This Teacher Appreciation Week, New Leaders Council is proud to uplift the changemakers in our network who shape the future…
January 31, 2024
To our 2024 Fellows, we have a message for you… “Congratulations, you did it!”
Fellows approach New Leaders Council LEAD weekend with varied levels of comfort, skills, and experience. No matter where you started, you probably had questions leading into the weekend.
What should I expect? Who will I meet? Will I get along with my cohort? Am I supposed to be here?
You’re not alone, we did too, and so did the majority of Fellows who went through NLC LEAD weekend. As you learned more about your cohort, you did work, you leaned into your own vulnerability and made space for others to do the same. You were open to possibilities, you laughed, you cried, you hugged, you connected through sharing your stories, context, and backgrounds.
Throughout the weekend, you and your NLC cohort focused on building strong relationships and investing in a collaborative community of change makers. At the conclusion of NLC LEAD, we asked you to give us feedback and you shared words like: Excited. Enjoyed. Joyful. Fantastic. Community. Open. Incredible.
97% of Fellows said that the NLC LEAD curriculum created multiple opportunities to bond and build culture with the other Fellows.
94% of Fellows said that the NLC LEAD curriculum contained activities that respected the group’s diversity and valued inclusion.
96% of Fellows said that the NLC LEAD curriculum pushed you to think deeply about your short, medium, and long term goals.
96% of Fellows said that the NLC LEAD curriculum made you excited to continue your NLC journey.
We appreciate your voice and while we are ecstatic to have such high percentages in Fellows’ feedback, we are also deeply committed to our value of continuous growth. Your feedback will help us to continue improving the NLC LEAD experience for future Fellows.
This weekend provided you with a framework to assess where you are now and envision where you want to go in terms of your personal and professional goals. We hope that for some of you, that will include considering becoming an NLC LEAD Facilitator in the future, strengthening the ecosystem of our community leadership movement across the country!
With over 18 years of training and connecting leaders in cross-sector industries, NLC has built a movement of proximate leaders with a shared language around building community, advancing equity, dismantling oppressive systems, and growing as leaders. And this experience was only the beginning of the rest of your NLC Institute experience.
You’re done with month one of your six-month leadership journey and we can’t wait to see how you grow alongside your cohort. Thank you! You are changing the world. In June, we’ll be waiting for you at the finish line to celebrate as you join the ranks of over 12,000 NLC alumni.
A big thank you and congratulations to all the local NLC Chapter leaders and the 2024 NLC LEAD Facilitators for a successful kickoff to the 2024 NLC Institute!
January 31, 2024
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February 2, 2024
New Leaders Council is in a cohort – and we’re not talking about NLC Institute! This week, we kicked off our first session in New Profit’s Civic Lab Cohort 4. Civic Lab is a leading nonpartisan initiative that invests in and grows innovative non-profit organizations focused on strengthening democracy and sparking an American Evolution in the U.S. and its territories.
New Leaders Council was one of eight organizations selected to receive an unrestricted grant of $100,000. Yes, that’s six figures! In addition to the grant, we will receive one-on-one leadership and strategic coaching to help us build organizational capacity and take aim at changing the broader systems in which we operate.
New Profit believes in the power of proximity, because leaders who have lived experience with the systems that need to change – in education, health, economic mobility, and others – have the deepest knowledge about the assets in their communities and are creating innovative, experience-driven solutions.
“Receiving this grant and participating in Civic Lab Cohort is like holding a mirror to our mission at NLC. Like us, New Profit believes in the power of proximity and through our training and alumni, New Leaders Council can train more proximate place-based leaders to dismantle systems of oppression and change the world. We also are fortunate to learn alongside other powerful nonprofits whose work compliments ours – FirstRepair, GenUnity, Latinas Represent, Partners In Democracy, The Pivot Fund, Rhizome, and the United States Federation of Worker Cooperatives,” says Karen Pandy-Cherry, New Leaders Council Vice President of Programs.
Throughout this year, we will engage in a peer learning community that allows us to meet with these nonprofit leaders through multi-day in-person convenings (like we are this week in Miami) and virtual sessions as well. We’re excited for the opportunity to build cross-sector relationships with each of these leaders, while engaging in meaningful dialogue and solution building for tackling key leadership and organizational challenges. Just like the community we foster during our signature program, NLC Institute.
