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ULI Graduation

About

The Worker Institute builds on a 75-year tradition by the ILR School to help fulfill Cornell’s land grant mission – to assist working people in ensuring their rights on the job and in building effective organizations and strong communities.

Our Labor Leadership Development work focuses on labor movement leadership development, strategy design and organizational change in unions, professional associations and other worker organizations.

We seek to engage with leaders at the highest levels of labor and worker formations that are committed to organizational transformation and interested in innovative strategies. This encompasses four broad areas of work:

  • Education and training for leaders of unions and worker organizations - Highlights include our signature projects, the National Labor Leadership Initiative, the Union Leadership Institute, and the Global Labor Leadership Institute which have graduated hundreds of leaders from every sector of the labor movement.
  • Leadership development connected to strategic programs within select worker organizations – We design and deliver union-specific training programs to help build clarity, consensus and capacity to implement new strategic initiatives.
  • Strategic planning and technical assistance – We work with labor organizations to assist in the development of strategic programs that address new challenges in a changing political and economic climate.
  • Research on leadership and strategy – Our associates and academic faculty undertake a broad range of research on issues related to leading and managing worker organizations, innovative organizing and bargaining strategies, leadership development, and other areas of interest to union and professional association leaders and scholars.

Empowering Workers, Building Leaders

On October 9, 2025, thirty participants celebrated their graduation from the first Housekeeping Technician and Leadership Development Workshop Series, a collaborative training effort between Labor Leadership Initiatives at Cornell’s ILR School and the Worker Justice Project (WJP).
WJP Graduation. Cleaning technicians 2
Empowering Workers, Building Leaders

New Report Highlights 20+ Years of ULI’s Impact on New York’s Labor Leadership

A revealing evaluation shows how the Union Leadership Institute has empowered hundreds of leaders to strengthen the labor movement and advance equity across New York State.
ULI Cohort 2024-2025
New Report Highlights 20+ Years of ULI’s Impact on New York’s Labor Leadership

ULI Spotlight: Mark Carter, President of the Peekskill Professional Firefighters Local 2343

Mark Carter is the first Black President of the Peekskill Professional Firefighters Local 2343 and the recipient of the 2025-2026 NYS AFL-CIO Union L.E.A.D. Scholarship.
Mark Carter, Peekskill Professional Firefighters Local 2343
ULI Spotlight: Mark Carter, President of the Peekskill Professional Firefighters Local 2343

Meet the Team

Kathleen Mulligan

  • Director of Labor Leadership Initiatives

Katie Gerken

  • Senior Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Erica Iheme

  • Senior Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Elaine Kim

  • Senior Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Natalia Navas

  • Extension Associate, Labor Leadership Initiatives

Sherrie Morales

  • Program Coordinator

Contact

For more information contact: laborleadership@cornell.edu