Partnering With the Kellogg Foundation for the Community Leadership Network Fellowship

In 2018, the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL)® received an $8.7 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to lead a program that develops and connects leaders who want to create a more equitable society for all. 

The grant supports the implementation and management of the WKKF Community Leadership Network, an 18-month fellowship program for developing local leaders who can unite people to create sustainable change. The fellowship program offers hands-on training, personalized coaching, community-based support, and a place-based, culminating project experience.

Each class of the WKKF Community Leadership Network brings together approximately 80 dynamic and diverse leaders from a pool of hundreds of applications representing the United States and sovereign tribes. The WKKF Community Leadership Network includes participants from Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans — the Kellogg Foundation’s priority places — as well as nationally.

“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.

“It is a great privilege to partner with the Kellogg Foundation in stewarding the WKKF Community Leadership Network,” said Martin Schneider, President and CEO of CCL. “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.”

Since 2018, CCL has led and managed the program, based on its over 50-year track record of incorporating proven, cutting-edge leadership research into programs that elevate participants’ individual priorities and goals and its mission of advancing the practice of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.

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 Fellows 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.

Over the course of the program, fellows participate in multiple-day all-class sessions, convene with a smaller community cohort, and connect one-on-one with an executive coach, preparing them to rise to the unique challenges of our time. The program offers opportunities to understand the embedded racism in our systems and learn practical approaches to heal and unite communities around solutions.

Fellows go on to lead meaningful change in their communities. Several have run for elected office, including the mayor of Albuquerque and a city councilwoman in New Orleans, to create more equitable policies and foster economic growth that benefits the whole community. Alumni are also engaging Latino families to improve early childhood education in Michigan and advancing racial justice for African Americans in Mississippi.

To learn more about the WKKF Community Leadership Network fellowship, visit wkkfcln.org.