Journeys of the Spirit by Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance (KFLA)

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Journeys of theSpirit

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Journeys of theSpirit

Journeys of the Spirit: Kellogg Fellowsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; Leadership in Action is a publication of the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance. Copyright 2009. All rights reserved. Writer and editor: Kiki Sayre Designer: Dae Ann Knight Design Cover Photo: Jay Labov, KNFP 9 Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance (KFLA) is a network of 1,200 individuals from 40 countries who were selected to participate in leadership programs created by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation beginning with the signature Kellogg National Fellowship Program and the Kellogg International Leadership Program, and continues today with the Food and Society Policy Fellows and the Fellows in Health Disparities. The mission of KFLA is to identify and implement solutions to complex challenges by expanding the work and the impact of Fellows in collaboration with local leaders, one another, and other foundationsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; leadership alumni groups. Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance 1420 Ogden Street Denver, Colorado 80218 303-839-KFLA www.kfla.org

Contents

Introduction: The Journey Begins...................................................................................................1 I. Leadership in Action................................................................................................................................ 3 Individual Expressions of a Commitment to Change James Bell, Juvenile Justice...................................................................................................................................... 5 Robin Toma, Local Government........................................................................................................................... 7 Martha Bidez, Consumer Rights...........................................................................................................................9 Mary Hlalele, Public Health...................................................................................................................................11 Welile Shasha, Public Health................................................................................................................................13 Stephen Gliessman, Sustainable Agriculture...................................................................................................15 Rumaldo Juarez, Higher Education....................................................................................................................17 Leonard J. Marcus, National Security............................................................................................................... 19 Benny Shendo, Jr., State Government................................................................................................................ 21 Jane Kendall and Ran Coble, Public Policy.....................................................................................................23 Richard M. Foster, Philanthropy..........................................................................................................................25 Ana Maria Philippi, Nonprofit.............................................................................................................................27 Roger N. Casey, Community Service................................................................................................................ 29 II. Leadership in Action...............................................................................................................................31 Leveraging Leaders to Catalyze Change HIV-AIDS in Africa.................................................................................................................................................33 Positive Youth Development.............................................................................................................................35 School Nutrition.....................................................................................................................................................37 Intercultural Understanding and Respect....................................................................................................39 Border Health Issues.............................................................................................................................................43 Conclusion........................................................................................................................................................45

On lifeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s journey faith is nourishment, virtuous deeds are a shelter, wisdom is the light by day and right mindfulness is the protection by night. If a man lives a pure life, nothing can destroy him. Buddha

The Journey Begins Becoming a leader is a process of discovering one’s gifts and talents, and applying them to something one is passionate about. In 1980, the W.K. Kellogg Foundation began fellowship programs that spanned more than two decades and gave 1,200 individuals from 40 countries the tremendous gift of discovering and broadening their personal talents. Men and women in the early stages of their careers, already demonstrating a passion for creating positive change in their communities, were provided international learning opportunities and topic-focused experiences to broaden their perspective on the world’s social, economic, and environmental issues. The Kellogg Foundation’s intent was to empower individuals to become capable leaders who would develop creative solutions to societal problems. The plan succeeded. Today, Kellogg Fellows are pursuing their individual and collective journeys and making an impact around the globe. In addition to cultivating individual leaders, the fellowship programs provided a wide-ranging network that allowed Kellogg Fellows to tap one another for advice, insights, and collaborative opportunities. As all Fellows had a shared interest in leaving a significant legacy as a result of their participation in the Foundation’s fellowship programs, in 2002 they formalized their network and created the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance. The Alliance builds on the Fellows’ common experience and offers opportunities for reconnecting, renewal, and leveraging the 1,200-strong leadership network. Today, the Alliance is reaching beyond the Kellogg Fellows network to join forces with other fellowship programs in addressing substantive issues around the globe. Journeys of the Spirit: Kellogg Fellows’ Leadership in Action features a sampling of the intensity and passion with which Kellogg Fellows strive to make a difference. Part One, Individual Expressions of a Commitment to Change, showcases the leadership challenges and impact of 14 Fellows, while Part Two, Leveraging Leaders to Catalyze Change, describes six collaborative initiatives the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance has engaged in to address pressing issues. Together, these accounts of leadership in action capture the passion and purpose with which Kellogg Fellows approach their calling to lead. They also describe the spirit in which the Fellows approach their journeys as leaders—combining courage, innovation, humility, and hope—that gives them the fortitude to help make the world a better place.

Leadership in Action

I ndi v id u al E x p r essions of a C ommitment to C han g e

Kellogg Fellows’ life experiences, spiritual orientations, and professional backgrounds are diverse and wide-ranging. The Fellows touch every level of leadership—from grassroots activists, to university presidents, to health care reformers. Yet, they each hold a common value as a result of their experience in the fellowship program—a resolve to improve the human condition.

