Thank you for your interest in becoming a LJIST Apprentice! We hope the information provided on this page will answer your questions about this program. If you have additional questions after reviewing the tabs below, please reach out to Melissa Miller, LJIST Director of Operations, by clicking here.
The LJIST Apprentice Program is the first step in the journey of becoming a LJIST Associate.* Being a LJIST Apprentice provides an opportunity for you to deeply engage with LJIST’s core theory and practices as well as the LJIST team and resources by:
- Participating in LJIST's signature programs
- Coaching with LJIST Founder & President, Nanci Luna Jiménez
- Being part of select LJIST Internal Team Meetings
- Completing special Apprentice development opportunities
- Gaining access to "LJIST Fireside Chat" Recordings with Nanci Luna Jiménez, Lillian Roybal Rose, and other LJIST Community Members
*A LJIST Associate is an Independent Contract who is hired to co-lead virtual and in-person workshops, facilitated sessions, and other client deliveries on behalf of LJIST. Associates also contribute to LJIST's organizational development and strategic plan activities as reciprocity for their continued development and training in LJIST's proprietary teaching and materials.
The LJIST Apprentice Program is first and foremost a commitment to your understanding of and healing from the impacts of institutional oppression (in all its forms) on you personally. While you won’t be licensed or authorized to lead our trainings at the end of this program, you will:
- Have a strong grounding in LJIST values and methods around personal and racial healing, leadership development, and group process facilitation
- Get support to do the transformational personal healing work we ask all of our participants to do
- After attending any virtual LJIST learning and healing session at the full registration price (either as an individual or through your organization), you will be able to attend repeat offerings for free! At times, you may also get "behind the scenes" access to our programs by joining our delivery team
- Be prioritized for Nanci's limited (up to 6 per year) coaching spaces
This program is structured in an intentional way to set you up to be successful as a LJIST Associate, should you continue on that path. However, you will experience the benefits of this work regardless of that decision. Primarily, this is an invitation to transform your life!
Anyone can apply for LJIST Apprenticeship, though completing the Transforming Relationships Program* including Just Listening I is a pre-requisite.
*Formerly known as Transformational Communication Program. If you were are accepted into the Apprentice Program during COVID-19 and have not yet completed the TRP, you will be expected to complete it twice during Phase I of your apprenticeship. If you completed a shorter version of our Transformational Communication Workshop and/or have not participated in our Just Listening I Program in the past, we will ask you to participate in the full program, in its current iteration. It is appropriate to attend as many times as makes sense. Twice is a minimum.
Being a LJIST Apprentice is a two-phase journey that will take no less than two-years. We think it is important that you not feel pressure to complete this program in two years. You can move at the pace that works for you.
Some of you will want to move really fast: our role might be to slow you down. Some of you may move more slowly: our role might be to gently nudge you along the path. Please be aware that no two Apprentice journeys are going to look the same. Your journey is just right for you.
PHASE I:
- Complete the Transforming Relationships Program a second time.* ($2,597 - $2,997)
- Complete Year 1 of the Transforming Relationships Coaching Program with a Listening Partner (another apprentice or someone else).** ($10,597)
- Attend at least two public Virtual Workshops per year. See our Calendar for upcoming offerings. ($497 | Repeat Offerings are Free)
- Attend at least six Healing Together Gatherings per year. See our Calendar for upcoming offerings. (Gift)
- Join the LJIST Community Membership Program and remain a member throughout your apprentice journey ($1,997 annually)
- Have at least one regular Listening Partner and meet weekly completing 30 minutes each (may be your Coaching Partner or someone else if not yet in TR Coaching Program).
- Stay connect with LJSIT through newsletter, social media, public events, etc.
PHASE II:
- Complete the Transforming Leadership Program. ($2,597 - $2,997)
- Complete Year 2 of the Transforming Relationships Coaching Program with a Listening Partner (another apprentice or someone else).** ($10,597)
- Join a LJIST Apprentice Cohort "Cluster" with monthly development meetings led by LJIST Associates. (Gift)
- Host a LJIST Virtual Workshop for your organization or community. (Contracted with Host Organization Directly - Standard Fee is $12,500)
- Complete the Institute for Cultural Affairs (ICA) Technology of Participation (ToP) Facilitation Methods (TFM) course. ($350-$900)
- Complete the Getting Listened To Certification Program (if you are exploring LJIST Associateship) (Fee TBA)
- Integrate into the LJIST organization by supporting virtual deliveries, attending development retreats, participating in Fireside Chats, etc.)
