Candidates sought for RISE program in Burbank

Dec. 22, 2015 6:48 PM PT

Burbank’s Parks and Recreation Department is seeking candidates for its upcoming free nine-week leadership program called Residents Inspiring Service and Empowerment, or RISE.

The RISE program, formerly the Burbank Neighborhood Leadership Program, seeks to help residents learn about the city and its resources to help strengthen neighborhoods, foster constructive dialog and “invigorate civic engagement,” according to a city announcement.

Residents selected for RISE will participate in weekly classes on Wednesday nights for nine weeks, beginning March 2. Sessions are designed to develop skills such as project planning and public speaking.

Participants will have the opportunity to connect with city officials, local nonprofits and businesses. They will also be required to complete a volunteer group project.

The program is open to Burbank residents only and applications are due by Jan. 8. Full details about qualifications and applications are available on the city’s website at bit.ly/RISE_Burbank.

Chad Garland, chad.garland@latimes.com

Twitter: @chadgarland

Chad Garland

Chad Garland covered the city of Burbank and Bob Hope Airport for the Burbank Leader until 2016. Previously, he has covered Arizona’s congressional delegation in Washington, D.C., for Cronkite News Service and Oregon’s Legislature for the Associated Press. His work investigating questionable veterans’ charities as part of the award-winning News21 national investigative project “Back Home” earned a “Best in Business” award from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers in 2013. Before becoming a reporter, he spent more than a decade in various assignments related to national defense. An Illinois native, his first California address was at Marine Corps boot camp in San Diego. He has degrees from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Arizona State University, as well as a diploma from the Army’s Defense Language Institute in Monterey, where he learned to speak Russian.