Twenty-Five New England Leaders Named Creative Community Fellows

National Arts Strategies (NAS) recently announced 25 creative change-makers to join our inaugural Creative Community Fellows New England cohort. Over the next six months, Fellows will work with NAS, faculty partners, mentors and each other over to build the skills and networks needed to push their projects forward. Their journey together will include two residential learning experiences and monthly online courses, with a curriculum focused on strategy, design thinking, and leadership.

The selection process was very competitive, with applications coming from every New England state – totaling over 115 proposals in all. The 25 Fellows selected bring a wide range of skills and knowledge to the cohort. Some have backgrounds in city planning. Others have experience with local business councils. All are united by their passion for arts and culture, and their belief in its potential to spur positive community change.

One of the common themes we noticed in Fellows’ projects was helping communities find ways to welcome newcomers. Anna Ackerman’s “World to Table” in Portland, Maine, for example, seeks to bring community members together to co-create meals in public spaces. Workforce development also features prominently in this cohort, including Christopher Hope’s “Loop Lab” in Cambridge, Massachusetts and Ceilidh Galloway Kane’s “WonderArts Vermont” in the rural, northernmost corner of Vermont.

Creative Community Fellows are united by their passion for arts and culture, and their belief in its potential to spur positive community change. Tweet This

Check out the full list of Fellows below and click here to learn more about them.

Thanks to the generous support of the Barr Foundation, the program is being offered with a regional focus and Fellows’ tuition is completely underwritten. These New England Fellows will join a national network of over 150 alumni, who have participated in the program over the past four years. Each was selected for their capacity to create change. As they thrive in their work, so do their communities. And we are eager to see how the work of this new cohort unfolds.

We encourage you to follow them and NAS, and to join the conversation using the hashtag #NASCCF.