Nonprofit Emerging Leaders of Color Program Enters Year Two

October 10, 2022
A photo of the Nonprofit Emerging Leaders of Color with David Garvey
From top left: Jaquanna Soules of the Connecticut Women’s Consortium; David Garvey of the UConn School of Public Policy; Keith Smith of The Country School; Tamara Clayton of Canal Dock Boathouse; Crystal Fernández of Common Ground High School; Catherine John of the Diaper Bank of Connecticut; Program Lead Cynthia Rojas; Yakeita Robinson of LEAP; and Hossan Samadi of City Seed Seated Left to Right: Lorrice Grant of Haven’s Harvest; Dina Tareq of Havenly, Inc.; and Sandra McKinnie of the Greater New Haven Business and Professional Association

The 2022 Cohort of the Nonprofit Emerging Leaders of Color Program kicked off its first full-day on Tuesday, September 13th at The Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. The leadership program is an educational partnership between the University of Connecticut’s School of Public Policy (SPP) and The Community Foundation of Greater New Haven (CFGNH).

The program is the “brainchild” of CFGNH’s Director of Grantmaking and Nonprofit Effectiveness, Jackie Downing. She had this to say about the program,

The first year of the Emerging Nonprofit Leaders of Color program was a perfect partnership between the Community Foundation, UConn, our community’s leaders who helped design the program, and the program participants. It had tremendous impact on all of us as we learned from each other.  In the second year, we’re looking forward to the first cohort continuing to bring their heightened awareness and deeper knowledge to the organizations they serve, and to starting a new cohort on the same path.

The impact of the program was recently shared in the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (NACC) September newsletter. Their piece included quotes from SPP Director of Nonprofit Outreach Dr. David Garvey, SPP Director Professor Mohamad Alkadry and 2021 inaugural cohort member Landon Osborn from Connecting Through Literacy: Incarcerated Parents, Their Children and Caregivers (CLICC). Nonprofit consultant Cynthia Rojas, who collaborated with Garvey to design the educational component, was also featured. Rojas is also guiding the cohort through their journey. 

We wish the cohort the best of luck in their journey and can not wait to see where they take the nonprofit world next! Their next meeting is tomorrow, October 11th.

This year’s cohort members are:

Tamara Clayton of Canal Dock Boathouse

Crystal Fernández of Common Ground High School, Urban Farm, and Environmental Education Center

Lorrice Grant of Haven’s Harvest

Catherine John of the Diaper Bank of Connecticut

Sandra McKinnie of the Greater New Haven Business and Professional Association

Yakeita Robinson of Leadership, Education, Athletics in Partnership, Inc. (LEAP)

Hossan Samadi of City Seed

Keith Smith of The Country School

Jaquanna Soules of the Connecticut Women’s Consortium

Dina Tareq of Havenly, Inc.