We’re excited for the opportunity to keep building a new kind of leader and will be sharing our updates along the way in this journey.
Learn more about New Profit Civic Lab Cohort 4 at https://www.newprofit.org/go/introducing-new-profits-fourth-civic-lab-cohort-of-democracy-entrepreneurs/.
About New Profit
New Profit is a venture philanthropy organization that backs social entrepreneurs who are advancing equity and opportunity in America. New Profit exists to build a bridge between these leaders and a community of philanthropists who are committed to catalyzing their impact. New Profit provides unrestricted grants and strategic support to a portfolio of organizations led by visionary social entrepreneurs to increase their impact, scale, and sustainability. It also partners with social entrepreneurs and other cross-sector leaders to shift how government and philanthropy pursue social change to ensure that all people can thrive. Since its founding in 1998, New Profit has invested over $350M in 250+ organizations and, through the America Forward Coalition’s collective advocacy efforts, has unlocked over $1.9B in government funding for social innovation.
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A Message from our Incoming Board Chair: Candace M. Stanciel
We’re getting bolder and brighter.
July 27, 2023
New Leaders Council Fellows and alumni are amazing and brilliant leaders, and I’m grateful to have met so many of them during my NLC journey. As a 2013 NLC Atlanta Fellow who became Finance Co-Chair of my chapter, a Convention speaker, and most recently Vice Chair of NLC’s National Board of Directors, I’ve been able to learn, serve and develop in so many ways.
I will take all of those lessons with me as I advance the mission of our organization as NLC’s first alum, first woman, and first Black woman to serve as Board Chair starting in August.
I don’t take this role lightly. Never before have we had such a ripe opportunity to make an impact through NLC. This movement matters and I look forward to growing our network with a bold, bright vision.
My NLC Story
With the lessons and leadership paths laid by NLC, I’ve risen to become Atlanta’s Chief Equity Officer. As the national NLC Board Chair, I am honored and excited to lead alongside our phenomenal alumni and future fellows to create political and social change rooted in equity.
Since my introduction to NLC ten years ago, I’ve been thinking about how I might strengthen this impactful organization. My class had amazing leaders in it like U.S. Representative Nikema Williams, and since then we’ve created a whole leadership ecosystem that truly moves the state of Georgia forward. With leaders like Nsé Ufot who partnered with Stacey Abrams to lead the New Georgia Project and register countless voters, to lobbyist firm-leaders like Howard Franklin who have worked with every Mayor since Maynard Jackson to Shirley Franklin, to current Mayor André Dickens. NLC is also a connection I share with one of my best friends, Sarah Groh, a Boston chapter alum, who serves as Chief of Staff to U.S. Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley.
Now let me be clear: I was a bit of a troublemaker when I began volunteering with NLC Atlanta after I graduated from Institute in 2013. As the Finance Co-Chair, I found myself somewhat frustrated with the gaps between our resources and impact. Determined to improve this organization, I joined the National Diversity Committee as Chair, constantly pushing NLC to ensure more diverse Institute cohorts, ensure inclusive spaces for the many identities and differences in perspectives of our community and, most importantly, ensuring we worked to center and advance equitable and liberatory outcomes for communities. After a decade of service to the NLC community, I am confident that the next phase for NLC is as bright and bold as our Fellows and alumni.
A Bright Future for NLC
At Convention, where I hope to see each of you this August in Little Rock, I’ll take the helm as National Board Chair in support of another amazing NLC alum, our President and CEO, Clare Bresnahan English.
I’m not sure I have the words to express what it has meant to walk alongside Clare as she brings her vision for NLC to life. For two alumni to serve in the top leadership roles for NLC, demonstrates how far NLC has come – and we’re just getting started.
Among our Board and staff, NLC’s collaborative, connective leading style has made progress possible. We practice what we preach, from local chapter leadership team to the National Board of Directors.
The impact that our Fellows and alumni make is held up by strong scaffolding: our NLC Headquarters team. As the leaders of this movement, we are listening and adapting to make the network stronger. We are fulfilling our potential by building capacity, taking on bold improvements like developing a database of solutions that NLC Fellows and alumni are leading so we can replicate and scale good work. These are the big ideas in reach when you build the capacity of an organization with more than 50 local chapters across the U.S.
