We allow each of our scholars the opportunity, if they are creating blog posts, sharing information about the program to appear on our ASTHO newscast, so they're able to do various interviews about the program and share some of the, some of the things that they've learned throughout the, throughout the program.

So we talk about public speaking, we talk about communication within our program, and we truly, express your executive presence. So those are the things that you'll see evident throughout the program experience.

So, for cohort seven, we are looking for 30 mid- to senior-level governmental public health professionals from the local or state level.

A part of the application process… As we share with you all that we cannot allow federal employees to part of the program, but… If you're on a, on a state level, local or county level, we do, would like for you all to apply for this particular leadership program.

Our cohort experience ranges from many states across the country. I think we're down to maybe about six or seven that we do not have a cohort, member from those particular states, but we also take members from our U.S. territories, as well as the District of Columbia.

Our scholars represent an array of public health professionals across various capacities in emergency management, preparedness, maternal child health, public laboratory access and disability, health equity, school health, sanitarians, from a broad array. So don't, don't look and say, oh, I don't fit with, between that, area of study. Communication, directors have also applied for the program as well.

But the key thing is that we're looking for senior-level governmental public health professionals, and we find that evident in your application, your resume or CV, as well as your video presence.

Again, we're, looking for individuals that are wanting to be a part of a leadership, cohort experience program. So all of that is evident in what we review in your application.

My colleagues share a little bit more about the application experience, and then allow you all to ask some questions after we review the frequently asked questions. So… before I get there.

A lot of questions, a lot of people asked this question.

If you all would give me a moment.

Here we go So, cohort seven applications are due, by July 31st. We plan to notify our scholars in September.

The orientation for cohort seven will take place October the 14th, and our first… The first in-person session will take place in November, November the 17th through the 19th.

More details will be shared with the cohort once they start. As you can see on this timeline, we have various sessions already built out for our scholars, such as their resiliency session, their DISC workshop, navigating difficult conversations, another in-person session for their spring intensive.

Our coffee conversation series that'll take place in April, as well as their accessibility workshop and a governance workshop. There are other details that'll be shared and spelled out specifically once this cohort has been selected, and you'll be able to have those dates, already on your calendar.

Alright, I want to get into the application piece, so I'm going to turn it over to my colleague, Allison Bilton, to share a little bit more about the DOE program.

ALLYSON BELTON:
Thank you so much, LaToya, and good afternoon again, everyone.

The DELPH program has made so many great strides over the last six years, beginning with our program inception in fall of 2020. And from those early discussions, ASTHO and SHLI opened the doors to recruit and begin our inaugural cohort in March of 2021, selecting 16 individuals as the pioneering group of DELPH scholars.

So since then, we have worked with five additional dynamic cohorts of mid to senior level governmental public health professionals across multiple states, as Latoya mentioned, and the US territories, graduating over 100 leaders since 2022, including cohort six upcoming graduation this month.

So I ask you all, will that be you in the next year? Now, as potential applicants, we do recognize that you may have questions regarding our program and the expectations of the program. So I want to start by how we are defining mid to senior level career public health professionals.

We do not have a single clear definition for mid-senior level career, but we do have some points that we want you all to hold together as a whole, W-H-O-L-E, when considering your own candidacy.

So for the program, we consider the weight of your combined experience, and that should lean clearly to at least mid-career.

This should be clearly presented in your resume or CV, whichever you submit, or otherwise noted clearly in your letter of support from a current supervisor.

And as we review our application packets, we're looking at individuals whose previous work or current work experiences, excuse me, demonstrate there being a progressive increase in job responsibilities over time.

Having supervised individuals or teams for at least two to four years, with additional weight being considered for those who are supervising and managing others who are supervisors themselves.

We also look at your responsibility in the policymaking space of strategic planning, budgeting, marketing, product development, or anything that leads directly up to or significantly supporting senior leadership in those particular areas.

We also want to see that you have led or are leading or managing innovative projects and working on things that are considered those complex and difficult problems.

And then we also want to see that you have proven results and failures as well from which you have learned. So please, please, please make sure you speak to those elements within your application and your video.

Another question that we receive pretty frequently is, how long is the program? So, to reiterate what was shared in the cohort seven timeline by Latoya, we have designed a 10-month program Featuring a number of activities.

