Explore Class 2 took the program’s first trip to South Phoenix last week for a day of farming and learning about the city’s education structures, economic development, and broad community outreach.
Explore’s second trip spent two days in Ambos Nogales (Spanish for “both Nogales”), which refers to the two cities with the same name: Nogales, Arizona, United States, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
The inaugural year of the Valley Leadership Explore program was many things: challenging, unexpected, thought-provoking, disruptive, life-changing, fun, enlightening, and full of emotion from laughter to tears. Read more about the experience.
Explore’s last trip was to Navajo Nation, one of the largest tribal governments of the North American Indian Nations. We met community leaders and learned about how they continue to work on maintaining their cultural heritage while planning and forging ahead into the future.
Explore’s fourth trip was to Buckeye, which was once considered a rural, farmland community and is now one of the fastest growing cities in the nation.
Explore’s third trip was to Mesa, where we focused on the downtown area. We learned about the significant influx of investment and how the growth is affecting the residents and neighborhoods nearby.
Explore’s second trip spent two days in Ambos Nogales (Spanish for “both Nogales”), which refers to the two cities with the same name: Nogales, Arizona, United States, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico.
Explore participants learned about Yuma’s thriving agriculture industry, the community’s focus on education and how larger issues in Arizona like immigration and water show up for Yuma’s residents.
Explore will take VL alumni on a journey around Arizona. Get to know these unique facts about the 48th state.
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Applications for Explore Class 4 are now open! If you’re a VL alumni who is ready to step out of your comfort zone and travel to different communities across Arizona, we encourage you to apply today!