• CERTIFICATE
Leading Innovation for Systems Change
INNOVATING IN MENTAL HEALTH AND SOCIAL IMPACT
This 21-hour certificate program helps social-impact leaders drive meaningful change through innovation. Designed for professionals in public, nonprofit, and social enterprise sectors, it equips participants to navigate complexity and lead with purpose.
Building Community Capacity
Participants engage with entrepreneurial thinking, systems- and complexity-approaches, and hands-on tools from the frontlines of social innovation. Interactive case studies and design-based learning help apply new strategies in real time. More than a training, this is a strategic reset—offering space to reflect, re-imagine, and lead with purpose.
Participants leave with practical tools, a peer network, and the capacity to lead transformative change in their communities.
CREDENTIAL
NYU Executive Education Certificate
HOURS
Minimum 21 academic hours
FUNDING
Eligible for Canada Jobs Grant for qualifying nonprofits
DELIVERY
In-person and virtual sessions
What You Gain
Innovation Mindset
Gain clear language for the typologies, concepts, and methodologies that underpin social innovation.
Entrepreneurial Tools
Introduce structured innovation practices into your organization and professional network.
Networks
Connect and collaborate with other leaders. Design relational approaches that fit public- and social-service contexts.
INNOVATE TO CREATE REAL SOCIAL IMPACT
Lead the Change Your Community Needs
In partnership with the NYU Bronfman Institute for Impact and Intrapreneurship, Forge is bringing innovation and systems thinking to leaders trying to shape the future. Too often, training focuses on crisis response, not the tools leaders need to shift systems or build cultures of safety and dignity. Forge sees community leaders as system shapers. With the right support, they can move from survival to strategy—driving lasting change in their communities. This partnership reflects a shared commitment to helping leaders meet complexity with courage, clarity, and care; building a more just, connected, and healing future.
Faculty and Advisory
Dr. Nir Tsuk
Founder, i3: Institute for Impact and Intrapreneurship, NYU Bronfman
Global Impact & Innovation Strategist
Dr. Nir Tsuk is a global expert in social innovation, entrepreneurship, and impact, with over 25 years of experience bridging practice, academia, and systems change across sectors and continents.
Dr. Jeff St. John
Founder, Forge Centre for Dignity-Driven Leadership
Relational Innovation and Systems Leadership
Dr. Jeff St. John is a consultant practitioner, coach, and social entrepreneur with 25 years of experience supporting leaders and organizations to navigate complexity, scale relational innovation, and advance dignity-driven change in the social impact sector.
Kim Ruse
CEO, Fear Is Not Love
Nonprofit Leader and Systems Innovator
Kim Ruse, MSW, is an award-winning nonprofit leader and systems innovator with over two decades of experience transforming services, scaling impact, and championing new approaches to ending violence and strengthening communities.
Talia Bell
VP People and Programs, YWCA
Strategic Changemaker & Social Innovator
Talia Bell, MA, is a strategic nonprofit leader and social innovator with over 20 years of experience driving cultural transformation, prevention-based services, and impact-driven change across Canada’s social sector.
Melissa Caouette
Founder, CEO MC Consulting - Pocket Project
Melissa Caouette is a Canadian public policy strategist, entrepreneur, and political risk consultant with a decade of experience advising governments, businesses, and nonprofits through her firm MC Consulting and her platform Pocket Lobbyist.
Sharon Blackwell
Consultant & Respected Public Sector Leader
Sharon Blackwell, B.A. (Hons), BSW, MDP, is a retired executive public service leader and award-winning consultant with a 40-year career advancing collaborative, crisis-responsive, and community-centered solutions across Alberta’s social service systems.
David Turner
Associate, First Peoples Group
Indigenous Relations & Reconciliation
David Turner is a Non-Status Saulteaux and African American consultant and Indigenous relations leader with over 30 years of experience building cross-cultural understanding, advancing reconciliation, and strengthening relationships between governments, service providers, and Indigenous communities across Canada.
Léo Lejeune
VP, Buildings, Education Sector Lead
Léo Lejeune is Vice President and Global Education Sector Leader at Stantec Architecture, with over 25 years of experience guiding award-winning design teams and delivering transformational education, civic, and community projects across Canada.
Nimrod Hoofien
PhD candidate
Nimrod Hoofien is an engineering leadership coach and advisor with over 25 years of experience guiding and scaling engineering teams, and mentoring leaders through complex challenges and growth transitions.
Helping leaders shape the future
Our participants have put the skills learned in past workshops to good use. Here are a few of their stories.
Practical Tools
“I got more practical tools in three days than my entire masters of leadership.”
Participant
Highly Relevant
“Attending this course was a transformative experience for me. It provided a perfect blend of theoretical frameworks and practical examples, making it highly relevant for leaders in complex environments.”
Participant
Navigate Complexity
“This course equipped me with the knowledge and confidence to innovate and navigate complexity within my sector, making it an essential experience for any leader seeking to drive meaningful change!”