The hallmark of a Kellogg Fellow is one who accepts global stewardship. While each fellow was chosen for the program based on his or her leadership potential, the three-year quest of intense learning and experiential opportunities changed their lives. In the end, their Kellogg Fellowships led them to become risk-takers, inter-disciplinarians, and change agents—and to be more powerfully aligned with their passions and purpose.

The stories of 14 individuals that follow exemplify the intentional leadership journeys of the 1,200 Kellogg Fellows. These portraits of on-the-ground and uplifting leadership pursuits provide insight into how this cadre of leaders works to right wrongs, find sustainable solutions, and improve the human condition.

Society

h a s u s e d t h e j u v e n i l e c o u r t s to c r e at e

a c a s t e s y s t e m w h e r e t h e r e a r e t h r o w - awa y p e o p l e .

Juvenile Justice

James Bell Executive Director, The W. Haywood Burns Institute, San Francisco

James Bell is outraged by the lack of accountability in the United State’s juvenile justice system. He spent 20 years as a staff attorney at the Youth Law Center in San Francisco and found that every facility he visited was filled mostly with youth of color. Seeing firsthand how society has used the juvenile courts to create a “caste system where there are throw-away people,” James founded the W. Haywood Burns Institute in 2002. The institute, named for a founder of the National Conference of Black Lawyers, addresses the overrepresentation of youth of color in the juvenile justice system. “Our approach is to convene traditional stakeholders—judges, prosecutors, district attorneys, police, probation officers—with nontraditional stakeholders—youth organizations, parent groups, clergy—and present data to show inefficiencies,” says James. The Burns Institute works with jurisdictions across the country to gather data on where and when arrests are made, the offense, the youth’s ethnicity, and other relevant information, to point to trends and community needs. Says James, “Our justice system is one of the few unaccountable systems in the country. It doesn’t make decisions based on best practices…or in the best interest of the young people and families involved. The decision makers can administer this misery and not take any responsibility for the outcome.” While James admits that changing the culture of the juvenile justice system is very difficult and takes time, he feels his organization is making progress. “Just getting the collaborative around the table is a milestone,” he says, and adds, “Engaging the communities in the data-gathering process and in defining success for their local jurisdiction is innovative.” James has also worked extensively internationally, assisting the African National Congress in the administration of the juvenile justice system in South Africa; working with Palestinians and Israelis on alternatives to juvenile incarceration; training government officials and activists on the human rights of children in Cambodia, Kenya, Brazil, and France; and working closely on restorative justice policy with officials in New Zealand and Australia. James credits his Kellogg Fellowship with giving him the perspective needed to take on broad social issues. “I saw people dealing with really hard problems and dedicating their life to them, but they had it in perspective,” he says. “It re-calibrated for me what the expectations were in dealing with social justice.”

â&#x20AC;Ś h ow

c a n p l u r a l i s t i c s o c i e t i e s h av e g e n u i n e

i n c l u s i o n , j u s t i c e , a n d fa i r n e ss f o r a l l t h e i r m e m b e r s ?

Local Government

R o bi n

T o m a

Executive Director, Los Angeles County Commission on Human Relations

Robin Toma has a passion for righting wrongs and bringing justice where there has been injustice. He became a human rights activist in college, speaking out against the United State’s interventions in Central America. As a civil rights attorney, he worked to defend individual’s rights. In the mid-90s, at the start of his Kellogg Fellowship, he accepted a position with the Los Angeles County Human Relations Commission. “My learning plan as a Kellogg Fellow was consistent with the mission of the agency—looking at how pluralistic societies can have genuine inclusion, justice, and fairness for all their members,” he says. Working in L.A. County, the most populous and diverse county in the United States, Robin describes the work of the commission as “trying to change the structural conditions that are obstacles to a better society where everyone can feel valued and included.” The commission publishes an annual report of hate crimes, which, for the past three years, have risen steadily. Despite the upturn in racially motivated violence, Robin is particularly encouraged by his work in the public high schools with the Zero Hour program, helping students stand up to bigotry and racism. Robin and his staff also have instituted a policy at the L.A. Police Department to ensure police officers are able to communicate with the diverse populations across the city. Robin and the commission faced a perilous challenge in responding to the assaults on innocent Muslims after the September 11th attacks. “Our response was very rapid and helped reduce the amount of scape-goating in those communities,” Robin notes. “We spoke out on television against the attacks—admonishing the attackers not to victimize innocent people. It helped to set a tone to deter what was happening.” Robin likened the uproar to what happened on a national level during World War II when Japanese Americans—including his mother—were interned in prison camps. He points out: “Three things allowed the country to violate Japanese Americans’ civil rights: lack of political leadership, war-time hysteria, and prejudice against an ethnic group.” Robin and his commission work to insure those components never again align. “Despite all the difficult things that happen—the challenges, and conflicts, and ugliness of bigotry raising its head—I’m also aware of the many instances where those things have been overcome and we have harmonious relationships in communities,” he says. “I believe ultimately, over time, we’ve moved in that direction.”

â&#x20AC;Ślike

j u m p i n g o u t o f a n a i r p l a n e w i t h o u t a pa r a c h u t e .

