With today’s orientation session, HeartShare kicked off its Management Training Program (MTP), an internal education initiative that equips promising employees with the skills needed to manage the agency’s diverse community programs in over 100 locations throughout Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island.

Pioneered by evaluation expert Stan Capela, the program has been recognized by the Council on Accreditation (COA). The model not only empowers agency employees to grow and supports the organization’s “promotion from within” ethos, but actively fosters succession planning for future leadership.

Each graduating cohort presents projects tackling managerial problems to the agency’s Executive Committee, which comprises HeartShare’s top leadership. “You are the future of this organization,” said Capela at the orientation. “We use your insights and expertise to make HeartShare even better.”

HeartShare Training Coordinator Kelly Nagy, who is an early MTP graduate and now a member of the program’s organizing committee, explained the benefits of the program. “We frequently pull out our binders from when we were in MTP. It was a time when we were thinking hard about solving real problems and what we learned is still relevant today,” she explained.

“It’s also a great opportunity to network across the organization,” noted Capela. HeartShare and its Family of Services now has over 2,400 employees who don’t often have the opportunity to share best practices with one another. The sixth MTP cohort includes about 30 employees with varying roles from foster care placement to direct care for special needs individuals.

MTP students also have the opportunity to connect with an assigned coach, who can offer support and guidance throughout the process. The program has nearly 20 training sessions in three areas, including Supervision & Management, Communications Skills and Leadership.

The training sessions culminate in the final project and a $500 bonus for the graduates.