ABOUT
Fundamental to the Big Picture Learning mission and philosophy, this Fellowship is framed by the notion that impactful leaders lead with love, authenticity and purpose. The Ashé Leaders Fellowship is a life changing endeavor, not an academic pursuit, aimed at increasing student success and improving community prosperity. The Fellowship is also designed to amplify what is possible when communities host and sustain leadership.
Many leadership development programs fall short in meeting the needs of both communities and leaders themselves. The Ashé Leaders Fellowship is designed to identify strong voices, deeply develop each Fellow's leadership capacity and amplify nationally the experiences of leaders as they transform systems in their communities and beyond.
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We will take a learning journey with Fellows as we surface issues of equity and explore real community movements and system transformation from a national, as well as community-embedded, perspective. With an urgent need for innovative and authentic leadership, the Ashé Leaders Fellowship will seek diversity within each cohort, including underrepresented and atypical early-mid career leaders in public education and higher education, as well as in the public and private sectors of business.
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The inaugural Ashé Leaders Fellowship will select up to 24 Fellows to participate in an 18-month leadership learning journey. As many as four budding and aspiring leaders will be selected from six communities nationwide to form small communities of learners ("squads") connected by and committed to their cities. These fellows will experience multiple in-person and virtual convening to both grow together as a new leadership network and strengthen their individual leadership development.
We are strongest when we see the most vulnerable in our society, bear witness to their struggles, and then work to create systems to make it better.
STACEY ABRAMS
SELF
With an emphasis on exploring and expressing oneself deeply, each fellow will engage in self-assessment, self-discovery, self-care and develop a leadership learning plan to move their leadership to a new level with the support of monthly coaching sessions, a development stipend, and the Ashé Fellowship community. Fellows will be encouraged to define their leadership in ways that honor who they are, amplify their talents and gifts and develop new skills.