Consumer Rights

M a rt h a B i d e z President, BioEchoes, Inc.

Martha Bidez is passionate about giving a voice to those who don’t have one—to individuals who have been marginalized because of gender, race, or socio-economic status. Her passion has been the driving force behind her career path, which has led her from a faculty position in the biomedical engineering department at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, to founding a biomedical company, and now to heading a consulting firm and advocating for automotive safety. Through conducting research at the university, Martha and her team developed a revolutionary dental implant product. The university encouraged her to commercialize the product and, in 1995, she started BioHorizons Implant Systems, Inc. In 2000, she stepped down as CEO of BioHorizons, but remains the board chair. “Now, I’m able to focus more on my passion through my consulting and activist work,” she says. Much of her energy has been directed at working to change discriminatory practices in the automotive industry. “From my technical expertise and my corporate background, I know what it requires to put out a safe product,” Martha explains. “And as an engineer, I believe we have a responsibility for safety. Now, I’m trying to convince the ‘big boys’—Ford, General Motors, and others —to stop making management decisions that seriously hurt folks, and to convince the government to require stricter standards.” She admits, “I have the dubious distinction of being the only person Ford Motor Company has attacked personally on its website, so I know I’m getting through.” Before her Kellogg Fellowship, Martha says, she was “content in the calm, comfortable university environment. The fellowship instilled a sense of fearlessness in me. It allowed me to give up my tenure and launch a new company—which was like jumping out of an airplane without a parachute. It has helped me to ‘take on,’ so to speak, the automotive industry. Today,” she asserts, “the network of Fellows provides enormous, ongoing inspiration for me.” Her advice for aspiring leaders: “Do what has heart and meaning in your own life. Without it, there’s no way to sustain the difficulties and challenges you’ll be facing.”

The

e ss e n c e i s i n t h e d o i n g .

Public Health

Mary M. Hlalele General Manager, The Fred Hollows Foundation South Africa

Dr. Mary Hlalele is part of a team of health and development professionals providing support and direction to district health care providers serving disadvantaged populations. She promotes collaborations between health professionals and community members to ensure services are delivered within a community-specific context. From a young age, Mary wanted to practice medicine. She studied in the United Kingdom, Nigeria, and South Africa before becoming a clinical practitioner in the Bophuthatswana homeland. Later, she moved to Johannesburg to work as a community-based health care development educator. She comments, “What pleases me most in the work I do is assisting people in processes where they can feel empowered. They can affirm themselves by achieving something—even if they have no external means of support.” Despite the breadth of her official engagements in health care—serving in leadership positions in small district hospitals, national associations, as well as international organizations—Mary adheres to the same principles and values that she upholds when dealing with family, neighbors, and friends. She explains, “Assuming the role of leader simply defines and recognizes me—at home or at work—as someone who may see a problem, a need, or an opportunity, and then does something about it. The essence is in the doing: somehow improving the situation, or improving the circumstance.” Mary points to her assistance with placing Operation Crossroads Africa volunteers in the rural area of ha Ntlama in Lesotho as an example of how she helps make a difference in communities. Initially, she worked with community members to identify and prioritize local needs in preparation for receiving their volunteers. She then helped oversee the volunteers’ efforts in conducting educational sessions on HIV/AIDS, assisting in local clinics, teaching English to local youth, and other roles. Mary recounts, “At this stage, five years after the first group of OCA volunteers stayed in the village, the community members no longer need assistance with updating their priority areas and I’ve significantly reduced my visits to the village. Follow-up meetings and workshops with the community members have shown a far stronger sense of unity among the people than was ever the case before. Most importantly,” she says, “lifelong friendships have been established between the volunteers and community members. This is a good demonstration of the fact that leadership is interchangeable with followership.”

The

key to me is integrity and leading by example.

Public Health

Welile Shasha Director, District Health Innovations, Pretoria, South Africa

For 10 years, ending in 2005, Dr. Welile Shasha was South Africa’s liaison officer to the World Health Organization (WHO). With HIV/ AIDS the largest killer in South Africa, Welile’s focus in his retirement continues to be on working in communities to address the many impacts of the disease—from finding ways to help orphans and vulnerable children, to introducing antiretroviral therapy in South Africa’s poorest province, to cultivating hope among the health workers and those afflicted with the disease. Despite his decade-long affiliation with an organization working at an international scale, Welile’s approach to this pressing health issue is rooted in community collaboration. Since leaving WHO, Welile formed District Health Innovations, an organization devoted to making health care delivery more effective at the local and regional levels. His approach is to engage community members in focused discussions and allow them to define and implement solutions in their own way. With this strategy, he empowers individuals to address specific concerns in their community. For example, Welile facilitated community input to build a first-of-its-kind health center in Qamata, a village in Western Tembuland along the Eastern Cape—one of South Africa’s poorest provinces. “When we convened meetings of the community in Qamata, everyone came and cooperated in finding solutions for the questions raised,” he recounts. His open and inclusive approach has helped Welile earn the trust of traditional leaders in remote areas of the country. Shortly after the completion of Qamata’s health center, Welile was summoned by the King of Western Tembuland to help address the needs of its many orphans. “People should see what you believe in from what you do as an individual, as part of a family, and as a member of the community,” he asserts. “The key to me is integrity and leading by example.”

t ry to b e a n e x a m p l e o f h ow w e a l l a r e

pa r t o f t h e s o l u t i o n s w e s e e k f o r s o c i e t y .

