LFS Adult Class of 2027 Application

Be Part of Leadership in the Cedar Rapids Community

Thank you for your interest in applying for the LFS Adult Class of 2027!

Please carefully review all information below regarding program policies and the application process before starting your application. You may wish to preview the application first and draft responses in another document before copying and pasting into the application in order to submit without losing your work. All application materials must be submitted to Rebecca Sullens no later than 11:59 p.m. April 30, 2026.

Attendance
Graduation from the Leadership for Five Seasons program requires participants to attend at least eight of the ten regular sessions. See below for all 2027 program dates. Attendance is mandatory for the Orientation meeting, Service Project, Mix & Mingle and Retreat. Please check your calendar before applying and, if you are unable to make the necessary attendance commitment, we ask you not apply at this time.

Application Elements:

*Reference Letters
Two letters of reference are required. One must be from your manager/CEO, as they must agree to
your enrollment in LFS. Please download the reference forms and send them to your recommenders. Upon completion, please instruct your references to email them directly to Rebecca Sullens no later than 11:59 p.m. on April 30, 2026. You will receive a confirmation when both references have been submitted. Due to the volume of applicants, if you don’t receive notification prior to the deadline, please email Rebecca to inquire about their receipt.

Tuition & Funding
Tuition in the Leadership for the Five Seasons (LFS) Adult Program includes all educational materials, speakers, food, transportation expenses, and overnight lodging for the retreat. LFS tuition of $2,300 for Economic Alliance member organizations is due in full by July 31, 2026.

Applicants from non-Economic Alliance member organizations may apply. However, if selected, their employer or sponsoring organization will be required to become a member of the Economic Alliance and pay EA membership dues in addition to tuition. Employers or sponsoring organization must be members for the full duration of the LFS program (August 2026-May 2027).

Refund Policy: No tuition refunds will be issued unless an alternate candidate can be derived from the selection committee process and substituted prior to August 7, 2026.

Tuition Scholarships: Two full tuition scholarships are available for applicants whose employer is not able to sponsor them. These scholarships are typically awarded to individuals who are self employed, working in non-profit, or for a small business. There is a place on the application form where individuals who wish to be considered for scholarships can indicate their need for a scholarship and why.

Selection/Interview Process
All applicants are required to attend a 15 minute, in-person interview with 2 members of the Leadership for Five Season Adult Program selection committee. Interview dates for the Class of 2027 will be held May 12-15, 2026.

You will be notified via email with your specific interview date and time on one of these days. It is required that you interview on one of the specified days (it is recommended to hold those days until your interview date/time is determined). If you are unable to interview on one of the assigned days, we kindly ask that you do not apply for this year’s class. The 2027 class size will be limited to 35 participants. All applicants selected for the Adult program will be notified via email. All applications will remain confidential.

Selection Committee: The Selection Committee for the Leadership for Five Seasons Adult Program consists of LFS Alumni from various classes and industries and the members are known only to the Program Director.

Questions about applications should be directed to Rebecca Sullens. We do our best to notify when both recommendations have been received and if any portion of their application is missing at deadline. However, due to the volume of applicants, if you do not receive confirmation, it doesn’t hurt to check. Thanks for your patience as we process applications and schedule interviews while current programs are also running.

Class of 2027 Program Schedule

Topic/Day	Time
Orientation (mandatory) Monday, August 3, 2026	4:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m. Economic Alliance
Retreat (mandatory) Thursday- Friday, August 20-21 Dubuque	Depart: 7:30 a.m. August 20 Return: 5:00 p.m. August 21
History Day Friday, September 11	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Agriculture Day Friday, October 9	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Non-Profit Day Friday, October 30	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Arts & Culture Day Friday, November 20	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Business & Entrepreneur Day Friday, December 4	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Health & Wellness Day Friday, January 15	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Economic Development Day Friday, February 12	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Law & Local Government Day Friday, March 5	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Youth/Adult Class Mix & Mingle Wednesday, March 10	8:30 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Education Day Friday, April 9	7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Leadership Update (mandatory) Thursday, April 15	12:00 p.m. – 5:00 p.m.
Class Service Project (mandatory) & Graduation Friday, May 7	Project – 7:30 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. Graduation – 6:30 p.m. – 10:00 p.m.
Summer Service Event/Reunion Saturday, August 28 (Tentative)	Market After Dark Daytime & Nighttime Shifts