Also, within our program.

Our participants and our alumni actually become de facto program ambassadors, representing the program in the recruitment and retention of future program participants.

Along with remaining engaged as alumni in various programming activities, such as speaking, facilitating various events, mentoring other DELPH participants, and as you see by Keon's appearance here, sharing in his experiences with the program.

Now, with all of those offerings that we bring in the program, how much time do you really need to commit to the program? The monthly time commitment does vary by individual.

Yet, we do anticipate there being at least a 20 h per month commitment by participants to sufficiently and substantially engage in our assignments, cohort engagement activities, learning sessions and coaching.

However, we do want to make clear, you do not need to take a sabbatical from work or any type of extended leave. The only leave that will be required is when you are traveling for our in-person activities. Otherwise, this should not and will not impact your work efforts.

And then finally, will you be required to travel? And simply put, yes, you are.

This program does have in-person networking and educational trips incorporated into our curriculum, and so we are requiring each of our program participants to participate in person and travel.

And this information is also captured on our application page, which will provide additional information for you, as well as updates as needed. So, yes, you are required to travel. No, you will not have to take off time for work.

And we want to see if you are considered an ideal candidate for the program through your mid- to senior-level work experience.

At this time, I'm going to turn over the slides to my colleague, Jamia, to provide an overview of our application.

JAMIA PONDER:
Thanks, Allyson. Hello, everybody. Again, my name is Jamia Ponder, and I'm the manager for Leadership Development Programs. And should you be accepted would be one of the main contacts that you will have throughout the program.

And I'm going to go over now that Allyson has detailed out the ideal applicant, and you have said, that is me. I'm going to tell you how you can apply.

And answer some questions, hopefully, that you might have ahead of time. Hopefully this clears it up. So, first of all, where can you apply? You're gonna go to www.astho.org backslash DELPH.

And you will be able to see the application there. You'll have the apply button. And as a reminder, applications in their entirety are due as in submitted fully where you get the receipt, the confirmation that it has been submitted by July the 31st, which is on a Friday at 11:59 p.m.

And there's a note here that says, due to the high demand and number of applications, late submissions will not be accepted. So please do start your applications early so that you can Work through any kinks you may have. It is a lengthy process, just a little bit lengthy. So just make sure you give yourself ample time to get that in.

What are the application components? So you will need a PDF version of your resume slash CV. And there are some instructions here on how to label those files prior to upload. So you'll want to do last name, comma, first name, and then place Delph resume at the end. It just helps us when we're pulling down the files to be able to aggregate them properly and make sure that yours is inside of your file when the DELPH reviewers go to look at them. Additionally, you will need a letter of support, so again, giving yourself ample time to collect the documents, from a supervisor, a professional leadership journey, someone that can speak to you. And again, you'll wanna label that last name, comma, first name, DELPH, and then letter of support, LOS.

The application components will also include a written response. So there will be three prompt questions that you'll also walk through during your application process. So you'll identify a major challenge your organization is facing.

What is your personal level of influence to address the identified organizational challenge within your current organizations, and why do you want to participate in the DELPH program? What do you hope to gain, and what can others learn from you? As Keon mentioned, he didn't quite see ahead of time what, again, he would give to the program, but also what he would get out of it. So we wanna know your thoughts about that as you're applying for this process and what you understand and know and wanna get out of the program.

Okay, there we go. This year we have included an AI use clause, and we ask that you attest to, and there will be a section on the application process where you will need to attest to whether or not you have utilized AI to assist in your written application process.

There's… in the next slide, there is a portion where you also upload a video component. AI use is prohibited there, but you will self-attest to whether or not you have utilized AI. We are not forbidding it, but ask that, again, you attest to it and use it responsibly. And there's a clause there. I won't read this.

And that the effort of keeping time so that we can have enough time at the end to answer questions, but you are expected to attest whether or not you have utilized AI and to use it responsibly only to amend any type of grammar. It should not be coming up for content or with content for you.

As I mentioned, there is a video essay component, and you're going to record and upload a 3 to 5 minute video to one of the response prompts here.

