Wheelhouse Community of Leadership Practice on AI

Leadership for a Moment of Transformation

Artificial intelligence is reshaping teaching, learning, and student success at a pace few colleges have experienced before. For community college CEOs, the challenge is not simply understanding the technology. It is leading institutions through profound change while keeping equity, human agency, and student success at the center.

The Wheelhouse Community of Leadership Practice on AI (CLP) was created for that purpose.

Developed in partnership with the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office, the CLP will bring together five cohorts of California community college presidents, superintendent/presidents, and chancellors to explore the leadership questions AI is raising for our colleges—and to prepare together for what comes next.

Participation is by invitation. To indicate your interest in participating in one of five cohorts to be served in 2027, 2028 and 2029, please fill out the interest form here. Our goal is to serve all interested CEOs over the span of this three-year initiative.

What is the CLP?

The CLP is a five-day residential leadership institute for approximately 25 California community college CEOs. Five distinct cohorts will experience the CLP from 2027-2030. The residential experience will be followed by a half-day cohort reconvening to share progress, challenges, and new opportunities.

The CLP is not a conference about AI. It’s a leadership institute.

Participants work together through case discussions, peer consultation, hands-on exploration of current AI tools, and an Applied Leadership Lab focused on a real-time challenge from their own institution.

While technical fluency will be built, the primary goal is not technical expertise. It is stronger leadership judgment.

Why now?

AI is changing more than administrative workflows. It is changing how students learn, how faculty teach, how institutions support students, and the knowledge and skills graduates will need to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

These changes raise difficult questions for college leaders:

• How should our institutions respond?
• What should change—and what should not?
• How do we support innovation while protecting equity, academic integrity, and public trust?
• How do we prepare students not only for work, but for civic life in an AI-enabled society?

The CLP provides space for CEOs to work through those questions together before circumstances force answers.

Why Wheelhouse?

For more than a decade, Wheelhouse has worked alongside California community college CEOs through leadership institutes, applied research, and system partnerships.

Our leadership programs are built around a simple premise: Leaders develop judgment by working through challenges and identifying opportunities with trusted peers.

Rather than presentations or vendor demonstrations, the CLP uses Wheelhouse’s case-method and peer consultancy approaches to examine real leadership dilemmas, test assumptions, and develop practical approaches leaders can take back to their own colleges.

Who is the CLP for?

The Community of Leadership Practice is designed exclusively for California Community College CEOs: Presidents, Superintendent/Presidents, and Chancellors.

Each cohort is limited to approximately 25 participants to foster the trust and candor required for meaningful peer learning.

What will participants do?

During the institute, participants will:

• Explore the implications of AI for teaching, learning, and student success.
• Gain firsthand experience using today’s AI tools as institutional leaders.
• Examine real leadership cases with colleagues from across California.
• Develop an Applied Leadership Lab project grounded in their own campus or district.
• Become part of a lasting statewide network of CEOs committed to learning together as AI continues to evolve.

Who leads the program?

The Community of Leadership Practice is co-directed by Matthew Miller, longtime Wheelhouse faculty and internationally recognized leader in leadership development and learning design, and Francisco C. Rodriguez, Wheelhouse Chancellor-in-Residence and Chancellor Emeritus of the Los Angeles Community College District.

The CLP is presented by Wheelhouse in partnership with and with support from the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office (CCCCO).

What is the cost to participate?

The CCCCO will cover the majority of program costs. Participants are responsible for their own travel, accommodations, and a $1,000 registration fee.

Interested in learning more?

To indicate your interest in participating in one of our cohorts or to share feedback with us, please fill out the interest form here.