A Legacy of Boldness
When I think about the state of our country and our future, I am reassured that although the daily decay of our democracy is heavy, progress will prevail thanks to NLC. For every problem our country faces, there is an NLC alum strategizing solutions. When you think of the issues that keep you up at night – including abortion restrictions, voting discrimination, the systematic silencing of important discussions of race, and harmful policies surrounding LGBTQIA+ youth – just know that locally and across the country, NLC alumni are on the frontlines of change.
Our model relies on deep-rooted and durable systems: strategies molded, sustained, and executed by our local leaders who serve their communities through their NLC chapters. By building leaders locally and giving them a chance to experiment with leadership through chapters and other volunteer opportunities, NLC’s impact grows and grows.
NLC alumni are in the White House. They are attorneys challenging Nazi hate groups in our court systems. They are disability and mental health advocates. They are pushing for better and more fair elections. They are nonprofit founders and municipal government leaders. NLC alumni are everywhere, advancing progress in every industry and issue-area across the country.
As a community leadership movement, we know it’s not about lifting up the singular, charismatic individual, but the work of each of us that ensures a world with opportunity for all. And as your incoming Board Chair, I hope to create a legacy of bold impact. With the exact same collaboration and connection at our core, I look forward to the opportunity to grow this organization into its potential. Join us at Convention as we celebrate the next phase in NLC’s bright future!
Candace M. Stanciel
NLC Atlanta 2013
NLC National Board of Directors Chair
A Love Letter and Call to Action to NLC Volunteers
Apply for the Senior Programs Advisory Committe (SPAC)
May 1, 2023
//Karen Pandy-Cherry
Dear New Leaders Council volunteers,
You train the people who change the world. At home in your chapters, you drive our community leadership movement, working every day to build trust, center equity, and make local change one Fellow at a time.
It’s not easy to run Institute for six months – and you do so much work in the background to prepare for each year’s class of Fellows, including nominate, encourage, and select each class. As a current volunteer with NLC Orlando with my husband Chad, I know it takes the hard work of every board member to make Institute run smoothly. What looks so well orchestrated to our Fellows requires so much behind the scenes magic: collaborating with creativity, problem-solving with your team, creating safe and inviting spaces, planning and executing events and fundraisers, connecting with community members to book speakers and plan activities, finding venues, ordering lunch and supplies, making donor calls, organizing chapter board meetings – you do it all!
After your day jobs, you choose to devote your excellence to NLC. You give us your weekends at Institute, your evenings for board meetings, your mid-week lunch hours for answering Fellow emails. For your chapters, you have kindly devoted your free time, creative energy, listening ears, and kind hearts. You’ve given years of service to hundreds of local NLC Fellows and alumni, impact that multiplies far beyond what we can fathom. Thank you.
The reality is, you’re the kind of people that our world needs: those committed to promoting inclusion, diversity, and equity; those who center their values, in particular equity and continuous growth; those who work collaboratively and effectively with diverse groups of people and through strong communication and interpersonal skills. You engage, inspire, and motivate others. You are adaptable, practicing balancing between competing priorities – able to adapt to changing circumstances and be flexible in approach to problem solving. You are self-reflective and adept at listening and receiving feedback as a part of continuous growth. You are a new kind of leader.
Thank you for choosing to continue your individual leadership development with us. The hours you put in – your ideas, perspectives, talents – strengthen the NLC network. By volunteering, you help not only in your local chapter, but also scale our impact to make progress go farther and farther nationwide. You, along with more than 400 others in chapters from the Pacific Northwest to South Florida, train nearly 1,000 new Fellows every year. You are a leader in your chapter and your local community.
With all that gratitude, I pose a new opportunity: I invite you to go beyond your important local role and scale up nationally by serving on NLC’s brand new advisory group, the Senior Programs Advisory Committee (SPAC). SPAC will work collaboratively with NLC HQ to provide strategic guidance, mentorship, and advisory support to chapters and caucuses. The senior volunteer group will be responsible for creating an inclusive and supportive environment that fosters learning, growth, and leadership development within the NLC community.
I’ve included more information about SPAC below. We formed SPAC as a new phase in NLC’s continuous growth. While both the National Programs Committee (NPC) and National Diversity Committee (NDC) were sunset in March, they were the scaffolding that helped build what NLC is today. Now, with our support strongly in place, NLC’s SPAC can continue and accelerate the organization’s capacity both internally and externally.
