Global Fellows Network Celebrates One Year of Connection, Collaboration and Action

In a remarkable year since the launch of the Global Fellows Network in November 2022, this community of change-makers has come together to share knowledge and foster connections across continents. Nearly 900 fellows participated in events this year, and we encourage more to join us in 2024!

 

Highlights from the first year of the Global Fellows Network include:

• A powerful National Day of Racial Healing observance and debrief session in January 2023 united fellows in community events and conversations about how we can work to create a more just and equitable world.
• In a March virtual conversation with more than 80 fellows, acclaimed author Peter Block discussed the enduring consequences of colonialism, paternalism and racism in traditional leadership practices and how they work against meaningful global conversations and cross-cultural connections. Read more about the event and watch the recording.
• In June, fellows represented the network at Aspen Ideas Festival, a week-long forum where leaders from around the world discuss and explore solutions to national and global challenges.
• Our largest in-person gathering, the Global Leadership Forum, brought together 63 fellows from 22 countries this summer. It was a unique opportunity to build relationships and explore conversations linked to the summit theme, “Connect, Collaborate and Act: Advancing Transformative Leadership Throughout the Globe.” Fellows continued the conversations in debrief sessions. Read all about it in our previous newsletter.
• In September, IREX presented its findings from the Fellowship Alumni Network Study (FANS), which assessed the influence of fellowship networks on alumni and identified key components of a network that alumni find valuable for enhancing their work. A link to the FANS webinar is in the Resources section of this issue.
• The Latin America and Caribbean area fellows hosted a conversation with the Director of the University of California, Los Angeles Labor Center, Kent Wong about the current work of labor unions in the U.S., particularly within the education sector. Wong connected this trend to the contemporary labor movements in Latin America. Seventeen fellows attended the event — read more about it in the News from the Network section of this issue.
• Fellows completed exclusive skill-building professional development opportunities, such as the financial leadership development and donor network program offered by Georgetown University McDonough School of Business and the racial healing certification program offered by the Clinton School of Public Service at the University of Arkansas.
• In addition, many fellows connected independently and organized informal regional gatherings and tag-alongs in Washington D.C., Mexico (Santiago de Chile, San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas and Merida), Costa Rica and Brazil.
• Throughout this year of progress, we were inspired by fellows who shared their learnings from the field through case studies, reports, webinars and more. A special shout out to our liaisons and consultants (Carmen, Dana, Pat and Thembinkosi) for helping to share this news with WKKF and the network!

Fellows based in Southern Africa collaborated to initiate and participate in various community projects, including an initiative that mobilized resources to help survivors of Cyclone Freddy, which devastated Mozambique and Malawi in early 2023. They also joined hands with like-minded organizations in Southern Africa — including the International Grail Movement and the Lapeng Care Centre in Maseru, Lesotho — to help eliminate gender-based violence (GBV) in the region, particularly where it affects children. Their activities included working with girls to build their self-esteem and raising funds to support girls who are survivors of GBV to attend a workshop at the United Nations. The selected participants presented and shared experiences with other girls of the same age group from across the globe. Together, they learned that they are not alone and shared approaches to GBV prevention.

• Learn more about the GBV Eradication project at this portal, (accessible only by invitation in order to create a safe space for the survivors of GBV).

On November 8, fellow Zee Min Xiao co-hosted a Unity Forum with john powell, director of the University of California, Berkeley’s Othering & Belonging Institute, and Arthur Brooks, author and professor at the Harvard Kennedy School, about bonding and bridging across society. During his visit to Utah, powell also met with a group of diverse youth and spoke to a local radio program about othering, bridging divides and creating a sense of belonging.

“Really listening is being fully present in a heartfelt way. Here’s the conundrum: When you actually fully listen, you actually do change the person, but you change as well,” said powell in the interview.

• Listen to powell's full interview with KSL News Radio.

In a recent collaboration, fellow Eleudson Queiroz (LASPAU) organized an online conversation with Kent Wong (KNFP-10), director of the UCLA Labor Center. Stemming from an exchange at the Global Leadership Forum, this initiative emerged during Public Servants' Week and provided a unique platform for Wong — who is also a member of the WKKF Solidarity Council on Racial Equity — to share his extensive knowledge of the U.S. labor movement with professors, Brazilian university workers and SINASEFE – the National Union of Federal Education Servers, Iguatu Section.

 

Wong shared insights on the historical context, challenges and notable triumphs in labor union organization, as well as thoughts on global movements such as unionization and strikes at major tech corporations.

 

Queiroz reflected on the event, saying, "Introducing the world of work and the labor movement in the U.S. to my colleagues in education in Brazil: that was my request to Dr. Kent Wong in our conversations in Johannesburg. The result exceeded expectations as he invited his colleague Dr. Jana Silverman from UCLA, a scholar on the subject in Brazil and Latin America, who contextualized Dr. Wong's talk and added updated data from our local reality”.

 

The recording from this session will be shared with fellows via Open Change when available.

• Fellows Giving Back: A recent study of fellowship alumni programs highlighted five key results: among them was the importance respondents placed on opportunities for service. Global Fellows Network members are no exception — “giving back” was identified as an important factor for fellows’ interest in continued engagement. In this season of gratitude, we wanted to thank the more than 60 fellows who answered the call to be part of the Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership, Class 3 (CLN3) selection process. They served as the first group to review all submitted applications and participated in a customized training event that included understanding and recognizing unconscious bias. Over three weeks, fellows spent countless hours conducting double-blind reviews, discussing ratings and making recommendations for a pool of candidates to move forward in the process. Their experience as fellows provided a special perspective. The announcement of CLN3 participants brought not only excitement, but pride in being a part of selecting this outstanding class of future alumni.

