The Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity
We believe leadership is not necessarily a title or a position but a set of capabilities, principles, and mindsets — ones every young person can develop, at home, at school, at work, and in their community.
The Center for Expanding Leadership & Opportunity (CELO) is the largest and most comprehensive platform for measuring how young and emerging leaders develop not only the knowledge, skills, confidence, and motivation to succeed, but also the integrity and judgment to use their abilities for the good of society. We partner with educational institutions and systems, nonprofits, and foundations to provide the evidence base that measures and accelerates impact. Emerging from nearly two decades of groundbreaking research and incubated at The Aspen Institute, CELO bridges the gap between academia and practice to accelerate youth development and deliver on the promise of greater impact.
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The quality of existing research, training tools, and programs exacerbate social inequality. Research confirms that developmental experiences such as leadership education, secondary education, post-secondary education, STEM education, and community service are powerful interventions – building skills, socio-emotional competencies, and mindsets that empower youth to access opportunities and drive change for themselves and their communities.
CELO is anchored in a unique approach to human development and system change that operates at four levels simultaneously ensuring local youth and stakeholders are positioned to develop, own, and drive impact. At the core of the CELO strategy is the creation and cultivation of opportunity ecosystems designed to engage, support, and resource communities of practice committed to youth development.
Learn more about our work here.