NLC’s NPC and NDC worked with NLC HQ to create the structure and strategy to fully bloom. Their members worked diligently to develop the organization, forming who we are today. With their help, NLC launched its first equity statement; incorporated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) more consistently into its programs; established more effective feedback and evaluation systems; all while upgrading the Curriculum Guide, recruitment efforts, and many other Institute improvements. Thank you to the members of the NPC and NDC for helping us build capacity in order to meet this moment.
Now in our next phase of continuous growth, we have been able to automate more of our day to day chapter support and shift our focus to larger scale programming. Enter SPAC. SPAC will work alongside NLC HQ’s programming team and regional coordinators to look ahead more expansively into the future. SPAC members will help ensure that DEI continues to be woven through NLC programming, map our path into the future, and hold the organization accountable to its strategic plan and vision. SPAC will also provide leadership development support through projects like chapter director training, orientation and onboarding.
Thank you for being NLC’s champions every day. Thank you for being you, and for allowing us the privilege to learn and grow beside you. Thank you for lending us your joy, your tact, and your beautiful ability to build strong relationships among the NLC community.
With love and gratitude,
Karen Pandy-Cherry
Learn more about the SPAC below, see eligibility requirements, and apply by May 15, 2023!
- Community:
- Serve as ambassadors to chapters to foster strong community culture aligned with NLC values
- Provide insight to staff on strategic questions or challenges facing chapters/ volunteers
- Provides the organization’s national and local leadership with cutting-edge DEI expertise across a wide variety of identities and communities
- Support HQ and chapters in recruitment and selections process
- Leadership:
- Support HQ in providing leadership development training to chapter volunteers
- Support the grievance process between Fellows and chapters and among chapter board members
- Coach chapter directors in effective chapter board management
- Support staff with a specific chapter, Caucus, or volunteer who is unsuitable or values misaligned in their role
- Advise HQ on infusing DEI into all programs & project plans
- Coaching and mentoring chapters boards on implementing DEI in their local programs and operations
- Movement:
- Support HQ in ensuring chapter, caucus, and alumni efforts are aligned with the strategic plan
- Support Programs & Operations team in creating opportunities for collective impact among chapters, volunteers, and alumni
- Support NLC in its movement toward progress including introducing new strategic partnerships and other opportunities as they arise
Amplifying Alumni Impact in Capstone Clash Initiative
Seven Alumni Participate in First-Ever Promotion
April 21, 2023
After sharing seven inspiring alumni Capstone projects (our “Significant Seven”), three rounds of voting, and more than 2,300 total votes from our community, we’re excited to announce the winner of our Capstone Clash, NLC’s promotion to earn $500 in prize money to further an alum’s Capstone project.
With 472 final-round votes on Instagram, the winner of our Capstone Clash is Sunny Williams’ Capstone, Tiny Docs! Tiny Docs is an interactive web app that creates cartoons to educate kids about health in a fun and easy to understand language. The interactive children’s health platform is packed with educational videos, activities, and resources that nurture better health for the next generation.
Capstone Clash participants included food pantries, chess cooperatives, Narcan vending machines, caregiver support, and education. Our participants (read about them below) connected with hundreds of new friends, peers, and supporters across the country, bringing new exposure to the ideas and issues that matter most to them.
Our first-ever Capstone Clash united alumni to celebrate the direct impact that the #NLCFamily makes in their communities. That’s the power of NLC: one conversation, one Capstone project, at a time, we change the world together.
In NLC chapters across the nation, Institute Fellows identify a project or big idea that captures their passion and then find a way to fill a need in the community by leveraging the skills and networks to make a change. This connection and collaboration is what drives our community leadership movement.
Have a story of impact since your Institute experience? We’d like to amplify it with the NLC network. Share your story with us!
About the 2023 Capstone Clash Participants
Runner Up: Marcella Juarez (NLC South TX Frontera ’20)
Missy Spears – COVunity Fridge
She/Her
Kentucky 2021
The COVunity Fridge is a free fridge, freezer, pantry open 24/7 for community donations and shopping. We partner with a number of small businesses and individuals to keep it stocked and clean. It also has a microwave and hot/cold water dispenser to allow folks to eat meals on site.
Holly Noon – Doctorate with Focus in Diversity, Equity & Inclusion
She/Her
Broward 2022
My capstone was to outline the process for pursuing my doctorate degree with a speciality or focus in the diversity, equity & inclusion space. Once I obtain the doctorate I would leverage my expertise in my own consulting business or pursue a leadership role at an organization with a DEI focus.
