Leadership San Juan Islands (LSJI) announces that the deadline for applications for its 2009 program is Nov. 7.

LSJI is a county-wide program which fosters leadership skills such as facilitation, collaborative problem solving, and public speaking as well as the analysis of local systems related to governance, economics, social services, history and culture, education and the environment. Participants are selected in the fall and spend five months together, January through May, with a staff of four and many regional leaders.

County businesses and agencies across the county have played a part in the success of the 2008 class, with significant donations by Smuggler’s Villa and Heartwood House on Orcas, and Lopez Islander Bay Resort on Lopez. Many 2008 Leadership San Juan participants were sponsored in part or wholly by their employer or by a local nonprofit.

LSJI applicants will be informed of acceptance late November and a short preview meeting is being planned prior to the Retreat in late January. Six Challenge Days, another Retreat on Lopez, and possibly another nautical adventure will bring the program to graduation at the end of May, 2009. Tuition of $500 will remain the same.

Those interested in participating, sponsoring, or getting more information about this program are asked to contact Cynthia Stark-Wickman at 370.5470 or at the LSJI website, www.leadershipsanjuanislands.org/.