Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership launches Class Three

Applications are now available for an 18-month fellowship program that develops and connects leaders who want to build more equitable communities.

BATTLE CREEK, Mich. — The W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) with the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) today announced the opening of the application process for local leaders in Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans to participate in Class Three of its WKKF Community Leadership Network fellowship program.

The 18-month fellowship supports leaders to connect, grow and lead transformational change toward a more equitable society. Applications for the fellowship are being accepted online at wkkfcln.org through April 10, 2023.

“Our founder, Will Keith Kellogg, recognized that investing in local leaders and authentic engagement of communities is essential to creating the equitable conditions necessary for children and families to thrive,” said Paul Martinez, WKKF’s chief leadership & human capital strategist. “This fellowship is a manifestation of his vision. Every class of fellows deepens their knowledge and expands their skills to serve their communities in phenomenal ways.”

The WKKF Community Leadership Network fellowship places a distinct emphasis on racial equity and racial healing, community engagement and collective leadership – each part of what the foundation calls its DNA.

The program is recruiting a diverse class of fellows who are:

• Passionate about bringing the best of themselves to create equitable conditions for children, families and communities.
  
• Invested locally in their communities, with a desire to connect with others in their Tribes, cities, states and beyond to work collectively for greater impact.
  
• Intentional about deepening their understanding of racial equity, racial healing, community engagement and collective leadership to drive transformational change in communities.
  
• Experienced or interested in early childhood education, health, food systems, workforce development, family economic security or other fields that advance racial equity and children’s well-being.

The WKKF Community Leadership Network fellowship offers hands-on leadership development, personalized coaching, peer networking and practical experience. Over the course of the 18-month-long program, fellows engage in multiple-day sessions with all participants, convene with a smaller community cohort, and meet one-on-one with an executive coach. In addition, fellows become a part of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Global Leaders Network to support continued connection, collaboration and collective action. This network of global fellows includes more than 1,100 change agents from across Latin America & the Caribbean, Southern Africa and the United States.

Since 2018, CCL has led and managed the program bringing with it a 50-year track record of incorporating proven, cutting-edge leadership research into programs that elevate participants’ individual priorities and goals.

“It is a great privilege to partner with the Kellogg Foundation in stewarding the WKKF Community Leadership Network,” said Martin Schneider, CCL president and CEO. “We are honored to know and work with such a talented group who are committed to creating a brighter future for our children through an innovative approach to leadership.”

Prospective applicants can apply at wkkfcln.org.

About the W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Founded by breakfast cereal innovator and entrepreneur Will Keith Kellogg in 1930, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) is dedicated to supporting thriving children, working families and equitable communities. Embedded within all the foundation does is a commitment to racial equity, developing leaders and engaging communities in creating solutions to systemic challenges. WKKF supports work throughout the United States and with sovereign tribes, and in Mexico and Haiti, concentrating up to two-thirds of grantmaking in priority places: Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico and New Orleans in the U.S., Chiapas and the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, and in Central and South Haiti.

About Center for Creative Leadership

The Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) seeks to advance the understanding, practice and development of leadership for the benefit of society across the globe. A top ranking executive education firm worldwide, CCL brings more than 50 years of experience, research and best practice to connect the challenges leaders face with the essential skills they need to be successful. Since 1970, CCL has helped transform more than one million leaders and thousands of organizations in 160 countries. CCL manages the WKKF Community Leadership Network as a grantee of the Kellogg Foundation.