Sustainable Agriculture

St e p h e n G l i e s s m a n Alfred E. Heller Chair in Agroecology, University of California Santa Cruz

As a graduate student, Steve Gliessman had an epiphany that led him to pioneer the field of agroecology—the application of ecology to the design and management of agriculture. He still recalls the moment the idea came to him. “I was doing my graduate work in ecology in Costa Rica. I was sitting on a hillside overlooking a small village when the realization came to me that the ecology I was studying needed to help people make different decisions about the way we manage our natural resources, especially through agriculture.” He decided, “Ecology should be able to provide alternatives at the level of the human landscape, not just document the impacts of humans on nature or try to protect wild places.” In 1980, Steve established the first-ever academic agroecology program at the University of California Santa Cruz, and later published the first textbook of agroecology. From programs he has developed, students can take part in experiential living-learning opportunities in agroecology, and agriculture professionals worldwide can attend annual International Agroecology Shortcourses. In both his personal and professional life, Steve strives “to be an example of how we all are part of the solutions we seek for society.” He lives and works in a way that fosters sustainable change in how society thinks about food systems, interpersonal relations, and relationship with the Earth. In 2001, Steve and his wife founded the Community Agroecology Network (CAN) to help provide farming communities in Mexico and Central America with the tools to become economically viable, while also benefiting the environment. As part of CAN’s work, it links eco-friendly farmers with consumers. For example, CAN sponsors a fair trade coffee marketing program in which consumers in the United States purchase their coffee from co-ops in Central America, helping farmers receive a just and sustainable price for their coffee. Steve and his family also have their own sustainable farm, Condor’s Hope, producing wine grapes and olives using his principles of agroecology. Steve’s commitment to change is rooted in his reverence for nature. He says, “Nature is both resilient and resistant, and able to build itself back after disturbance. It gives me hope that human society can do the same if we realize we are not separate from, but part of nature.”

Did

it help our students?

Higher Education

R u m a l d o J ua r e z President, Texas A&M University, Kingsville

Since Rumaldo Juarez assumed the mantle of president at Texas A&M University, Kingsville, in 2002, he has helped inject a new paradigm into the 82-year-old institution that reflects the importance he and his administrators place on scholarship. Together, they have increased the admission standards, expanded the university’s research funding, instituted the university’s first capital fundraising campaign, and added several new graduate and undergraduate degree programs. One particular milestone in Rumaldo’s tenure has been working with a committed team of faculty, alumni, local community leaders, and state elected officials to establish a new College of Pharmacy on campus—the first of its kind in South Texas—in order to remedy the shortage of pharmacists in the state. The Kellogg National Fellowship Program was a turning point that led Rumaldo to aspire to his leadership role in higher education. “The Fellowship allowed me to develop my leadership skills in professional development courses and also gave me the opportunity to travel and meet other leaders. It allowed me to broaden my horizons and experiment with life and professional experiences that would have never crossed my path.” Now, placed in the front lines of decision-making, Rumaldo is able to apply all he has learned. “I am willing to make the hard decisions that are unpopular but that will produce outcomes that will better serve our students and stakeholders in the long run,” he says. The standard by which Rumaldo measures each day’s work is: “Did it help our students?” He reflects, “If I really value life-long learning environments, and the students and society that I serve, I must be committed to the essence of change. My decisions must always be guided by integrity. Without integrity, I cannot lead.” His word of advice to aspiring leaders in his field is: “Never compromise your integrity!” Editor’s Note: Dr. Juarez has stepped down as president of the university and has assumed the newly created position of Associate Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve

b e c o m e pa ss i o n a t e a b o u t i m p r o v i n g l e a d e r s h i p i n o r d e r t o i m p r o v e o u r p r e pa r e d n e ss .