Em Gray – The N.I.C.E. Project, Narcan In Case Of Emergency – Texas’s First Free 24/7 Narcan Vending Machines
She/Her
Austin 2019
Launched in August 2022, the NICE Project works to reduce overdose deaths in central Texas by making imperceptible the barriers to overdose reversal medication via the vending machine delivery system. They currently have three locations in Austin and have dispensed over 5,000 doses of Narcan.
Ashley Hart – The Janice Hart Foundation
She/Her
Tampa Bay 2022
The Janice Hart Foundation focuses on providing a community to support caregivers and encouraging them to fill their vases. We will provide peer and therapeutic support groups, reprieve volunteers to assist caregivers, emergency bill assistance, and a community directory of business in our community
Ernest Levert Jr. – ChessMakers Cooperative
He/Him
Columbus 2021
The ChessMakers Cooperative was created to help raise awareness about solidarity economics and cooperatives through the creation and distribution of custom-made chess sets, tables, and equipment. We are excited to move into the next phase of the project by hosting our first ChessMakers workshops!
Just as our alumni came together to vote to advance projects through Capstone Clash, we will also unite to learn and grow with each other at our yearly Convention.
This year, hosted in Little Rock, Arkansas, we’ll focus on the many ways that NLC Fellows and alumni create change where change is needed. We’ll celebrate folks like Sunny and our other amazing Capstone Clash participants, as well as those other impactful changemakers across our nation.
You can learn more about Convention and purchase ticket here.
NLC Stands with the Trans Community
March 28, 2023
Harmful bills are being passed and introduced across the nation that are directly targeting LGBTQIA+ youth.
With chapters in many of these states, we want to make it clear – that NLC stands with the trans community.
Our mission and model has always been to train local leaders where they are needed the most. We know who leads matters. It’s evident that the community and support that NLC provides changemakers is needed more than ever.
NLC’s commitment to equity and inclusion includes supporting and uplifting our trans NLC family, supporters, and communities. We are here for you and our next generation of leaders. We will continue to build up the leaders who can stop the harm that these bills and others are causing across the country.
NLC’s commitment to equity and inclusion includes supporting and uplifting our trans NLC family, supporters, and communities. We are here for you and our next generation of leaders. We will continue to build up the leaders who can stop the harm that these bills and others are causing across the country.
We are the people who change the world, and we will not rest until we do.
Our Pride Caucus has been at the forefront of advocacy and highlighted their leadership from the front with the passing of harmful bills in Texas and Florida in 2022:
“We stand with our LGBTQ+ siblings and our allies across the nation, but this week in particular we are extending our voices to Texas and Florida where our community is being constantly attacked by disgusting claims that gender-affirming treatments for children should be considered “child abuse” and by the passing of the “Don’t Say Gay” bill in Florida.
This is a dangerous set back and will affect the mental well being of LGBTQ youth nationwide, not just Texas.
The @newleaderscouncil Pride Caucus rejects Texas AG Paxton’s claims and Florida’s offensive bill that further greenlights bullying, hatred, discrimination, and stigmatization. Moreover, it will create more gaps, barriers and disparities.
We urge all elected officials involved to reconsider this decision for the sake of our children and their futures.
#transyouth #transyouthlivesmatter #lgbt”
Chapters such as NLC Kentucky have collectively used their voices to make a statement against these harmful bills:
“The Board of New Leaders Council – Kentucky stands in solidarity with LGBTQIA+ youth of the commonwealth and in opposition to all of the anti-LGBTQIA+ and anti-trans legislation brought forth this session, specifically our state legislature’s anti-trans omnibus bill, Senate Bill 150.
Senate Bill 150 is a shameful act of schadenfreude. In taking away the rights of trans youth to seek and explore gender affirming care, allowing teachers to misgender their students, and preventing youth of a certain age from learning about gender identity, our public servants have served only themselves at the great expense of young people, especially trans children, across this commonwealth.
Extreme politicians do not get to determine who belongs and [who] doesn’t. Trans Kentuckians belong everywhere and New Leaders Council – Kentucky will continue to fight for a Kentucky that is inclusive of everyone.
