The Southeast Community Energy Futures Academy (SCEFA) is a community-centered education and engagement initiative designed to equip Southeast community-based leaders with the tools and knowledge to shape their local energy and decarbonization futures. In Summer 2025, we piloted SCEFA in collaboration with Mississippi Communities United for Prosperity and the Rural Studies Institute at Georgia College and State University. Together, we began developing educational materials and strategies to look at the overlap between carbon management and community work. Now, we are entering the next phase: recruiting additional community-based organizations to co-develop a full curriculum that connects industrial decarbonization and carbon removal technologies to local priorities such as food, water, air quality, disaster preparedness, and workforce development. Our goal is to build a collaborative Academy model that supports community leaders in advancing healthier, more resilient futures.