What this is
A county team, a real project, and the skills to make change in your community.
People Ready Communities brings together about 15 people from each county, from every corner and every walk of life, and gives them 10 months to learn leadership by practicing it. You'll meet in your own community, choose a need or opportunity close to home, and work it start to finish with funds and coaches at your side.
This is the third round of the program. Past teams have built a youth career awareness program, designed an art park, created murals, and brought people together. Yours will too.
"What is the quality of life here for me and my family?"
That is the question at the center of the work. It is what a young person asks before deciding to stay, what a family asks before moving in, and what a business asks before opening its doors.
Communities that can answer it well are ready for people. County teams dig into what shapes the answer where they live and pick a project to make it better.
Together, you can create a People Ready Community.
What shapes quality of life here:
- Recreation and the outdoors
- Broadband and connectivity
- Buildings, roads, and water
- Places and events where neighbors cross paths
- Healthcare
- Housing
- Arts and culture
- Schools and education
- The people in your community
What's Included?
- Meals and snacks provided at the Kick Off gathering in Berea.
- Hotel in Berea for the kickoff and the Leadership Gathering
- Help getting to and from Berea (needs-based support, carpooling)
- $5,000 for your team's project- a financial investment in your community
Bring a buddy.
Ask a friend, coworker, or neighbor to apply with you. Good work gets easier with company, and so does showing up. Tell us on the application who else should apply in your community. Share the application with them too!
What you will learn
Six things People Ready leaders do.
These are the leadership competencies the whole program is built around. You will practice every one of them on your own project, and you will see yourself (and your team) grow in each.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
See the whole picture behind community challenges.
Leaders are... curious about why problems exist, not just what's on the surface. They listen to their community, look at what the facts are telling them, and work toward solutions that benefit everyone, not just the folks already at the table.
Leading from Who You Are
Know yourself and lead with intention.
Leaders... know who they are and stay steady when things get difficult, handling challenges with care and seeking ways to grow. They listen, knowing when to lead or when to ask for help. They see themselves as an instrument for change.
Cocreate through Relationships
Build relationships that make collaboration possible.
Leaders... help people find common ground and move toward shared goals. They bring people together across differences, making room for every voice. They show up for people consistently, building the kind of trust that holds even when things get complicated.
Making Sense of Complex Challenges
Help groups make sense of complex challenges.
Leaders... lead with curiosity, asking thoughtful questions and drawing on the different experiences and perspectives around them. They help groups move past the surface to identify and understand root causes, laying a shared foundation for what comes next.
Working Together Toward Change: From Talk to Action
Bring people and resources together to move from talk to action.
Leaders... facilitate conversations that turn shared goals into shared work, building accountability and aligning efforts so results are real and measurable. They don't just ask what's working. They ask whether the work is actually making a difference
Keeping the Work Going
Build the capacity to sustain impact.
Leaders... think in systems and beyond the moment, adapting as they learn and lifting up new leaders along the way. They share knowledge, celebrate and support the people around them, and build a foundation with roots deep enough to last.
County Focus Areas
Four counties, four starting points.
Each county named a focus area going in.
Your team decides what the project actually is.
Clinton County:
Youth leadership
Youth Leadership for Civic and Economic Succession
Growing the next generation of leaders so the county's civic life and workforce have a future.
Jackson County:
Youth pathways
Youth Leadership for Workforce and Civic Readiness
Opening doors for young people into local work and civic life, with youth-led projects along the way.
Menifee County:
Downtown and tourism
Downtown Revitalization and Tourism
Bringing life back to Main Street as a draw for visitors and a home for small businesses.
Wolfe County
Outdoor tourism
Environmental and Adventure Tourism
Strengthening tourism around the Red River Gorge in ways that work for businesses, the land, and neighbors alike.
Who it's for
Anyone 15 and up who lives in one of the four counties.
Students, retirees, business owners, neighbors, first-time leaders and longtime ones. No experience needed, just the itch to make things better where you live.
The best teams mix people who don't usually sit at the same table. If you are already doing leadership without the title, this is for you. If you have never thought of yourself as a leader, it is for you too.
What the next 10 months looks like:
Six sessions in your community, two trips to Berea, one project.
By January 8, 2027
Apply
A short online application. It takes about 15 minutes. You'll hear back from us within a week of receiving your application.
February 2 and 3, 2027
Kickoff at Berea College
Two days, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Meet the other three counties, learn the People Ready Communities framework, and start sorting out what your county team wants to work on. Meals are covered, and so is a hotel room the night of the 2nd.
February to October 2027
Six sessions in your county
90 minutes to 2 hours each. Your team picks the dates and the place. Brushy Fork facilitators come to you. Each session builds a skill and puts it straight to work on your project.
Each team has $5,000 to plan and carry out a project tied to what your county needs most. You make the decisions, manage the money, and do the work, with coaching along the way.
Midway through
Learning exchange
Teams have the opportunity to see and hear about the other county project in progress, trade ideas, and borrow what works.
September 15 and 16, 2027
Brushy Fork Leadership Gathering in Berea
Full scholarship, meals and hotel included. Your team shares what you built and co-leads a session for leaders from across the region.
October 2027
Your final session