National Securit y

Leonard J. Marcus Co-Director, National Preparedness Leadership Initiative

Lenny Marcus admits that a few years ago he would never have imagined working in the area he now works in. In 1991, as an outgrowth of his Kellogg Fellowship, Lenny established the Program for Health Care Negotiation and Conflict Resolution, which, since 1995, has been at the Harvard School of Public Health. There, he teaches courses on negotiation and conflict resolution to students and health care professionals. Shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001, Lenny was the unwitting co-recipient of a $1 million federal grant to research and provide training regarding bioterrorism preparedness. “I decided to approach this new assignment as if it were a Kellogg Fellowship project,” he says. “The fellowship approach was: go out into the field, talk to people, and experience what’s going on. Since the post 9-11 concern regarding international terrorism was so new, it was really the only way to familiarize myself with the threats and the leadership issues in order to build an appropriate response.” Now, along with addressing policy issues of health reform—such as the adoption of electronic health records and policy implications of the aging population—Lenny also directs disaster and terrorist preparedness through the National Preparedness Leadership Initiative. He says, “In working closely and observing people in leadership positions, we realized that many of these leaders are good at advocating what’s best for their agency, but are not doing as good a job working together and advocating on behalf of the overall objective of national preparedness.” Lenny and his colleagues coined the term, “meta-leader,” to describe a leader who can lead across agencies. In August 2006, Lenny went to Israel at the height of the Hezbollah-Israel war to meet with health, military, and first-responder officials. He was on the border on the last day before the cease-fire was implemented, observing the response as a record number of rockets were falling into the area. “You have to be there in the middle to understand those moments that you’re preparing for,” he says. “That’s where you find what works and doesn’t work in leadership during a crisis. We incorporate what we learn into the curriculum on meta-leadership for our work with U.S. government officials.” In 2007, Lenny led a seminar on meta-leadership at the White House for the senior leadership on homeland security to look deeply at what is going on across government agencies. Additionally, with the support of the Centers for Disease Control and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Lenny will bring the meta-leadership model to 50 communities across the country. Lenny stays committed to his work because, he says, “We have a very high level of conflict in this world and—as we’ve seen in 9-11—people are willing to sacrifice themselves for what they believe in. A small sliver of our society needs to be thinking about these worst-case scenarios and providing leadership that can maximize the effectiveness of our response.”

Sometimes,

t h o s e o f u s a s l e a d e r s h av e

t o a l l ow o u r s e lv e s t o b e i n v i s i b l e .

O n ly

then can others emerge as leaders.

State Government

Benny Shendo, Jr. Cabinet Secretary for Indian Affairs, New Mexico

Benny Shendo, Jr. serves as the liaison between New Mexico’s state government and the 22 tribes in the state. Benny was appointed as Cabinet Secretary to the Department of Indian Affairs shortly after Governor Bill Richardson elevated the office to a cabinet level department—the first in the nation. One of Benny’s first milestones was the passage of the Tribal Infrastructure Act during his first legislative session in 2005 to support infrastructure projects in Indian communities. Benny’s commitment to his work has deep cultural roots. “Indian people in this country have endured tremendous struggle and hardship in trying to protect our way of life – our songs, dances, ceremonies, values and how we see the world,” he reflects. “When I look at the many policies of this country, from the Indian Removal Act to others that nearly destroyed our people, I know many died for us to speak our language; many sacrificed to allow us to keep our culture. We have to keep the hope of our Indian people alive and pass it on to our children.” Benny worked to keep hope alive in the tribal community where he grew up, the Jemez Pueblo, when the small Catholic school on the tribal lands closed its doors in the late ‘90s. He resigned from his position as assistant dean of students at Stanford University and returned to his home community to save its local school. “We called a meeting of the entire community,” recounts Benny. “I told them: ‘For the moment, let’s forget that we are almost out of money and we may not have a school; but if we had all the money in the world, what kind of school would we create?’ We recorded all the dreams and hopes for our children. After it was all done, I told them, ‘Here is your school – you just created it.’ “ Benny helped form a nonprofit and chaired the board to raise money to convert the former school into a charter school. Today, Jemez Pueblo is the only tribe in the state that has both a K-8 and 9-12 charter school. “It was important to look to the people to find the answers. Sometimes, those of us as leaders have to allow ourselves to be invisible. Only then can others emerge as leaders.” Editor’s Note: Mr. Shendo now serves as Lieutenant Governor for the Pueblo of Jemez.

Deep

d o w n , w e b o t h h av e a c o m m i t m e n t t o

North Carolina.

