National Arts Strategies welcomes 24 artists, entrepreneurs, community organizers, city officials, advocates and urban planners into the Creative Community Fellows program. From reimagining the future of New York’s Chinatown inside a 92-year-old family-run porcelain shop to creating opportunities for design and technology training in the Appalachian Mountains of West Virginia, the individuals in this cohort embody empathy in their creative work and are dedicated to their communities throughout the United States.
Fellows will work with National Arts Strategies, faculty partners, mentors and each other during the next nine months to embrace their authentic leadership capacities, examine their partnerships and strategy, and craft ways to make their projects sustainable. In addition to implementing their projects, Fellows will create a vibrant, national network by bringing their own experiences and expertise to the table.
“This is the fourth cohort of Fellows we are welcoming into the program and the recruitment process never fails to show us that the kind of support Creative Community Fellows offers is necessary. We interviewed over 70 finalists, all of whom are incredibly talented and thoughtful community change makers. Our ultimate aim was to build a diverse cohort that maximizes the potential for transformational peer learning opportunities, ” says Creative Community Fellows program director, Sunny Widmann.
Over 265 applications from 39 states and the District of Columbia were received. NAS was moved by the crucial work applicants are doing across the United States and couldn’t be more proud and excited to welcome this inspiring group and get to work.
2017-18 Creative Community Fellows Cohort
Megan Bullock | Charleston, WV
David Burt | Hapeville, GA
Marisa Carr | Minneapolis, MN
Demone Carter | San Jose, CA
Taneisha Duggan | Hartford, CT
Naomi Even-Aberle | Rapid City, SD
Laura Gisler | Saint Paul, MN
Chris Horne | Akron, OH
Cornetta Lane | Detroit, MI
Mei Lum | New York, NY
Gregory Milo | Akron, OH
Kia Moore | Charlotte, NC
Jordan Reeves | Brooklyn, NY
Jaclyn Roessel | Bernalillo, NM
Lula Saleh | Minneapolis, MN
Taraneh Sarrafzadeh | San Jose, CA
Ben Sax | Los Angeles, CA
Clinnesha Sibley | McComb, MS
Kristianna Smith | New Britain, CT
Quentin Turner | Detroit, MI
Romain Vakilitabar | Littleton, CO
Joan Vorderbruggen | Minneapolis, MN
Ashley Williams | Charlotte, NC
Suzanne Wise | Wahkon, MN
This program is the result of the incredible support of the Kresge Foundation, the Bush Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, The Educational Foundation of America and The Connecticut Office of the Arts.
