The field of prevention, to a large extent, depends on the practitioner's ability to motivate people to take action, and maintain momentum in their neighborhoods. This training offers attendees the opportunity to learn about the ten (10) essential stages of community mobilization. One full day of training will address the knowledge, skills and attitudes that are essential for the successful community organizer. Six weeks later, a ½ day follow-up session will focus on lessons from application of the first day's learning. Participants will be expected to present and discuss challenges and potential obstacles to mobilizing the community for prevention. Some proposed problems include: lack of social cohesion; isolation and stigmatization of families; and inadequate, community-wide resources for prevention and recovery. What first steps can and should we take to address these? Problem posing, structured learning activities, and facilitated discussion are the training methodologies.

Lee Bruder, CPS, is a professional consultant providing leadership development services to executive directors and boards of directors. He has over 17 years professional experience in leadership, community collaboration, administration, employee education, motivation and management. For over 15 years Lee has served on numerous non-profit boards. In addition to providing professional coaching and organization development services, Lee is the Executive Director of Creating Positive Change, a prevention collaborative dedicated to increasing the likelihood that individuals will make healthy choices for themselves and their families.

Rufus Chaffee has worked in systems throughout his career, most of them dedicated to substance abuse prevention. Starting as one of Vermont's original Regional Drug Education Coordinators, he became the Chief of Prevention and the founding director of Vermont's Addiction Education Center. He has developed programming for Massachusetts Governor's Alliance Against Drugs, founded the Prevention Network in Lawrence, Massachusetts, one of the Department of Public Health's Prevention Centers, and since 1999, helped revamp the prevention service delivery system throughout the State of New Hampshire. Rufus' overall focus is the total delivery system - workforce development, funding and resource mobilization, marketing and education, and leadership. His approach to leadership development incorporates vision, strategic planning, policy development, and quality standards.