Interested in Making Your Community More Pedestrian Friendly? Join the New Mexico State Walking College

AARP New Mexico is joining with America Walks to offer a six-month, distance-learning fellowship program for people interested in advocating to make their communities more walkable.

Participants, known as fellows, will complete a series of modules covering leadership development, coalition-building, walkable community design, local public policy, and strategic planning.

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The instructional content includes online study materials, video-conference discussion forums with other Fellows, and community assignments.

Each fellow will receive one-on-one coaching from a personal mentor to assist them in developing a Walking Action Plan for their community.

The overall goal of the Walking College curriculum is to build the capacity of local advocates to advance policy, systems, and environment change to create healthy, walkable communities throughout the state.

Training modules focus on the following areas:

1. How We Got Here – transportation policy, systemic injustice, accessible communities

2. Developing Leadership - inspiring others, storytelling, starting a movement, cultivating champions

3. Organizing for Change - strategic communications, campaigns and organizing, events and programs

4. Designing for People - walk audits, pedestrian infrastructure, traffic calming, place-making

5. Shifting Public Policy - local government, public policy, complete streets, vision zero, resisting gentrification

6. Planning a Strategy - strategic planning, bringing it all together, your Walking Action Plan

New Mexico residents who are interested in the program and able to commit 5 hours per week -- from May to September -- are invited to complete an online application form by Friday, March 10th.

Fellowships are limited and the application process is competitive. Please contact Gary Williams, AARP New Mexico Associate Director of Community Outreach, or America Walks’ Ian Thomas, with any questions.