On July 23, the Steelcase Foundation announced the community leaders selected for the second cohort of the Brilliant Leaders Fellowship.
Twelve West Michigan visionaries have been selected to participate in the Steelcase Foundation’s second class of its Brilliant Leaders Fellowship. These fellows, who are already leading inspiring work in their communities, will come together over the next 12 months to address the complex and intersectional issues facing their communities.
“Visionary and courageous leadership can often be lonely and exhausting, but through the Brilliant Leaders Fellowship, this cohort will get the chance to step back from the day-to-day, meet with peers who can help push their thinking, and build social capital with systems and community leaders,” said Steelcase Foundation President Daniel Williams. “As we embark on our second cohort, I can confidently say that this work and these Fellows are reimagining and reinvesting in what ‘leadership’ truly means so that their collective work sparks ripples of positive momentum for their communities for years to come.”
Fellows were selected from a wide spectrum of sectors supporting education, family economics, social mobility and well-being, with a focus on making change. Program participants aim to have a lasting impact on systems of care and economic mobility for children, caregivers, and families, while prioritizing a two-generation approach that works across early childhood through adulthood and employment. The full list of fellows includes:
- Stephanie Collier, Vice President of Programs, AYA Youth Collective
- Meg Derrer, Executive Director, Refugee Education Center
- Wardell Frazier Jr., Executive Director, The Diatribe
- Kenyatta Hill-Hall, Principal, Grand Rapids University Preparatory Academy
- LaKiya Jenkins, Executive Director, Linc Up
- Fridah Kanini, Founder and CEO, A Glimpse of Africa
- Carlos Martinez, President, People First Economy
- Eleanor Moreno, Strategy Officer for the Kent County Food Policy Council, United Way of West Michigan
- Andy Soper, Director of Programs and Operations, Grace’s Table
- Amanda Villa, Michigan State Director, United Farmworkers Foundation
- Yilin Wendland-Liu, Executive Director, West Michigan Asian American Association
- Shayla Young, Vice President of Policy, Advocacy and Community Engagement, KConnect
The Brilliant Leaders Fellowship invests in the professional development and social and emotional growth of local community nonprofit leaders to elevate their voices, power, and impact, and to support the mutual goals of navigating and transforming systems. This initiative addresses the need for emerging nonprofit leaders to have time and structured opportunities to learn outside of their day-to-day work environments, build supportive relationships with systems and community leaders, reflect on their work and purpose, and re-energize from the emotionally heavy work they do.
The Brilliant Leaders Fellowship runs for a period of 12 months, with the first gathering taking place this September. Hear from members of the inaugural cohort and Steelcase Foundation staff as they share their insights about the fellowship here. More information about the cohort and fellowship can be found at scsfoundation.wpenginepowered.com/brilliant-leaders-fellowship.