We have had, like, Google files be uploaded, so, again, please give yourselves enough time to avoid, like, any glitches happening. If you do run into any errors, you can email us, our support inbox is at delph@msm.edu and we'll be happy to help you. But again, do get started ahead of time as there are a couple of components.

Oh, did you need to interject something Latoya? 

SAHADEO:
No, I just heard you go away, but you're back.

Okay.

PONDER:
Thank you. Yes. Asking for some more of that grace for our technical challenges. It's storming really bad by my house. But anyway, I'm here.

And now we have gotten to some frequently asked questions again about the application. So what's involved? The written component, we've got a video component. We're going to need the resume slash CV and that letter of support. And again, that deadline is Friday, July the 31st at 11:59 p.m.

Why do we have to submit a video essay? Good question. Building this cohort is important to the DELPH team, and we want to be able to ensure that you're bringing your whole self to this program. And what we can't get, as Allison mentioned, that we want to look for a whole applicant. What we can't get from written responses can be ascertained through video responses. So we want to get a sense of who you are, and so make sure that your whole self shows up in that video component as well.

We want to get to know the real you. So that's the why.

Why is there an application process? Of course, peer learning is a vital part of any well-designed leadership program, and we want to make sure that you're committed to this process. A lot of time and energy and resources are dedicated to each DELPH applicant, so it is important that we thoroughly review it and ensure that you are the best fit for this program.

And what will you receive at the completion of the program? So each participant is going to receive, a certificate of completion along with the Morehouse School of Medicine, I'm sorry, from ASTHO and the Morehouse School of Medicine, along with the LinkedIn badge that you'll be able to put on your LinkedIn page, showing that you are a graduate of this illustrious program.

And now I will kick it back over to Latoya so that we can open up the floor for questions.

SAHADEO:
Well, we have, I saw a few questions in the chat, and we look forward to hearing all of them from you. So, my teammates are here, if you drop it in the chat, I'll read it through, and I will respond to it. So, we have one that says, with some states and local health departments experiencing funding cuts, if the applicant is ripped 3 months into the cohort, what happens? Great question.

We do look at those on a case-by-case basis, for your particular experience. So just depending on the timing, of you experiencing this funding cut, and or if you are able to, obtain another position within public health.

So all of those determinations are again made case by case. So would I say you immediately cut from the program? No.

But we'll, we'll be looking to some additional things that we can, do for you, as far as pushing you to the next cohort, if that works out best for your family.

Life and your, your professional life, we also, make those different, ascertain based off what you share with us.

I see a question in the chat, and can you show or display the dates for the in-person commitments that are currently known? Yes, we will go back… let's see, Victoria, will you, go back to slide… The orange slide 14.

So as we mentioned, in-person, so you are required not just for in-person, but you are required to attend the orientation session that will be held October the 14th, that is held virtually. And then for any in-person sessions, we still are looking for the finalized dates for the second one and the third one, but the first one is scheduled right now for November the 17th through the 19th.

And the second one right now is scheduled for March of 2027.

The third one will be held, either in June or July of 2027.

Question in the chat, are CDC contractors eligible to apply? CDC contractors are technically federal employees, and they're not eligible to be a part of our program.

A question from the chat, it says, based on the timeline, what during work hour activities are expected for in-person or virtual and in context to manage dedicated time between work hours and a program? What should you expect? So in your application, we designate that you allow for 20 hours to commit to the program. That 20 hours, incorporates your time that you schedule with your executive coach, time that you spend with your accountability partner, and if you have any time, on your calendar for your DELPH partner.

We generally have virtual sessions on a monthly basis that allow for about three hours for programming, and we also mentioned the inter… so we give you a little wiggle time, for that. So, total 20, on average, we would say maybe about 10 hours a month, for virtual sessions, but for our in-person commit… commitments.

Those are intensive sessions, and they're generally all day from 9 to 4.30. We also offer, DELPH field trips, as well as dinners with our scholars so that, if that answers your question.

You see? Alright, I saw another question in the chat.

On average, what's the acceptance rate for this program? Shannon, that's a very good question. On average, we receive about 300 applications, and in the last, cohorts, we take a range in between 16 and 30 scholars per cohort period.