Public Policy

Jane Kendall

Ran Coble

President, North Carolina Center for Nonprofits

Director, North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research

The state of North Carolina is better off for the dedicated work of one Raleigh couple: Jane Kendall and Ran Coble. Both direct nonprofits dealing with a variety of social issues impacting the state, and both have helped steer through a number of public policy changes to make it a better place. Says Jane, “Deep down, we both have a commitment to North Carolina. We both love this state, and have respect for its environment and natural beauty. We both value education and the potential of every person.” After her Kellogg Fellowship and 13 years at the helm of the National Society for Experiential Education, Jane left her job in 1990 to focus on strengthening the nonprofit sector overall. She interviewed 300 nonprofit leaders about what they needed to increase their impact, and then created the North Carolina Center for Nonprofits to address the issues that surfaced in interview after interview. The center provides 1,600 of the state’s nonprofit organizations with technical assistance, professional networking, and a united voice for the sector. “It’s a sector that makes a real difference in people’s lives,” says Ran. “At a statewide conference, Jane asked, ‘What would happen if all nonprofits shut down for a day?’ The crowd’s answers showed how the state would grind to a halt: parents had to go home because daycare centers closed, hospitals and nursing homes shut down, classes at private colleges were cancelled. It was a great way to help people see how nonprofits contribute to everyone’s daily life.” Ran completed a combined law/public policy degree and the served as legal counsel for what is now the Department of Health and Human Services. In 1981, he became executive director of the nonpartisan North Carolina Center for Public Policy Research as a way to improve the performance of government in his home state. The center uses fact-based research to inform public decision-making. Jane comments, “Ran has the courage to speak out on unpopular or controversial issues and hold government accountable—and he can do so because he’s not in government and doesn’t accept government money. He is able to take on the big issues and the big guys, but do it in a way that is respectful and leaves issues open to public debate. That’s a rare skill.” For example, she says, “We have a system of 16 public universities set up in 1971 under one board. The universities in North Carolina are sacrosanct—you don’t criticize them here. Our state constitution requires that higher education be ‘free of expense…as far as practicable’. So, after a large tuition increase, Ran’s center began looking into how well the system is working. Based on their research findings, they questioned the wisdom of six tuition increases in eight years, as well as calling for more accountability in intercollegiate athletics. The university system made some of the center’s recommended changes even before the legislature began considering them.” His center also has won national awards for research that led to changes in laws and funding that have reduced both domestic violence and high school dropout rates. Both agree there is a symbiotic advantage to working in policy issues at the state level. “We share our intelligence-gathering about nonprofit and policy issues,” says Jane. “We help each other and achieve more as a result.” Jane points to her first venture in public policy when she worked to pass six pieces of legislation. “A year later, my feet were worn out, but five of them were law! It’s true only because of Ran’s coaching.” Ran appreciates the mutual support he and Jane give to one another. He says, “It’s rare to get feedback from people saying, ‘Keep doing what you’re doing.’ Jane understands the work and appreciates that it’s really important. She can lend a kind word or give a boost of confidence.”

The

m o r e p o w e r y o u g i v e awa y , t h e m o r e y o u g a i n .

Philanthropy

Richard M. Foster Vice President for Programs, Food Systems, Rural Development and Leadership, W.K. Kellogg Foundation

“I am a product of rural America,” says Rick Foster, a Fellow of the Kellogg Foundation’s National Leadership Program who now oversees programs, food systems, rural development, and leadership at the foundation. “I have seen first-hand the difficulties that small farmers experience.” Rick grew up on a small farm outside Missouri Valley, Iowa. Along with his parents, a high school teacher motivated him to pursue a college degree. His first job out of college was teaching agriculture in a rural high school. “Leadership was a part of all my classes,” he says. “I have an inherent belief—as do my colleagues at the foundation—that people really do have the solutions to the issues that affect them.” At a relatively young age, Rick Foster achieved a professorship at the University of Nebraska in agricultural education. While others in his field believed he had the world by the tail, Rick had a sense that he had more to accomplish. “I knew that this wasn’t it—it wasn’t what I was meant to do,” he says. A few years later, the Kellogg Foundation offered Rick a position. “It allowed me to improve the quality of life for families, especially in rural areas, by giving them the resources to be able to help themselves. I have a spiritual commitment and a calling to do this work.” Rick considers the rural United States an under-invested part of our society. He explains, “It is neglected in terms of policy, investments, health care and education, and economic development. Yet, it’s where our food is grown and our valuable open spaces are found; and, it comprises 80 percent of our country’s geographic area. If we don’t have high-quality stewards, we’re in trouble. The varying cultures and ethnicities that live in rural communities need a voice.” He adds, “When all people in communities have a say in their future and the design of their communities, that is success.” Rick considers true leaders to be those who empower others. “The more power you give away, the more you gain. You may not get all the kudos and credit, but you will become a better leader for it.”

Keep

going; many others need you.

Nonprofit

A n a M a ri a P h i l i p p i Directora Ejecutiva, Fundacion de Vida Rural, Santiago, Chile

Ana Maria Philippi leads a team of close to 100 staff and consultants to respond to the educational needs of Chile’s rural poor. Through her nonprofit organization, Foundation of Rural Life, Ana Maria is combating poverty by operating a boarding school for children and providing vocational and technical training for men and women. The programs are aimed at developing the capacities of those living in poverty to help them improve their quality of life. Ana Maria, now in her twenty-first year as executive director, takes pride in knowing how to determine the educational needs in rural communities, and to forge alliances with the public and private sectors to secure whatever resources are necessary to address them. Says Ana Maria, “We are well-known and respected because of our accountability, responsiveness, transparency, quality work, and our capacity to convene people in the field.” Her personal view of management is informal and team-focused. Ana Maria remains involved in all the organization’s teaching, traveling, and organizing activities. “I’m convinced that I am not considered a ‘normal’ director of an organization,” she says. “I approach the staff as friends, showing no preferences within the group. The responsibility each takes for his or her task makes the difference when we work as a team.” She adds, “I try to be behind, to be invisible. On many occasions, people don’t know I’m the director. There’s no need for it.” Ana Maria’s passion is people. She says, “I learn so much through my interaction with others and with people who are so poor and have a lot of needs. But they are strong and they teach me about life—how to live my own life and how to understand others’ lives.” While she draws energy from those she works among, she keeps motivated by continually saying to herself: “Keep going; many others need you (and you need them).”

