Newsletter LEAD Cohort 9 LEAD (Leadership for Environment and Development) LEAD International, established in 1991 by the Rockefeller Foundation, is an independent, non-governmental and non-profit organization with the basic mission of capacity building for selected future leaders whose actions will contribute to the decisions made about environment and development issues in most parts of the world. LEAD Associates are drawn from five sectors of society: academia, business, government, media, and NGOs. They are between the ages of 28 and 40 and are fully employed in their organizations and are expected to play key roles in their countries. Their employers contribute to the LEAD program by allowing the Associates to be absent from their jobs for up to 80 days (not consecutive days, but rather at different periods during the two-year training program, some weekends are included). Once they complete the Associate phase of the program, the Associates become LEAD Fellows for whom a special program has been put in place. LEAD ensures that all of the members of the LEAD family (Associates and Fellows) are kept in close touch with each other and with other, relevant organizations, through LEAD's own electronic network, LEADnet. LEAD presently has more 1,000 Fellows and Associates from over 40 countries through its 12 national and regional programs: Brazil, Canada, China, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Europe, India, Indonesia, Japan, Mexico, Nigeria, Pakistan and six countries of Southern Africa. For more information, please visit LEAD Homepage