Learning Opportunities

Our Foundational Classes

At the Chapman Foundation for Caring Communities, we believe leadership is best learned through experience. Our foundational classes combine evidence-based practices with hands-on learning to equip participants with practical skills that strengthen families, workplaces, and communities.

Our three foundational classes are:

Our Community Listens: Builds communication skills that foster trust and stronger relationships.
Our Community Serves: Develops emotional intelligence and a culture of service.
Our Community Transforms: Equips leaders with strategies to transform workplace culture.

Watch this video for an overview of our foundational classes. For learning outcomes, class duration, and more, download the Foundational Class One-Pager below.

Foundational Classes One-Pager

Our Community Listens is the first foundational class, designed to help participants learn to listen effectively, express themselves clearly, and build better relationships. Through self-reflection, practical application, and facilitator-led learning, participants develop skills that improve communication in both personal and professional settings.

Participants also receive a customized eight-part DISC profile and personalized insights in a small class environment.

Class Overview

Our Community Serves is the second foundational class, focused on shifting mindsets from me-centric to we-centric. Through emotional intelligence and a culture of service, participants develop greater self-awareness and learn how to build trust, collaboration, and accountability. The class encourages people to work together in pursuit of both shared goals and shared success.

Prerequisite: Must be an Our Community Listens alumnus.

Class Overview

Our Community Transforms is the third foundational class, designed to help organizational leaders develop strategies for transforming their workplace culture. Participants explore the Six Strategies of Caring Workplaces and gain practical tools and insights to strengthen engagement, improve culture, and lead meaningful transformation across their organization.

Prerequisite: Must be an Our Community Listens alumnus.

Class Overview

Series

For leaders ready to go deeper. Our series are multi-week programs built for sustained growth, not a single takeaway, but practice, reflection, and small shifts you carry forward between sessions. Each series follows a defined arc, so the skills you build in one session set up the next.

People Leader Series

A five-session series for people leaders navigating the everyday moments that don’t come with a script, from setting expectations to giving feedback to holding accountability. Built for leaders who are already doing the work and want tools they can use immediately.

Learn More →

Applied Coaching

A four-session series for leaders who want to build real coaching skills, not just learn about them. You’ll practice empathetic listening, ask powerful questions, and learn to facilitate conversations that build ownership and accountability, skills you can carry into everyday leadership and peer interactions.

Coming Soon!

Learning Supports

Growth doesn’t stop after a class ends. Our learning supports, from targeted sessions to on-demand tools, help you keep building skills and applying what you’ve learned long after the classroom.

Learning Sessions

These sessions help teams and organizations grow specific skills and deepen the concepts taught in our foundational classes. Some are open to all; others require completion of a foundational class first. Either way, they build confidence, practical application, and meaningful growth.

Request Session Topics →

Alumni Resources

Audiocast, CFCC Leads! App, Monthly Newsletter, On-Demand Sessions, and Monthly Alumni Roundtables.

To learn more, visit our Resources Page.

Find a Class Near Me

Frequently Asked Questions

“The Chapman Foundation makes it easy and lowers the barriers to entry for having conversations with your staff about how to be an effective communicator, employee, and community member. Most of our team has taken their classes, and as a result, we are all using the same tools from the same toolbox. This significantly reduces any opportunity for awkwardness or miscommunication because we all share a common foundation and terminology for communicating with one another.”

– Greg LeBlanc

Assistant Town Manager; Town of Snowmass Village, CO

“For me, it has helped me be a more effective listener and communicator at home. After attending this class, I can be a true force for good because it honed in on the fact that communication starts with listening. In such a polarized society, I believe that by using these skills, I can be a much better person when conversing with the communities I serve.”

– Doreen Jokerst

Chief of Police; Overland Park, MO

“I’ve used this Chapman Foundation work, and I know the impact that this work has on schools and the educational world. My experiences have been transformational for the teams that I’ve been a part of. The idea of that broader understanding of themselves, which changes the way they interact, being more sensitive to the people around them, but also the understanding of those they work with and how do we navigate things together and work more cohesively as a team.”

– Jamie Bandstra

Principal/ Director; West Shore ESD, MI

“As a military member, the Chapman Foundation’s classes have helped me become a better listener and leader. When people feel they are truly heard, you can address the root cause. Regarding troop retention, when service members feel genuinely listened to and see themselves as part of our family, they are more likely to stay with us and remain within our ranks.”

– Jody Nitz

Military