New Leaders Council – Kentucky will continue to acknowledge the inherent human rights of all Kentuckians, regardless of their gender expression, and will create opportunities for our fellows and alumni to explore gender identity and advocate for their right to live. To our trans Kentuckians and to anyone who knows and loves someone directly affected by this hateful legislation, we see you and we love you.
If you are in need of speaking with a mental health professional, the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is 988.”
As a chapter, alum, supporter, or friend, we encourage you to continue lending your voices to 1) speak out against anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation around the country publicly & loudly, and asking your local elected officials to do the same and 2) advocating for influencers and corporations that claim to support the LGBTQIA+ community to speak against it publicly & consistently.
For more resources to track your state legislatures, please visit https://www.aclu.org/legislative-attacks-on-lgbtq-rights.
Two NLC Alumni Join NLC Board of Directors
NLC EXPANDS EQUITY WITH CROSS-SECTOR LEADERS FROM NOMINATIONS BY ALUMNI
February 28, 2023
We asked and you answered. New Leaders Council asked for national Board member suggestions from NLC alumni to increase transparency around the qualification, selection process, and pipeline – and our alumni delivered.
New Leaders Council is excited to welcome NLC alumni Rhianon DeLeeuw and Ty Lim to the NLC Board of Directors!
Rhianon DeLeeuw (she/her) is the Co-Founder and current Co-Director of New Leaders Council Arkansas. She is passionate about NLC Arkansas, believes Arkansas is worth fighting for and that the leadership of Arkansas – across all sectors – needs to better represent and reflect Arkansans and their needs.
Ty Lim (he/him) is a 2018 NLC San Francisco Fellow, former NLC San Francisco Co-Director, and NLC National Advancement Chair. He is passionate about creating brave intersectional spaces for folks to thrive in, community empowerment, and ensuring equitable access to resources and opportunities.
Together, Rhianon and Ty will expand the cross-sector leadership and alumni perspective on the Board of Directors as they uphold NLC’s values within their companies and communities. As we welcome them into these new roles, we also extend our gratitude to Mitch Draizin, who retired from the Board after over six years of service.
Rhianon DeLeeuw has seen the power of NLC drive equitable change in Arkansas, and as a member of the New Leaders Council Board of Directors, recognizes the tremendous opportunity to replicate this success in other states.
Outside of her work with NLC Arkansas, Rhianon is Senior Vice President, Walmart US Finance, Planning & Analytics (FP&A) and Strategy. She has been with Walmart for nearly 12 years supporting various areas of the business, including Health & Wellness, Operations, Revenue and Customer. Prior to Walmart, Rhianon lived in Washington, D.C., and worked in the nonprofit and government sectors. She served as a Program Officer at the Meridian International Center, a nonprofit diplomacy center that connects leaders through culture and collaboration to drive solutions for global challenges. She also worked as a paralegal at the U.S. Department of Justice and was an English teacher in Japan.
Rhianon earned a Masters in Business Administration from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business and a Bachelor of Arts in Political Economy from Williams College.
She lives in Fayetteville, Arkansas, with her husband, Josh, who is also an NLC Arkansas Co-Founder and current Mentorship Co-Chair, and their three dogs and cat.
Three words to describe her leadership style: emboldening, inclusive, accountability
Ty Lim is a 2018 NLC San Francisco Fellow, former NLC San Francisco Co-Director, and the NLC National Advancement Chair.
Within the community, Ty co-founded Prism Foundation (formerly GAPA Foundation), a grassroots philanthropic organization that provides funds and leverages resources to empower the Asian & Pacific Islander LGBTQ community. Ty also serves as a Program Leader with the Roots: Him Mark Lai Family History Project, where he helps Chinese Americans conduct genealogical research to discover their ancestral roots in China and subsequently leads them back to visit their ancestral villages in China in the summer.
Ty is currently the Legal Chief of Staff at Lyft and leads the Office of the General Counsel. Prior to Lyft, he led Privacy and Trust & Safety strategy and business operations at Adobe and has spent over 10 years managing and scaling global teams at Google and Meta working on trust & safety, legal compliance, and intellectual property issues. In the workplace, he has been active in both the queer and Asian & Pacific Islander employee resource groups serving as the Executive Chair for the Asian Employee Networks, specifically focusing on diversity and inclusion, cultural education, professional development, and mentorship.
Ty graduated with honors from UC Berkeley with degrees in Political Science, Asian American Studies, and Ethnic Studies.
