The definition of VERGER:
A Verger is a participant of the program On The Verge. A Verger is an emerging leader, in other words, a person who has yet to fully reach their potential as a leader within their community and/or organization because of internal and/or external conditions. On The Verge considers anyone working in the nonprofit or public sector who has not gone through formal leadership development, no matter what age or positional authority, a good candidate to be a Verger.
Cohort Structure:
Each cohort has up to 12 members from their respective region. Meetings occur once per month for 8 hours. Vergers are able to explore and integrate their personal, interpersonal and professional skills during each meeting in structured activities that support self-discovery, developing relationships with group members and creating avenues to be more effective in their agencies. All cohorts develop a project that meets an urgent need in their community. The project is to provide an experience for Vergers to deepen their skills and work with others. During the midpoint of a year, Vergers embark on a 24-hour overnight retreat to expedite trust building with their group. By the end of each program year, cohorts culminate their projects with public performances and presentations to share their findings and results with their communities.
Facilitators for each cohort include two On The Verge alumni who serve as coaches. Coaches are trained by On The Verge veteran staff, etsuko kubo and Leslie Medine. Coach training launches with a 3-day intensive Coach Camp and continues with web-based or phone conferences once per month for each coach pair throughout the year. Coaches are also visited by Trainers in person once per year for on-going support with their capacity building of becoming a coach.
In 2023-24 On The Verge has cohorts in:
Napa County
San Diego County
Santa Barbara County
Sonoma County
Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara Counties (Tipping Point Community Housing Justice)
Past Cohorts of On The Verge are listed in the chart below.
