2024 Grassroots Leadership Conference Aims to Help Leaders Reimagine Their Communities

EAST GREENSBORO, N.C. (Oct. 29, 2024) – Community leaders and volunteers from across North Carolina will come together Thursday, Nov. 21, in Raleigh for the annual Grassroots Leadership Conference (GLC), a one-day event to discuss local issues and develop strategies for positive change.

The 2024 GLC will run from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the Raleigh Marriott Crabtree Valley, 4500 Marriott Drive. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. The GLC is free and open to the public; however, advance registration has been extended to Tuesday, Nov. 12. Participants can register at https://www.itzy.io/gr2024.

With the theme Reimaging Community: Embracing Change and Exploring New Opportunities for a Path Forward, this year’s conference focuses how navigate in a constantly changing world and find opportunities for grassroots leadership that addresses community needs and enables social and economic empowerment. Each year, the conference brings together elected and civic leaders, volunteers, Extension professionals and audiences, farmers and business owners to brainstorm on grassroots community development ideas. This is the second year the conference has been held in an urban area (last year the conference was in Charlotte), showing that grassroots leadership is important in urban as well as rural neighborhoods.

“Whether an urban or rural community, many areas of North Carolina struggle with the same kinds of issues:  food insecurity, economic opportunity and chronic health concerns,” said Michelle Eley, Ph.D., community and economic development specialist with Cooperative Extension at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. “Our goal is to empower people who haven’t been at the decision-making table, help them think about the issues important to them, and then, connect them to resources that can promote their community’s social, economic and physical well-welfare.”

According N.C. Office of State Budget and Management, North Carolina will be the seventh most populous state in the nation by 2030, Eley said. By the end of the next decade, the population will be more diverse, have more than quarter people older than 65, and will live in more urban or suburban communities. 

Speakers at this year’s conference will discuss artificial intelligence and other technology mediums; supporting small businesses and homegrown entrepreneurs; and building a more diverse and inclusive workforce, among other topics. The conference also offers participants the chance to learn from each other, share experiences as grassroots leaders and make new connections.

“A lot of things happen at the grassroots level, even in our big cities like Raleigh and Charlotte,” said Eley. “It’s not just people with power doing economic development and community empowerment. With the GLC, we look at ways that communities can create their own solutions to address their needs and empower diverse voices.”

For more information, call Eley or Zamaria Williams at 336-334-7956.