g oa l s a r e to i n t e r n at i o n a l i z e t h e fa c u l t y a n d s t u d e n t s â&#x20AC;Ś

Community Service

Roger N. Casey Vice President for Academic Affairs, Rollins College, Florida

In this age of rapid advancements, Roger Casey is helping to ensure that students at the small, liberal arts college where he oversees academics stay in touch with the on-the-ground needs of the global community. Before coming to Rollins College, Roger was associate dean for teaching and international programs at Birmingham-Southern College. There, with assistance from other Kellogg Fellows, he helped launch a center for leadership and service learning, taking students to study in Mexico and Belize. Once at Rollins, Roger started a community engagement initiative to connect students with both local organizations and international programs. “My passion for service learning programs came out of my Kellogg experience,” he says. “My goal is to saturate our curriculum with these opportunities.” In 2003, Roger took part in a Kellogg Fellows trip to the Galapagos. The following year, he took 16 students on the same trip to “recreate some of the learning experiences I had with the Fellows,” he says. Since then, he has returned with groups of faculty and alumni. Roger explains, “My goals are to internationalize the faculty and students, to allow them to experience the community that is created by living on a small boat for 10 days with a group of people, and to have people think about the natural world and the issues of sustainable development.” Roger also worked with a Rollins chemistry professor to establish a water purification project in the Dominican Republic. Students assemble and teach people how to use water purifiers, and also conduct research on the effect of the purification project on infantile diarrhea and other ailments. His advice to aspiring leaders in his field: “Ignore structure. Structure in higher education is the biggest impediment to getting anything done,” he says. “Do everything you can to smash down the walls and ignore the rules. Then,” he says, “whatever it is you’ve set out to do will probably have a good result.”

Leadership in Action

L e v e r a g in g L eade r s to C ataly z e C han g e

The Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance acts as a conduit for leveraging its 1,200-strong network of leaders to serve communities and catalyze change. It also taps leaders from other fellowship programs for collaborative efforts when interests and intentions align.

The Alliance regularly convenes a brain trust of Fellows and collaborative partners for intense dialogue and learning around a particular topic of mutual interest. Participants then identify innovative solutions to complex challenges, and apply these solutions in communities. By drawing on the expertise and commitments of Kellogg Fellows and their partners, the collaborative groups â&#x20AC;&#x153;create ripplesâ&#x20AC;? that advance a cause.

The six initiatives described in the pages that follow are the result of the Allianceâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s intent to engage its network in making a positive impact on substantive issues worldwide.

There

i s a m i r a c u l o u s w e b o f l i f e t h a t w e av e s u s t o g e t h e r

a s a c o m m u n i t y o f h u m a n b e i n g s a n d w e av e s u s t o g e t h e r i n t e r n a l ly a s a n i n d i v i d ua l .

i s t h i s c o n n e c t e d n e ss

w i t h i n t h e s e l f a n d b e t w e e n u s a l l t h at c r e at e s h e a l i n g .

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; H ay l e y K a t z South African Institute for Traumatic Stress

HIV / AIDS i n Af r i c a

a d d r e s s i n g h i v / a i d s i n s o u t h e r n a fri c a In 2006, twenty Kellogg International Leadership Program Fellows and Fulbright Scholars from countries in southern Africa came together with a commitment to find ways to help alleviate the negative impacts of the HIV/AIDS epidemic in their countries. Representing Botswana, Lesotho, South Africa, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, the group explored the factors that perpetuate the vulnerability of those affected and infected by HIV and AIDS—from families to civil structures. “The HIV epidemic is sowing not only disease, but also hopelessness,” said Mary Hlalele, a technical health advisor from Lesotho. Together, group members examined intervention models, reviewed new innovations, and participated in a roundtable discussion with high-level representatives from various government organizations to assess ideas. The collaborative group arrived at a two-pronged strategy targeting youth and health workers. The first takes aim at the vulnerability of children to the widespread impacts of the epidemic. The group is engaging partners to employ skill-building approaches and promote the concept of Ubuntu, Hunhu—being African with self-respect and confidence—to break the cycle of poverty and build youths’ self-esteem. The second strategy addresses the stress and burn-out of health care workers, establishing a new “wellness paradigm” based on the Psycho-Neuro-Immunology (PNI) connection—or the interdependence between the mind, the body, and the spirit. Using a trainingof-trainers model, care providers will move beyond focusing solely on eradication of the disease, to promoting a culture of wellness and healthy living across communities. Group members and their staff are reviewing wellness policies and developing life-skills curricula to meet the local human resource needs for the wellness paradigm. Among the indicators of success are retention rates of health care workers and home-based caregivers, and the nature of the relationships between the health care providers and the clients. Participants all made personal commitments as well. Dr. Roland Edgar Mhlanga, professor of obstetrics at the University of KwazuluNatal in South Africa, asserted, “I will introduce PNI at home, at church, and in the community; modify the curriculum for registrants and undergraduates; and produce a video for male involvement.” Funding for a three-year program spanning five countries, impacting orphans and vulnerable children and health care workers, is pending.

c r e a t e d a s pa c e i n w h i c h t h e y o u t h

a n d a d u lt s c o u l d s p e a k f r e e ly a n d o p e n ly .

