Community Leaders Network
The Community Leaders Network (CLN) is OgdenCAN’s flagship program, launched in 2021 to train and support residents of Ogden’s East Central Neighborhood as community leaders and changemakers.
Purpose
The CLN is a paid, seven-month fellowship that helps residents build leadership skills and experience in civic engagement, community organizing, and collaboration with neighbors, community partners, and local government. Fellows learn through both classroom-style sessions and hands-on community projects that apply the principles of Asset-Based Community Development, Design Thinking, and Collective Impact.
We believe the East Central neighborhood’s greatest strength lies in its people. The CLN invests in residents’ capacity to lead, strengthening neighborhood networks, community trust, and long-term civic participation.
Program Approach
Fellows participate in a structured curriculum covering leadership development, community organizing, civic engagement, and public advocacy. Each fellow designs and implements a community organizing project that supports one or more of OgdenCAN’s Five Pillars of Community Health; Community Connection, Healthy Lifestyles, Safe and Strong Neighborhoods, Vibrant Economy, and Lifelong Learning. These projects build neighborhood capacity and demonstrate the power of resident-led solutions.
In addition to individual projects, each cohort completes a community group project. These projects are real-world, applied learning experiences that connect fellows with local assets and organizations. Group projects have included collaborations with Oasis Community Garden, the Browning Design Lab, and the Ogden-Weber Community Action Partnership on housing education and neighborhood engagement.
Group Project Highlights
Cohort 1 (2021–2022): Fellows launched projects on climate solutions, literacy, renter-landlord relations, neighborhood improvement, and park engagement.
Cohort 2 (2022–2023): In collaboration with Oasis Community Garden, fellows focused on social capital and hands-on engagement, including community composting, neighborhood walkability, literacy initiatives, and neighborhood art walks.
Cohort 3 (2023–2024): The group project focused on housing education and resource access, developed in partnership with OWCAP.
Cohort 4 (2024 - 2025): In partnership with the Browning Design Lab, fellows focused on activating the newly built but underutilized Dumke Arts Plaza in East Central. Through art markets, open-mic events, art classes, and community activities, fellows engaged neighbors directly in shaping and using the space, strengthening social connection, fostering creativity, and building community pride of public space.
Cohort 5 (current): This years group project is in partnership with 1st Presbyterian Church of Ogden to support a community-driven master planning process that envisions the church facility as a community center. OgdenCAN will ensure neighborhood voices are part of the process while providing Community Leaders Network (CLN) fellows with hands-on experience in community engagement and development.
Community Breakfasts: Building Belonging and Connection
What began as a single event for service providers quickly evolved into one of OgdenCAN’s most beloved neighborhood traditions. Monthly Community Breakfasts now serve as open, welcoming spaces where residents, fellows, and community partners come together over food and conversation.
Each breakfast focuses on a neighborhood theme such as literacy, gardening, neighborhood heroes, and health and creates opportunities for connection, idea-sharing, and collaboration. Attendance has steadily grown, with neighbors lingering afterward to plan projects, exchange ideas, and strengthen relationships. The breakfasts have become a cornerstone of OgdenCAN’s place-based approach to building trust, belonging, and collective action.
Ongoing Community Engagement
CLN fellows continue to collaborate with OgdenCAN, Weber State, and neighborhood partners long after completing the fellowship leading community events, mentoring new fellows, and serving as trusted voices in local conversations about the health and wellbeing of their community.