Three words to describe his leadership style: compassionate, intersectional, servant
Current NLC board members include Board Chair Mark Walsh, Vice Chair Candace Stanciel, Secretary Yumi Lawlor, Treasurer Michael Toland, Chair Emeritus Chris Kelly, Executive Committee Member Sherry Merfish, as well as Robert Abernethy, Brittany Aydelotte, Justin Braz, Raymonde Charles, Wendy Davis, Donnie Fowler, Adela Ghadimi, Joon I. Kim, David Lee, Derrick Lewis, Yuh Wen Ling, Tim Mason, Anne Moses, Prashanthi Raman, Nick Rathod, MaryEllen Veliz, and Kellan White.
Learn more about NLC’s national leadership here.
2023 Fellows Use Their Stories to Drive Change
Meet Eight Fellows from NLC’s Nationwide Chapters
December 13, 2022
//Karen Pandy-Cherry
New Leaders Council trains the people who change the world. Our next class of Institute Fellows – our 2023 cohort – are the entrepreneurs, non-profit executives, and elected officials of the future. They are a new kind of leader on the front lines of the issues impacting their communities and, with NLC’s network and training, they’ll be equipped to solve their communities’ problems by centering equity, collaboration, and cross-sector connections.
NLC creates new ways of leading at the local level. We believe that to solve local problems, we need local problem-solvers. Below are just a few of the amazing 2023 Fellows we are welcoming to the NLC Family. While all our Fellows have shown exemplary leadership qualities and a passion for progress, the below folks have used their stories to uplift their communities. Read more about these Fellows and our 400 other Fellows on your local chapter’s webpage!
Joanne is a primary Care Nurse Practitioner and volunteers with multiple community organizations. In 2019, her life was forever changed when her baby brother was brutally killed by local police during a mental health emergency. This experience shattered her world as an emergency-trained medical provider and led her on a path to organize community efforts for awareness and demand for change in the local justice system.
Kyle is the Senior Manager of Grassroots Organizing in Texas for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network. After 3 rounds of chemotherapy, Kyle survived stage II testicular cancer – the same cancer that took the life of his grandfather. He proudly draws upon his experience as a survivor to advocate for other cancer patients and their families.
Samrawit is a black Tigrayan immigrant. She helps organize peaceful protests throughout the US and trips to visit Tigrayan refugees in Sudan, continuously raising awareness of the Tigray genocide that impacts her family. She is also the Organizing Director for Black Lives Matter Seacoast.
Jess Weltha-Bales, Washington D.C.
Jess served seven years as an active-duty army officer and has extensive experience advocating for survivors of military sexual trauma and teaching bystander intervention techniques to fellow soldiers. In her current role as a Congressional Fellow with the Women’s Congressional Policy Institute, Jess is working to develop and pass legislation that supports women and the veteran community. Jess continues to serve as an army reserve public affairs officer and volunteers with her local domestic violence shelter and Veterans of Foreign Wars organization.
Imran is a public interest attorney who is passionate about assisting small business owners in New York City. His interest in small businesses started in law school, where he was part of an award-winning clinic that counseled small business owners who could not afford legal services. Currently, Imran is a Staff Attorney with the Volunteers of Legal Services (VOLS) where he advises small business owners who traditionally lack access to legal representation. At VOLS, Imran also works with grass-roots organizations on informational clinics for local small business owners and has testified at City Hall regarding progressive policy reform and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on small business owners.
Noëlle Rábago Boesenberg, Silicon Valley
Noëlleis a Filipino American immigrant and single mom. In 2020, when the pandemic halted her career in business, Noëlle did what she always did in times of crisis: baked cinnamon rolls. As Noëlle baked, she realized it wasn’t just therapeutic for her but was a way to reconnect with her community during difficult times. In July 2020, Noëlle founded TherapyBaking LLC, and raised funds for local non-profit and mutual aid organizations.
Consuela is an urban ecologist, artist, community organizer, and founding co-president of People Matter (PM), a community-based organization whose mission is to uplift, unearth and untether people in different Chicago communities. A 4th generation Chicago native, she has worked for over a decade to improve race relations between Black/ Latine /Asian communities. Consuela founded PM’s Community Language Program, one of the world’s only dual-immersion Cantonese and English classes taught through a social justice lens.