The funding, provided to assist with… yes, all travel costs are, covered… through our organization, so you will book your travel agent company, we book your hotels, all those expenses are covered, and we also provide you with per diem calls for any additional food that's not covered in our day-to-day activities.

Where are the in-person sessions? In-person sessions are flexible. Right now, the first in-person session is scheduled for Arlington, Virginia.

Next question from Mika is, can a reference letter be from a past manager or a professional reference? Yes, your reference letter can be from a past manager or a professional reference. We also ask that you have a conversation with your supervisor, so they're aware of the commitment that you're making to be a part of a leadership program.

They do not have to be a part of, be one of your references, but that is a checkbox that you must sign off and attest to on your application.

What states have you not had scholars in? Oh, you're gonna test my knowledge over here. I don't have that image, and I will share it with the scholars in cohort seven. I'm gonna say, Nebraska, I'm gonna say North Dakota, all the ones a little probably out west, that we haven't had so far.

Okay.

Trying to think of another state that I haven't.

BELTON:
New Mexico.

SAHADEO:
I haven't had Maine. That's another state. Haven't had oh, Rhode Island.

I'm looking over, going through… y'all got me doing my U.S. history test real quick, but we will share that with, our applicants.

Other question, looking at applicant FAQs, we're looking for all the bullet points of some.

So a part of the application, Lisa, if you have an opportunity to review it, when you go into the application file, there is a place for you to click on the actual application so that you can download it and review it prior to actually starting the application. We encourage you to do so that you can read through each of the application components.

And each of them we'll kind of share and expand upon what answers, what questions we're looking for within the cohort experience. So it's, two of the questions lead from the other question, and then as far as your video prompt, it's based solely off of you.

I think we also, a part of that question you asked, have you had formal management positions? So is… So, definition for mid- to senior-level, professional. However, there are some positions that you serve in a capacity that you're, you are managing a particular policy, a position, you, govern a particular, area, so you may not be a supervisor, so to speak. Some people don't supervise, they may just be serving in an advisor, capacity.

But that can be looked at when we review your application.

Let's see.

 Brenda asked the question, what state has most of the cohort members come from? You know, California's a big state. Texas is another big state. We had a lot of cohort members, from those particular states, however, they come from different areas within California.

Let's see.

I have a question from Shamika. Do you give updated status to every applicant that applies for the program? You will receive an acceptance or a denial letter from us, whether or not you've been a part of the program.

What we do not provide is information directly from the reviewers of why you were not selected in a program, and that is honestly due to the number of applicants that we receive.

Alright, I told y'all we're Deaf family, so does anyone want to come off mute? Do you have a question that you may have for us? Last question in the chat. I know it's one of those little sad little moments.

Are CDC Foundation employees eligible to apply? Technically, CDC Foundation, is not designated as a governmental public health organization. They are a non-profit organization that falls, that serves underneath the capacity of our federal organization, the CDC.

So, they are not eligible to apply.

I see a question from Brenda Gray. Go ahead, Brenda So if you were to be able to give.

BRENDA GRAY:
A response to what most cohort members or past members are seeing the most value added to them for participation? What would that be?

SAHADEO:
And I know Dr. Lewis is on the line too.

I will say the peer-to-peer connection that they have had. So, we created an opportunity for them to have their accountability partners and their executive coaches, but they truly, truly do help them move throughout, the program. It's been the most transformational piece of our program.

Allowing them to have someone to bounce ideas off those concepts, as we are managing various conflicts, difficult conversations, how to influence a senior leader, and then truly how you make decisions under pressure. We have a session that we call DELPH Under the Bus that has been pivotal for many of our DELPH scholars in just learning about their own selves within their leadership journey.

GRAY:
Thank you.

SAHADEO:
You're welcome.

Feel free, drop your questions in the chat, I'll get to them, and if not, feel free to come, raise your hand and come off mute.

Any previous federal work history works against applicants? No, not at all.

On the application, it asks for the number of years of governmental public health but also encompass outside traditional public health agencies to include. Yes. So, on the application, it'll ask you the question if you um, one to four years, five to eight years, or something like that.

On your resume, we actually look at your years from your resume, so the information that you shared there.

Team, let me know if I missed any other questions out of the chat.

