WKKF Community Leadership Network Fellows Ebony Isis Booth (pictured left), an artist and director of diversity, equity and inclusion at an independent school, and Eli Cuna, a community organizer with United We Dream, organized the youth panel to share New Mexico’s multi-culturalism and cross-movement building. Youth were invited to tell stories about their identity and belonging, their connection to culture and place, and their activism. While they each come from different
Fellows talk with each other at the Jackson, Mississippi WKKF Community Leadership Network fellows gathering.
Trust is foundational to effective relationships which, in turn, is foundational to effective leadership. At the all-class gathering in Jackson, Mississippi, W.K. Kellogg Foundation Chief
WKKF Community Leadership Network fellows visited Chicano Park in San Diego, California to learn about the community’s story of struggle and self-determination. Home to the largest concentration of Chicano murals in the world, the park is a testament to the power of communities when they come together in solidarity to lead change. Listen to fellows’ reflections about the values,
“Chicano Park is a testament to what communities can do when they stick together and make it happen,” says Tommie Camarillo, co-founder and chair of the Chicano Park Steering Committee.
Time spent exercising is correlated with higher ratings of leadership effectiveness. Here, fellows take a break from the San Diego gathering to get moving on the basketball court.
Leadership is filled with high-pressure situations. Because stress is inevitable, the ability to tap into one’s best self under pressure is what often
Fellows participate in a unity clap while learning from Chicano Park advocates and movement builders in San Diego.
While it’s natural to develop a laser-focused approach to our individual passions and movement-building work, acknowledging our interconnectedness is invaluable. That’s why the WKKF Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership fellowship program recruits leaders who serve in a wide variety of roles, from tribal leader to health practitioner to conservationist. The fellows’ diverse bodies of work are all essential parts of a larger ecosystem working to foster a more equitable society.
The collective power of people gathering, united around a vision for change, is immeasurable. The impact is tangibly imprinted into the fabric of our society, from the civil rights and suffrage movements to Pride, Black Lives Matter and March For Our Lives.
This transformative power has inspired and guided me in my work to analyze what makes certain movements so effective. I realized early on in this research that no matter how good your idea is, unless it’s connected to community organizing
