In 2013, the Virginia Cooperative Extension’s Leadership, Volunteerism, and Civic Engagement program team identified the need for (1) prepared leaders, (2) more representative civic engagement, and (3) increased capacity to foster volunteerism. Simultaneously, conversations began regarding a need to further develop leadership training and experiences for 4-H and FFA teens that would help them become active and engaged community members.

A survey by the Center for Public Leadership suggests that despite some Americans’ belief that “our leaders are effective and do a good job,” 69 percent of Americans believe there is a leadership crisis (Rosenthal 2012, p. 1). Extension is well-positioned to address this need for leader development due to our role in developing and delivering leadership programs that serve youth, college-aged students, and adults. Even still, practitioners are desperately trying to respond to this crisis with deliberate and appropriately planned leadership development programming (Murphy and Johnson 2011).