Question, what are some of the drawbacks? Or difficulties of this program that people have shared.

Life be lifin'. 

LEWIS:
Life be lifin'… you took the words right out of my mouth. 

SAHADEO:
Oh, Keon, would you like to answer that?

LEWIS:
Oh yeah, yeah, absolutely. So, I give you a pivotal example. First, you know, one's health. We, even in my own cohort, we had a cohort of ours who was experiencing some health challenges that prompted her to have to take a step back to make sure that she got the support and the care that she needed. And we were fortunate and blessed enough that she was able to finish with the immediate cohort that came after us. So that was, you know, one of those extreme examples. But you also have dynamics where, you know, you have family or even work dynamics in which people are changing roles. I think somebody mentioned something in the chat where you might lose funding in something, and so that causes you to change in your roles and the capacity of your flexibility to be able to do certain things.

SAHADEO:
Or you may be pregnant with a child.

LEWIS:
Or, you know, your spouse may be pregnant, may be due anytime soon. So you just have these real-life examples and dynamics that take place. And so, you know, you do what you can to adjust accordingly, but really just communicate with the team and communicating with your cohort, you know, what you're experiencing so that you can make those changes and make those updates accordingly. But the biggest thing is just life. Life is gonna life. The program and the structure in itself, it is what it is, and it is very profound, and they have, you know, combed this thing out to a very fine level of specificity, but it's that outside element of lived experiences where it's just so, you know, it's just too unpredictable.

SAHADEO:
All right, thank you so much, Keon, for sharing that. But that's, honestly, that's what I hear more often than not, and as I mentioned before, and I might have said it in the chat. We definitely understand that you all are human and we grant grace and give grace. So if there's an opportunity for you to defer your admission in this particular cohort once accepted and move to the next cohort, we are open to that conversation because we definitely understand when things happen in life and you have to make some quick changes. I see a question, a hand up from Shannyn. 

SHANNYN DRUMMOND:
So given that each participant is hand selected, each cohort is going to have its own unique signature. Is there like a particular direction or a vibe that like each cohort has and you're hoping this one has a certain direction?

SAHADEO:
Oh, look at them. They shaking their head over here. Every cohort has their own little special mix. And I'll say it all the time.

Like, okay, cohort one is similar to cohort five, or six and, you know, three is similar, or something like that, but honestly, they are uniquely their own kind of groove and mix. So, our reviewers, we have over 20 reviewers that review our applications.

And our review process is so in-depth that we look at so many elements of the applicant. So we're looking at your resume, we're looking at, your letter of support, we're looking at.

Your video, how that cohesion, we look at the areas that you all represent, we look at the, your disciplines that you all have, and we truly are looking to have that, that full mesh.

A part of the program, we talked about that peer-to-peer network, so we're looking for people that, are on the senior level, on the mid-level, even some early career, to make a good mesh for this, program, because we truly see that's where the growth happens. So everyone can't come in and just think, I'm the leader and I know everything.

Truly where the growth happened is where we have the mixture of everyone within this cohort experience.

Alright, I see a question, and I want to make sure I saw something in the question and answer box. So, it said, those working in public health and health promotion and higher education space, are they qualified to apply? Yes, yes, and yes.

I… my background is in public health education, maternal child health, so definitely, all areas within public health, is… are allowed to apply.

Do applicants currently need to be currently employed? And can those who were in a leadership position that was rifted apply?

That is a very good question. So… currently, the way that our funding is applied to us, we are, creating leadership programs to have a pathway for those to be in the C-suite. So you technically, you have to be currently employed.

But there is a smart sheet that we will drop the link in the chat for you all to, provide your information for us to share information throughout our cohort experience, because there are opportunities for those that are not in the cohort to experience part of our leadership programs, and I'll share one that's coming up soon, with you all in just a moment.

I saw one question in the chat I might have missed. It says, if we have a scheduling conflict with one of the virtual dates, but we notify you in advance, do you work, what do you have to do for that session, and will it be okay? Yes, once you're a part of this cohort experience, you'll definitely understand, the ebbs and flows of it. And I probably said it just a minute ago, life be lifin'. Things happen. Doctors appointments, you may have a conflicting, meeting on your schedule, that you have to be at. Our scholars have had to step out for various, board meetings, have had to do all kinds of different things. So, we definitely understand that. All of our sessions are recorded. We do ask you that, for you to review the recording prior to the next session, because everything is connected to one another. So, we do ask you to do so, as well as complete your inter-session assignments, on time.

