The Emerging Leader Program (ELP) is an opportunity for laboratory professionals to strengthen leadership skills, foster team building and cultivate vibrant social and professional networks. Together, we tackle the ever-evolving challenges and opportunities within public health laboratories.
Empower Your Leadership Journey—Unleash Potential, Create Impact and Drive Change
Every year, ELP brings together a group of laboratory professionals from state, local, environmental and agricultural laboratories who are brimming with leadership potential and exceptional qualities.
Throughout the journey, ELP participants immerse themselves in a dynamic program that offers unique training opportunities to hone leadership skills and strengthen proficiency in a wide range of essential competencies, including a collaborative project addressing a pressing workforce issue. Together, we tackle the ever-evolving challenges and opportunities within public health laboratories—while embracing strengths, unlocking hidden potential and thriving on constructive feedback.
Upon completing the program, participants automatically join the Emerging Leader Alumni Network (ELAN) so they can continue to connect with past cohorts, ensuring the ongoing impact of ELP and fostering relationships across regions to expand their network.
The following are leadership-specific competencies
that are likely to be addressed during ELP, though exact curriculum will vary
by cohort:
Skills necessary to advance into managerial and supervisory roles
Mastery of delegation and task management
Strengthened motivation, teamwork, and collaboration skills
Effective mentoring and coaching techniques
Heightened emotional intelligence for effective leadership
Improved relations and advocacy skills with key individuals
Advanced proficiency in conflict resolution and problem-solving strategies
Refined strategic thinking to navigate complex challenges
Expertise in change management methodologies
Refined communication skills for impactful leadership
Proficient resource management techniques
And an extensive range of additional skills vital for successful leadership
Program Pathways
ELP offers two pathways to provide tailored opportunities for growth based on your career stage and experience:
ELP for Upcoming Leaders
Designed for early to mid-career professionals ready to build foundational skills, expand their leadership toolkit and take on new challenges. Offered in both hybrid and virtual formats.
Becoming an "emerging leader" isn't bound by age or job grade. You might already be one without realizing it, potentially overlooking opportunities to fully realize your leadership potential.
If you embrace qualities such as the pursuit of knowledge and growth, the ability to influence and unite others, a drive to create impact and transformative change, a visionary outlook for a better tomorrow, and a desire to empower both yourself and others through effective leadership, this program could be a great fit for you.
To ignite your journey with ELP, take charge and start a conversation with your laboratory director to explore the nomination process!
Application Information
Applications are open!
Applications for the Emerging Leader Program for Upcoming Leaders are open and will close May 17.
Visit the ELP for Upcoming Leaders page for more information about eligibility criteria and application requirements.
The ELP goes beyond theory by providing an opportunity for participants to complete projects that have a positive impact on their laboratories or the broader public health laboratory community.
ELP graduates are automatically welcomed into ELAN, which includes quarterly calls, engaging webinars, virtual activities, coaching opportunities, in-person educational and networking events, and an active ColLABorate Community—an online forum offering opportunities to engage in discussions with peers and share resources. You’ll be able to connect with fellow trailblazers from past cohorts, ensuring the ELP legacy lives on strong.
The training I've received has launched my career and made me a better leader. I'm able to take the skills I've learned and apply them. My career would have been different had I not participated.”
what alumni say:
The ELP provided me with not only a series of tools to enhance my management skills that were invaluable for my career advancement but also with a network to allow for enhancements and improvements within my laboratory."
what alumni say:
The biggest benefit of the ELP was the networking. Not only do you network with your fellow cohort members, but you become part of a larger community and you're provided the training that builds your leadership abilities."
what alumni say:
When you get a PhD, they don't teach you how to manage things. There is not a program out there to train someone at the bench level and give them the skills and knowledge base they need to become a laboratory director. The ELP is filling this gap."
HIGHLIGHTS
Emerging Leader Programs in Action
A group photo of ELP C19 (Hybrid Modality) members attending an in-person ELP session in Atlanta, GA.
A group photo of ELP C19 (Virtual Modality) members during their virtual orientation session.
ELP Cohort 19 (Hybrid Modality) members attend a lab tour at the San Antonio Metro Health Laboratory in San Antonio, Texas.
ELP Cohort 18 members gather for a group photo during the Member Experience Booth at APHL 2025 Annual Conference.
ELP Cohort 19 (Hybrid Modality) members work together preparing to lead an effective meeting example for their cohort.
Emerging Leader Program Cohort 18 gathered in Seattle, WA.
ELP Cohort 19 (Hybrid Modality) members collaborate on an information-gathering, brainstorming, and prioritizing activity during their in-person session.
ELP Cohort 18 members gather for a session in Bethesda, MD (APHL HQ).
ELP Cohort 17 members gather for a group photo after their roundtable session at APHL 2024 Annual Conference.
Emerging Leader Program Cohort 16 members gather for a group photo at the APHL 2023 Annual Conference.
Emerging Leader Program Cohort 16 gather at the Tennessee Public Health Laboratory.
ELP Cohort 19 (Hybrid Modality) members collaborate on a leadership-versus-management Venn diagram activity during their in-person session.
A group photo of ELP C19 (Hybrid Modality) members attending an in-person ELP session in San Antonio, Texas.
A group photo of ELP C17 members attending an in-person ELP session in Phoenix, AZ.
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