Leadership Bend is a community leadership development program designed to identify, educate, train, and connect willing and committed citizens to leadership roles in our community. The focus is on the expansion of awareness and understanding of the Central Oregon region. We explore historical and current issues, and learn about the unique challenges and opportunities that cross sectors and silos.

NEXTUp Leaders is focused on individual leadership skills development. And while it shares the cohort model with Leadership Bend, it follows a different structure and cadence.

You (or your employee) may be a clear fit for one leadership program versus the other, but if in doubt, please reach out to Louise Shirley for further details and guidance.

The tuition fee for 2025 is $2,200 for Chamber members and $2,675 for non-members. This includes the retreat, seven sessions, and graduation celebration.

We are committed to accessibility and offer several types of scholarship/tuition assistance. Please reach out to Louise Shirley, Leadership Programs Manager to learn more.

Thank you to our NEXTUp Leaders sponsors, US Bank and Pacific Power for helping us to make this program accessible.

All NEXTUp sessions are in person, at Obsidian Hall, OSU-Cascades in Bend. We have designed this course to allow for immersion in the learning and growing experience — without distraction. In-person classes also offer rich opportunities to create and develop strong connections with your peers. Being physically present also means you get to interact personally with our guest speakers.

We encourage communication between employees and supervisors regarding this matter. It should be noted, though, that investment in staff via professional development opportunities like NEXTUp Leaders is often correlated with increased employee retention and job satisfaction.

Due to the limited number of openings for participants, tuition is non-refundable after the course commences.

We encourage employers to ask their team! Who is demonstrating readiness to take on more responsibility? This potential may look different depending on your industry, organization size, and other factors. We remind ourselves and others to reflect on their own biases when deciding who does or doesn’t show leadership potential.

Leaders come in many shapes, though there are a few characteristics that can help predict whether someone is likely to emerge as a leader. The Corporate Leadership Council describes high potential as having three components: aspiration, ability, and engagement. Here are the key things we at BendNEXT look for in program candidates:

• Curiosity
• Conscientiousness
• Openness
• Intelligence
• Commitment to inclusion
• Emotional intelligence

As this Harvard Business Review article mentions, “leadership evolved over millions of years, enabling us to function as group-living animals. It is therefore unlikely that the core foundations of leadership will change. That said, the specific skills and qualities that enable leaders and their groups to adapt to the world are certainly somewhat context dependent.”

We have crafted the course to equip participants for the challenges of tomorrow. This includes rapid technological advancement and the widespread adoption of artificial intelligence. We will adapt the course each year to maintain relevance.