Let's see. 

Yes, so in line with that particular question about conflicts with in-person meetings, in-person meetings are a little different.

We do request and require you all to attend our in-person meetings, if at all costs, even if you have to flex, if you can't make it on the date on day one, or if you need to leave a little early, we can make some accommodations. The information is shared in the in-person, intensive sessions.

You will not have opportunity to get those again. Those sessions are not recorded just based off of where they're located and how those sessions are conducted. And many of the in-person sessions have hands-on experiences that you will not be able to repeat in a virtual capacity.

Lisa, great question. So, for video submissions, are you looking for polished presentations or authentic conversations? We're looking for a little bit of both. We've had scholars, share with us some very creative videos that incorporated some previous presentations they've done in the past we've had scholars to create presentations where they're just answering the question they're in their office they're having a conversation we even had one scholar I think she was still in her Halloween attire but it was based off when she presented her video so we had it all so we definitely I appreciate you all being authentic and being able to answer the questions succinctly, as well as sharing just a little bit about who you are in those conversations. What type of leader are you? We have about two minutes left, and I want to leave some space, to share one additional opportunity. I see a question from Carin. Go ahead.

CARIN WATTS:
Yeah, cool question for you. I'm sure I know the answer to this, but that time flies when you're trying to make that video, right? And I'm trying to be authentic at the same time of making sure you're checking off the boxes that you've answered all of those questions. What happens if we're… I'm not talking minutes over the time, but what happens if, you know, we're 10, 15, 20 seconds over that time limit? Is it just gonna cut it off when we submit it? I'm just curious. I'm trying to get into the time, but again, some… the last time I submitted, I was just slightly over, and I'm not really sure if the last end of my presentation was seen, my video.

SAHADEO:
Well, I'm going to make an agreement with you and I'm looking at the various reviewers that are on the call today. We will not count you off for any couple minutes, a couple seconds over and recording your video. I know many of you all, when you're recording your video, you generally repeat the prompt, which is great to do. So that takes off a couple seconds off of your time. And then you're also trying to make sure, you know, even in your head, did I answer everything correctly? So, definitely we will not count against you for being over a few minutes on that time.

One of the things that's probably more critical, Carin, than anything else is that you all submit all pieces of your application. We get incomplete applications every year and from some amazing applicants. And I'm like, what do we do? So either if, make sure that you upload the correct, letter of support, make sure that you upload your resume or CV, and make sure you have that link for your video link, and I think we shared it in our FAQs, make sure it is on a site that you've given us, either shared the password with us, and or, you haven't mistakenly deleted it from your, YouTube page.

We've had those instances happen, in several years, and it kinda… it reduces your scoring, for your application period. So, we don't want you to go from a 100 score and drop down to an 80, because we're missing one component of your application.

All right. I promised y'all we was gonna leave on time, but I do have one quick update. So we are offering a Power of Leadership Virtual Micro-Conference that will be held Wednesday and Thursday, June 22nd and June 23rd.

Those… it is a micro-conference, because it's half days on both of those days, but it also incorporates our DELPH Scholars graduation on day two.

So we hope that you all can join us. We just dropped the link there. But it's, specifically so that, entitled, Leading with Intent, Focus, Clarity, and Direction. So we have some great presenters that's gonna share some information about, how to lead with intent, how to make your next power move, and we have a great panel discussion to share with you all. So…

GRAY:
Is it July or June? 

SAHADEO:
July. I do apologize. That is a typo. So, look, I halfway want to cover it up on the screen. It is July 22nd, 23rd. So, coming up in a couple weeks.

Alright, the correct information is on the website in the link, so make sure you have those. But thank you all so much for joining us today. If you have any questions, feel free to reach out to us.

On our website, you have our leadershipdevelopment@astho.org inbox, but you also have our delph@msm.edu inbox to share any additional questions that you may have for us.

Thank you so much for joining us and I hope you have a great afternoon.