At ACI, we see leadership development as an essential ingredient in transforming the community investment field, which is why the Fulcrum Fellowship is an integral part of our work. We recognize that supporting disinvested communities to achieve their environmental, social, and economic priorities is hard work. It requires risk-taking and the ability to step out on faith in the service of a vision.
Last month, Echoing Green released a call to action in support of Black leaders, compiling first-hand observations, reflections, and solutions about this moment from their Fellows. At this moment when we as a country are confronting our history of racism, we were inspired to follow their model and highlight some of our Fulcrum Fellows of color who are attending to the needs of their communities in ways that position them for equitable long-term recovery, rethinking, and rebuilding.
Here’s a look at how they’re advancing racial equity and social justice, working across sectors, fighting for systemic change, and nurturing more leaders in their communities.
Equitable Recovery Requires Meaningful Engagement
By Kendra Freeman, Director of Community Development and Engagement, Metropolitan Planning Council
Give Everyone Cash—Living Paycheck to Paycheck Won’t Help Us Recover
By Rudy Espinoza, Executive Director, Inclusive Action
Flattening the Curve and Closing the Gap: The Civil Rights of Health During a Global Pandemic
By Aysha Pamukcu, Policy Fund Initiative Officer, Partnership for the Bay’s Future, San Francisco Foundation, and Angela P. Harris, Professor Emerita, UC Davis School of Law
Leading in Solidarity to Reshape the Nonprofit Ecosystem
By Allandra Bulger, Executive Director, Co.act Detroit; Madhavi Reddy, Executive Director, Community Development Advocates of Detroit; Shamyle Dobbs, CEO, Michigan Community Resources; Yodit Mesfin Johnson, CEO, Nonprofit Enterprise at Work; and Donna Murray-Brown, CEO, Michigan Nonprofit Association
LA Más Stands in Solidarity
By Helen Leung, Co-Executive Director, LA Más, and the LA Más Team
Coalitions for Equitable Wealth Policy Leverages Efforts to Address Inequity
By Joanna Trotter, Senior Director of Community Impact, The Edinburgh Community Trust
Connecting Housing, Community, and Health
By Romi Hall, Director, Healthy Homes and Communities, NeighborWorks America; Charise Fong, COO and Executive Vice President, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation; and Jill Kunishima, Senior Vice President of Development and Communications, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation
