Class three of the WKKF Community Leadership Network has started, bringing together 80 dynamic and diverse leaders from the foundation’s priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans. Together, over 18 months, these fellows will be learning about themselves and each other; growing their leadership
The WKKF Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership is an innovative fellowship for local leaders to connect, grow and lead transformational change on behalf of children, families and communities. The 18-month fellowship brings together 80 inspiring and diverse leaders from the Kellogg Foundation’s priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans.
As part of the program, each fellow has the opportunity to choose an accountability partner from a different priority place to walk beside them over the 18-month fellowship. At this year’s gathering in Battle Creek, Michigan, we spoke to several accountability partners at the start of their journeys together. See
In Western culture, leadership is often associated with hierarchy, individualism and scarcity, placing one perspective at the center of the work with the expectation that others follow. As the world’s challenges become increasingly interconnected, this concept of leadership doesn’t meet the demands of our time. The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), in partnership with the Center for Creative Leadership, takes a radically different approach, promoting that leadership is a social process – one in which collaborative direction, alignment and commitment are at the forefront.
Paul Martinez is the chief leadership and human capital strategist at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, where he focuses on executive coaching, organizational development and capacity building within the leadership team, as well as fellowship and
Fellows are responding to the critical needs of communities, while stepping into the possibilities and leading transformational change toward an equitable society.
As part of a WKKF Community Leadership Network virtual gathering panel, fellows
For many of us, the opportunity to learn more deeply about the experiences of people who are
For 126 years, the intentional symbol of white supremacy known as the Confederate Battle flag loomed over the people of Mississippi, emblazoned prominently upon the state flag. Generations of activists have fought for its removal. Finally, in July 2020, a perfect storm of global outrage and community strength came together, resulting in the passing of historic legislation calling for the flag to be removed and a new design to be created.
WKKF Community Leadership Network fellows with the Mississippi cohort — Dr. Bryon D’Andra Orey, Patrick Weems, Zakiya Summers and Reena Evers-Everette — remember the work of those who came before and reflect on the strategies that led to this change finally happening.
“Changing the flag has been my life’s work,” shared Dr. Bryon
