Contact:
Chris Nelson, Pyramid Communications
206.940.1605 (mobile)
cnelson@pyramidcommunications.com
GREENSBORO, N.C. – The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL®) and W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) today announced Class Two of the WKKF Community Leadership Network, a model program for developing local leaders who can unite people to create transformational change toward a more equitable society for all.
The 18-month fellowship program brings together 80 dynamic and diverse leaders from across the United States and sovereign tribes. The class is organized into cohorts based in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans – the foundation’s priority places – along with one national cohort.
“We are very impressed with the high caliber of these fellows, and we are excited to work with this talented new class to explore what’s possible for creating equity at the local, state, tribal, regional and national levels,” said CCL President and CEO John R. Ryan. CCL was asked to lead the program based on its 50-year track record of cutting-edge research, practice and training that develops leaders for the benefit of society.
Fellows come from all walks of life – tribal leaders, elected officials, health practitioners, youth advocates, educators, businesspeople, attorneys, civil rights activists, conservationists and faith leaders. The class includes a state senator, pediatric dentist, comedian, street food entrepreneur, doula and civil rights historian.
More than 800 people applied to the WKKF Community Leadership Network program. From that pool, 80 people were selected to be part of Class Two. The inaugural class was held in 2014 to 2017.
Through hands-on training, mentoring and practical experience, the fellowship prepares leaders to rise to the challenges of our time. The program offers opportunities to understand the embedded racism in our systems and learn practical approaches to heal and unite communities around solutions.
“Our founder understood that visionary leaders have the power to bring communities together and create lasting change for children,” said La June Montgomery Tabron, president and CEO of the Kellogg Foundation. “Class Two is part of our legacy of developing local leaders. They join a network of thousands of fellows that spans decades of work in communities. Their ideas, passion and wisdom are crucial to creating equitable opportunity for children and families.”
Fellows go on to lead meaningful change in their communities. Several have run for elected office, including the mayor of Albuquerque and a city council woman in New Orleans, to create more equitable policies and foster economic growth that benefits the whole community. Alumni are also engaging Latino families to improve early childhood education in Michigan and advancing racial justice for African Americans in Mississippi.
In addition, fellows become part of a vast network of 1,700+ alumni through the Kellogg Fellowship Leadership Alliance, who collectively are working to effect systemic change.
The first fellows’ gathering will be held in Battle Creek, Michigan, in March 2019, where they will begin to get to know each other, explore their own leadership styles, learn ways to be agile in leading change and practice communicating with vision and purpose.
For more about the WKKF Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership and a complete list of fellows, visit wkkfcln.org.
###
ABOUT CENTER FOR CREATIVE LEADERSHIP
The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL), a top-ranked provider of executive education, seeks to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide. With nearly 50 years of experience and a dozen offices globally, CCL helps leaders and organizations drive the results that matter most to them. CCL manages the WKKF Community Leadership Network as a grantee of the Kellogg Foundation. For more information, visit ccl.org.
ABOUT W.K. KELLOGG FOUNDATION
Founded by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) is dedicated to supporting thriving children, working families and equitable communities. Embedded within all the foundation does are commitments to advancing racial equity and racial healing, developing leaders and engaging communities in solving their own problems. WKKF supports work throughout the United States and with sovereign tribes, and in Mexico and Haiti, concentrating up to two-thirds of grantmaking in priority places: Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans in the U.S., Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and in Central and South Haiti.