   

  • Learn more about the newest class of Community Leadership Network fellows!

     

• WKKF Fellows Join Clinton School’s Racial Healing Program: Congratulations to three members of the Global Fellows Network who were among 18 nonprofit leaders selected for Cohort II of the Clinton School of Public Service’s Racial Healing Certificate Program. The WKKF-supported program will provide Kay Bounkeua, New Mexico deputy state director at the Wilderness Society; Jonathan Rinehart, behavioral health clinician at Nottawaseppi Huron Band of the Potawatomi; and Alice Graham, founder of Turning Points from the Soul with specialized training, education and experiences to foster their skill development in racial healing. “Each cohort of the certification program brings racial healing and relationship-building practices into their spheres of influence, enabling people to make powerful change together,” said Arelis Diaz, director of WKKF’s office of the president.

   

  • Read an announcement highlighting the new cohort.

     

• Get Involved with the National Day of Racial Healing: The eighth annual National Day of Racial Healing on Jan. 16, 2024, is an opportunity for individuals, communities and organizations to acknowledge the values we share as human beings, build trust in each other, develop authentic relationships and inspire collective action that advances #HowWeHeal from the effects of racism. Join us!

   

  • Visit our new interactive website — available in English, Haitian Creole and Spanish.

     

  • Sign up to host or participate in a National Day of Racial Healing event at your home, neighborhood or organization. See how others have creatively honored the day to spark your own local event ideas. Help us get an event in each U.S. state and expand across the globe!

     

  • Watch Changing the Narrative. NBC News and Noticias Telemundo traveled across the U.S. to listen to candid conversations about race and navigating the impact of racism. The eight-part digital series (in English & Spanish) captured the stories of individual as they examined how issues of race have shown up in their own lives and how they might experience healing.

Resources

Findings from FANS: Fellows gathered for a webinar about FANS, a year-long study conducted with funding from WKKF and in partnership with IREX. More than 1,000 alumni in 102 countries, including some global fellows, participated in the study, which sought to understand how fellowship networks contribute to societal changes and how networks can support their alumni to drive positive social change.

• Watch the webinar for key findings that could help you in your work and gather insights from other fellows who tuned in for the conversation.

Learn the Basics of Strategic Communications: WKKF’s new Strategic Communications Planning Hub can help you advance your policy, advocacy and programmatic goals. The hub has digital training videos to improve strategic communications knowledge and a step-by-step interactive tool to help you build your own communications plan. Take advantage of these rich resources to reach your goals.

• Visit the hub for a new Spanish-language webinar on the basics of strategic communications.

Explore Leadership Program Alumni Networks: A new publication commissioned by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and authored by the Leadership Learning Community and Deborah Meehan (KNFP-12). The study examines how thousands of graduates of leadership programs are harnessing  alumni wisdom and actions to advance racial equity and racial healing. The research included interviews with 23 funders, 25 articles and books reviews, and engaged 85 funders, network consultants and alumni of leadership programs.

• Read the full report to learn more about the ways networks spur positive systemic change.

Fellows Inspire Global Leadership Development

In October, WKKF GFN members attended the International Leadership Association (ILA) Global Conference in Vancouver, Canada. The ILA is a global community of leaders, leadership scholars, educators, and development professionals who come together to explore and advance the field of leadership.

 

One of the ways ILA marked its 25th anniversary was convening a global focus group for a round table conversation about leadership development initiatives around the world. GFN representatives; Paul Martinez, WKKF chief leadership and human capital strategist; Xiomara Enriquez, leadership programs officer; Pat Turner, consultant; and GFN fellow Deborah Meehan (KNFP-12), participated in a spirited discussion about the challenges and opportunities of a rapidly changing future and the implications for preparing leaders.

 

Conference attendees and presenters come from a wide range of fields, backgrounds, and cultures, creating a rich tapestry of perspectives and viewpoints. Among the presenters were: WKKF GFN fellow Betty Overton (KNFP-9) and Maria Guajardo (KNFP -11) who covered the topics of “Purpose and Calling as Key Motivators for Leadership Aspiration and Effectiveness” and “Exploring Inclusion Through Leadership and Organizational Culture”.

 

The 2023 ILA conference has reinforced the belief that we, as a global community, hold the keys to a just and thriving future through our collective leadership efforts.

 

Join OpenChange, a vibrant Slack community with more than 1,200 Global Fellows Network members! Participate in the main channel and the one for your region to meet new people, stay informed about upcoming WKKF events and share updates about your work. Great conversations are happening right now: Join today and share in our excitement about the recent launch of two remarkable books by our esteemed fellows Kevin Fong (KNFP-14) and Sally Hare (KNFP-11).

• Visit OpenChange and introduce yourself to other fellows!

 

May you and your loved ones enjoy this season with health, rest and inspiration for a brighter future.

 

From all of us on the WKKF GFN team,

 

Carmen, Dana, Marcel, Paige, Pat, Paul, Reggie, Thembinkosi and Xiomara

 

W.K. Kellogg Foundation
One Michigan Avenue East, Battle Creek, MI 49017