Development. Leadership. Community.

Unlock a full community build.

The first evidence-based certification for the people who hold digital communities together and the people whose decisions shape it. Community management, moderation, and trust and safety — by the people doing this work, for the people doing this work. Developed for gaming communities. Applicable far beyond them.

49

graduates & counting

WITH GRADUATES FROM…

WHAT IT IS

Community safety infrastructure starts with the people who lead it.

The DLC Leadership Program is the first evidence-based, certification for digital community leaders. Built by practitioners. Grounded in peer-reviewed research. Free to take.

PROGRAM GRADUATES

COUNTRIES REPRESENTED

COMMUNITY MEMBERS REACHED

1000

Players have raised the bar. They expect protection, clear rules, and leaders who keep learning. But the people doing this work were never trained to meet it.

The Infrastructure Gap

77%

hold leadership responsible for protecting them from harassment

75%

of players expect clear rules from leadership

67%

of players say ongoing training for leaders is important

Most leaders have no formal training in the skills they need for their roles

The expectation is industry-wide. The infrastructure to meet it doesn’t exist yet.

The Cost of The Infrastructure Gap

When leaders are unsupported, the cost lands on the business. Turnover. Churn. Reputational damage. Untrained leaders burn out, communities fracture, and the safety work that protects players gets done reactively or not at all. This is a fixable problem. It requires infrastructure.

“This program can help decrease the significant financial, reputational, and personal costs associated with online harms by helping prevent these harms in the first place.”

— DLC Graduate, Spring 2026

The DLC Solution

An eight-week, evidenced based certification built in collaboration with the people doing the work, delivered alongside a cohort of peers. Going in, most leaders had built their skills through experience alone, with little or no formal training beneath it. Coming out, over 90% rated themselves confident across every competency we measured.

Change in Confidence: Pre- vs Post-Assessment

Pilot graduates’ confidence rose across all eight measured competencies (pre- vs. post-program, % rating 4–5 confidence).

But confidence alone doesn’t change communities — action does. 85% of graduates had already changed how they lead before the program ended: new moderation practices, restructured guidelines, different ways of handling conflict and safety. They moved from reactive crisis management to proactive leadership grounded in evidence-based frameworks.

100%

of graduates feel better equipped to sustain themselves long term

98%

of graduates would recommend the program to other community leaders

85%

of graduates have already changed how they lead their communities

“Without programs like the DLC, community leaders are left to figure out how to ethically curate, support, and manage their communities based on guesswork. This program is vital as a baseline to healthy community leadership — for the leader AND the community.”

— DLC Graduate, Spring 2026