- Attend at least two public Virtual Workshops per year. See our Calendar for upcoming offerings. ($497 | Repeat Offerings are Free)
- Attend at least six Healing Together Gatherings per year. See our Calendar for upcoming offerings. (Gift)
- Have at least one regular Listening Partner and meet weekly completing 30 minutes each (may be your Coaching Partner or someone else if not yet in TR Coaching Program).
- Stay connect with LJSIT through newsletter, social media, public events, etc.
*Formerly known as Transformational Communication Program. If you were are accepted into the Apprentice Program during COVID-19 and have not yet completed the TRP, you will be expected to complete it twice during Phase I of your apprenticeship. If you completed a shorter version of our Transformational Communication Workshop and/or have not participated in our Just Listening I Program in the past, we will ask you to participate in the full program, in its current iteration. It is appropriate to attend as many times as makes sense. Twice is a minimum.
**The TRP is a pre-requisite for the TR Coaching Program. Apprentices who join the program during the COVID-19 pandemic are eligible to complete the Transforming Relationships Coaching Program after completing the Stopping Cycle of Oppression virtual workshop.
The total cost to complete the required LJIST programs and ICA training is approximately $30,000 (before additional training opportunities) over the two- (or more) year journey.
We realize this is a substantial investment—both financial and time-wise—to participate in this program. We understand that some will have access to professional development funds and others will not. We are flexible and will work with you to design a compensation agreement that works for both of us.
Some options might include crediting fees for LJIST development trainings against future income (if you become an Associate) or creating a payment plan or extending your Apprentice journey to give more time to pay. LJIST Apprentices also eligible to apply for scholarship funds and receive 20% off registration as a LJIST Community Member. Our goal is to make this experience accessible, so please talk with us.
We don’t want anyone to decide to not become an Apprentice because of financial barriers. We do ask you to keep in mind that we are a small business and we expect to be compensated for our time and expertise. We have designed this program as a way to share this journey, learning, and practices with more people in a way that is sustainable for us and rewarding for the Apprentice.
The Apprenticeship Program allows us to mutually explore the possibility of you joining the LJIST Team as an Associate, though this is not necessarily expected nor guaranteed. At the completion of the Apprentice Program, you may decide not to continue a formal relationship with LJIST (though, you'll always have a personal one!).
Because so much of what LJIST does for our community and clients requires all of us to do our own personal healing (our “work”), the path of transitioning from an Apprentice to an Associate and then along the Associate path will be determined by three things:
1. Your capacity to demonstrate your competency to deliver the material in a way that aligns with LJIST values and teachings. During Year 2 of your apprentice journey, you will join a “Cluster Team.” This “Cluster” will play a few roles including providing a structured space to learn about the thinking that goes into designing and delivering LJIST deliveries. This aspect of the Apprentice journey will be focused on understanding the “why” or our intentions in working with our clients—and the work we commit to do as a LJIST team member to prepare ourselves. At some point, there may also be opportunities to assist at LJIST workshops and events. We cannot guarantee how many workshops we will have available in any given time period.
2. The ability for you to take on and heal core patterns that currently feel ingrained, connected to your survival, and maybe even feel like your personality. This journey will ask you to come to a place where the LJIST Transformational Healing theory is not just a framework we teach in workshops, but one through which you view and live your life. You are totally empowered to take on this work and move your life in deep and profound ways.
3. The make-up of our team. You might be completely ready to move ahead, but we may not be able to advance you because we don’t have a group that is diverse and representative of our values and our community. Since we will work with Apprentices in Cohorts, we will consider your journey along with your peers and how thoughtfully we can recruit, accept, and advance a diverse set of Apprentices.
To apply to the LJIST Apprentice Program, please complete the LJIST Apprentice Application ($57 Application Fee).
Tell us a little more about you and what you hope to learn from your Apprenticeship. You can save your application at any point to continue later. This is a significant part of the process and we encourage you to set aside time and attention to reflect and answer each question thoroughly. We will invite applicants who are a good fit for the program to interview with us before being officially admitted.
COVID-19 STATEMENT
Because we will not be offering our in-person Transforming Relationships Program (TRP) until 2022, this pre-requisite has temporarily been lifted. Apprentices who join the program during this time will be expected to complete the TRP twice during Phase I of their journey to meet this requirement. In the last year, LJIST has launched a new suite of virtual learning and healing offerings and we encourage Apprentices to participate in as many offerings as possible to deepen their learning and support their healing. We will communicate program changes to current Apprentices.