Jean is a trilingual humanitarian from Haiti and is the creative director and curator of Portraits of Pride, a large-scale portraiture exhibition of LGBTQ people in the city of Boston that he launched in 2022. In 2021, he founded Rainbow Tales, a multimedia production initiative to tell LGBTQ stories through various creative mediums.
Our chapters across the U.S. adapt NLC’s national curriculum to fit their local lenses, sharing the mindsets and skillsets needed to succeed in business, public service, and/or non-profit leadership, including communications, community organizing, fundraising and finance, goal setting, and public policy.
NLC Institute is the foundational experience for all NLC Fellows, creating a shared experience that deepens their relationships within the cohort. It is these relationships that are the cornerstone of leadership development both in our chapter cohorts and for the new kind of leadership model we are building on a national scale.
When we invest in one Fellow, one cohort, one chapter, progress multiplies not just in local communities, but collectively across the country. As our 2023 Fellows join the NLC Family in January, we encourage you to learn more about our new Fellows, connect with our chapters on social media, and make a gift that sustains progress and equity one leader at a time.
NLC Alumni Win 2022 Elections
70 leaders win local, state, and federal seats
November 10, 2022
//Clare Bresnahan English
Across the country, NLC alumni are winning big for their communities. That’s where progress begins: locally. That is where change is sparked, where that fire is fed, and set aflame.
And while the privilege-to-power-pipeline is not easy to break, NLC alumni run for office to fight for their seat at the table. They are a new kind of leader: one who centers equity, builds trust, and reflects the communities they serve. They are on the frontlines of change. They are local leaders who know what our communities need and how to lead in this moment.
While our country faces a rise of extremist leaders who roll back our rights and restrict our bodies, NLC is the answer. We are a leadership pipeline that works. We connect and uplift the next generation ready to lead. We are the bench for the next candidates, organizers, and advocate. Because of NLC’s training and network, our alumni have the grit and the skills to run and win.
This year, we are proud to celebrate nearly 70 wins and counting.
Did we miss an NLC alumni who won their race? Whether it’s for local school board, state office, or a federal seat, we want to honor every alumni who ran in 2022. Send us a message: [email protected].
We’d like to thank each and every NLC alumni who ran. Win or lose, you had the courage to disrupt the status quo and fight for your values. Your grit and love for your community makes NLC incredibly proud. And your willingness to run and serve gives us and other alumni the motivation to continue pouring into this movement for progress. You set an example of what a new kind of leader can be and lay the groundwork for a brighter future for all of us. Thank you.
So what’s next?
Movements for social and political change don’t end on Election Day.
We know that our country can’t rely on one leader, one knight in shining armor, one hero, to save us. Rather, NLC develops a network of local leaders who, together, can and will make long term change in our country. Our training goes beyond one weekend, but rather provides six-month, no-cost training in both the skillsets and mindsets needed to make progress permament.
The next generation of NLC Fellows, our 2023 class, will be equipped with the mindsets and skillsets to go toe-to-toe with harmful leaders at the ballot box. These Fellows are the ones who will be running in 2024 and beyond. And with NLC’s training, they’ll be ready to win.
30+ Books by NLC Community Authors
October 24, 2022
//Clare Bresnahan English
The New Leaders Council community is made up of creative storytellers. Our alumni, Advisory Council members, and National Board of Directors members collaborate within the NLC network to workshop ideas and storylines and use their stories to inspire others. Many of these books, including Demetri Makes a Memory Quilt and Worms Are a Yummy Snack – were written as NLC Fellows’ Capstone projects, drawing on their cohort’s collective ideas, skills, and perspectives to write, publish, and promote their books.
As Literacy Day approaches on November 1, we invite you to check out one of the many books written by NLC alumni and members of our National Board of Directors and National Advisory Council.
With the hustle and bustle of Election Day and the holidays, it’s important for leaders to invest in self-care, including reading a good book or sharing stories with our loved ones. Our stories are powerful and healing. Our stories have ripple effects in our homes, neighborhoods and communities, setting off a chain reaction that makes progress possible.
Have you read one of these books? Reply to this email to tell us about the impact that NLC community stories have had in your life! Also, please let us know if there’s a book we missed by filling out this quick and easy form!
Below are just some of our NLC community authors and their works. You can find these books online or at your local bookstore.
Children’s Books
NONFICTION BOOKS
