Natalie Samarjian

Coro Southern California

The Coro Southern California for Civic Leadership trains ethical, diverse civic leaders nationwide. Coro leaders develop skills; master tools needed to engage and empower communities; gain experience in government, business, labor and not-for-profit community organizations; and participate in special community and political problem solving processes. Most of today's serious problems are too complicated to be solved within a single organizational entity. Significant "systems" problems such as health care, transportation, urban security, or environmental degradation can often only be successfully addressed working with many key stakeholders across sectors, identifying and negotiating around individual and organizational interests in pursuit of the public interest. Coro specializes in developing and deepening individuals' skills and capabilities to lead in this kind of complex problem-solving process. Coro contributes a group of trained individuals whose personal skills and civic involvement promote broader civic engagement and expand the social capital of the community. By developing a network of local and regional organizations willing to create internship and project opportunities for program participants, Coro creates a safe space in which diverse organizations and leaders enter into dialogue with program participants and with each other.