The Washington Collaborative Elected Leaders Institute (WA-CELI) is an innovative program that equips local elected leaders with collaborative leadership skills. Launched in 2024 in partnership with the William D. Ruckelshaus Center, WA-CELI equips local elected officials in Washington state with the skills to tackle real-world challenges collaboratively.

A nonpartisan, evidence-based leadership development program, WA-CELI reframes elected officials as public servants. Drawing on group process and social-psychology methods, it provides practical tools for collaborative governance, dialogue facilitation, consensus-building, and community engagement—while fostering a supportive, cross-partisan peer network.

By equipping local leaders with the skills and mindset to bridge divides, the project strengthens democratic leadership and trust at the community level—where collaboration and effective governance matter most.

Together, these first two cohorts brought together 66 diverse city leaders—mayors and councilmembers—from across Washington State. Building on the success of these inaugural cohorts, the Evans School and Ruckelshaus Center are positioned to expand WA-CELI. In 2026, we will launch a five-year expansion to build our capacity to extend WA-CELI to new cohorts in Washington and to begin our replication in other states.