Class Three Fellowship Reflections
Over the course of 18 months the WKKF Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership program convened leaders from across the country to connect, grow and develop their leadership skills.
From Albuquerque, to New Orleans, from Michigan to Mississippi, these leaders were challenged to dig deep and unearth new understandings of themselves and how they show up in community.
During class three’s final gathering in Detroit, Michigan, fellows participated in panel discussions to reflect upon their experiences with their fellow leaders. They were specifically tasked with sharing how the fellowship has impacted their lives, their role as leaders, and their communities at large.
Self-reflection as a superpower
A consistent theme across the conversation was how deeply fellows were impacted by opportunities to self-reflect. The program offered fellows several opportunities to learn more about themselves thus learning how to lead from a place of understanding and empathy.
Ericka Thompson of Michigan is dedicated to fostering positive change through authentic expression, vulnerability and authenticity. For Ericka, the fellowship offered a space to slow down and do the deep reflection needed to sustain their leadership journey.
“This fellowship definitely brought pause to my life. It put me in a space to reconsider what my life experiences have been, the ways I have been biased and impacted by bias, and the ways in which I have held a lot of my pain points as my identity. It put me in a space to see myself more clearly. This fellowship has impacted my ability to see myself, and so now, I can see my community and see the areas within my community that need more than leadership.”
As the executive director of Mississippi Families for Kids, Nadeane Cattrell works to create, build, and support permanency for children in or at risk of entering the foster care system. According to Nadeane, the space to be vulnerable helped validate herself as a leader.
“The most powerful thing that this experience has done for me is help to show me my humanity. That it’s okay to not always be on. That it’s okay to rest, take a break, that we should burn bright not burn out. Being seen by other leaders and knowing that leadership looks different for different people, has allowed me to lean into my own special brand of leadership.”
Self-acceptance as acceleration
Understanding one’s particular leadership style is essential to leading effectively. But oftentimes before we can understand ourselves, we must truly accept ourselves. For several of our fellows, the space to not only reflect, but actually accept each one’s unique approaches to leadership has empowered them to show up as their true selves and accelerate the impact they can make in their community.
Todd Wackerman is an educator who believes in the power of convening groups to collaboratively solve community challenges. Todd found that the fellowship program helped him accept his own way of approaching leadership.
“When this group comes together, we understand that there’s no right or wrong way to be a leader. As an introvert it’s sometimes hard to feel that you are able to lead when you see the upfront charismatic leaders all the time. I appreciate the guidance of this program and now know that community leadership looks like many things in many circumstances, but the most important thing is to show up authentically.”
Self-care as community care
One of the concepts that many of the fellows highlighted as being particularly helpful was the emphasis on self-care. Many leaders are taught to put themselves last in service of their communities. What many fellows discovered over the course of the fellowship is that pouring into themselves is what gives them the capacity to pour into their work, their families, and their communities.
Dondrea Brown of Michigan is a relentless advocate for financial literacy. As the founder and executive director of 1428 Financial Wellness and Young Money Finance, Dondrea is dedicated to empowering families to cultivate healthy relationships with money.
Dondrea sees the fellowship as an opportunity to recharge. “This has been a charging station for me. We pour so much out into the community and we’re always looking for someone or something to pour back into us. This experience has said to us ‘we’re not only going to pour back into you, but we are going to equip you in ways so you don’t burn out as quickly.’”
Charlene Bencomo currently serves as the executive director of Bold Futures, a state-based reproductive justice organization led by and for women and people of color. For Charlene, the fellowship has been a safe space that empowers her to create safer spaces in her community.
“In our work, it’s a priority that our folks have a space to feel connected, that they have space to feel like they belong, to be vulnerable, to build power and develop solutions. What I didn’t realize is that it’s difficult to do that with intention and integrity if you don’t have that space for yourself. This fellowship has helped me understand what it feels like to have a safe space and has helped me to develop spaces for other people to feel what I have felt through this experience.”