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Kellie Cochrane Michigan youth

Youth Initiative

P o s iti v e Y o u t h D e v e l o p m e n t Mainstream media often portrays young people as problems to be solved, rather than valuable resources to be tapped. Kellogg Fellows working in youth-serving organizations partnered with Annie E. Casey Fellows to “turn up the volume” about the positive contributions young people make in their communities. Eighteen youth and twenty-two adults gathered at the Orlando, Florida SeaWorld, a corporate sponsor of the effort, in February 2007 for a Call to Action and brainstorming session called: Youth Begins with YOU—Turn Up the Volume. The group set out to hone the message of a media campaign that would counter the negative images of young people. Kellie Cochrane, a 19-year-old attendee from Michigan, explains, “We created a space in which the youth and adults could speak freely and openly. We eliminated idealism and really faced the facts.” Says Yvonne Howze, chair of the Call to Action, “After identifying a number of themes—family structures, the influences of music and technology, school connectedness, and more—the issue of adult/youth relations rose to the top. The emphasis will be on how to improve the conversation between youth and adults.” Along with the Fellows groups and youth partnering in the effort, the team is looking into other potential corporate partners to help fund the campaign. Kellie reflects, “The Call to Action was exactly what America needs: the youth and adults working together to create a safe and beneficial environment for its young people to prosper in.” She brings a message from the gathering back to her community, saying, “I challenge the youth and adults alike to ask themselves two major questions: Am I being heard? Am I listening?” In follow-up meetings, members of the two Fellowships groups and youth participants designed, “Get on the Bus: Technology as a Tool for Self-Expression.” The project is modeled as a traveling studio that will allow underserved youth in sites across the country to learn about and use new media skills as a way to share their own messages. Currently, the groups are looking for funding to pilot the project.

Our

h o p e i s to p r ov i d e o u r

F e l l ow s

K- 1 2

and

h i g h e r e d u c at i o n w i t h r e s o u r c e s t h at w i l l h e l p them promote better nutrition in their cafeterias.

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Pancho Chang Chair, Making the Grade in School Nutrition

School Nutrition

M a ki n g t h e G r a d e i n S c h o o l N u triti o n Responding to the obesity crisis in the United States, two groups of Kellogg Fellows are taking a proactive stance to make nutritional improvements in educational settings. The Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance tapped expertise within its network to provide winning school nutrition strategies, and enlisted others in the network in positions to change food service policies and practices. A group of Fellows in top administrative positions in higher education—college presidents and vice presidents—are investigating how to model their food service contracts after a novel contract developed for Temple University by Kellogg Fellow Duane Perry, founding director of The Food Trust in Philadelphia. Duane created a new standard for food service contracts that changes the emphasis from cost alone, to also include improvements in nutrition and requirements for locally produced foods in campus cafeterias. Planned changes by the Kellogg Fellows college presidents and vice presidents also include developing courses and building a Leadership Curriculum related to food and sustainability. The recipe for change among participating Kellogg Fellows at the superintendent and assistant superintendent levels in K-12 school districts is based on the ground-breaking work of Chef Ann Cooper, former head of nutrition services in the Berkeley Unified School District, and Josh Miner, a food systems analyst—both Kellogg Food & Society Policy Fellows. The Fellows’ school districts are in both rural and suburban settings, serving from 5,500 to 85,700 students. Each plans to implement a healthful menu cycle in the cafeteria, while also educating young people in the classroom about where food comes from, and the importance of eating a healthful diet and engaging in physical activities. In all, Making the Grade in School Nutrition has the potential to initially impact more than 160,000 children and young adults in eight K-12 and higher educational settings through a three-year process of assessment, capacity building, and implementing meaningful change. Funding for the project is pending.

f e l t a p r e ss i n g n e e d t o t h i n k a s l e a d e r s a b o u t w h a t e a c h o f u s c a n d o p e r s o n a l ly t o f i n d

b r e a k - t h r o u g h wa y s o f a d d r e ss i n g t h e v o l a t i l e s u b j e c t s o f r e l i g i o n a n d p o l i t i c s â&#x20AC;&#x201D; s t r at e g i e s t h at c a n l e a d m o r e e f f e c t i v e ly t o u n d e r s t a n d i n g a n d p e a c e .

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; D av i d C a s t r o Chair, The Initiative for Peace and Justice

Intercultural Understanding & Respect

I n iti a ti v e f o r P e a c e a n d J u s ti c e Concerns for the rising conflicts in the world resulting from differences surrounding religion and politics led the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance to partner with alumni of the Eisenhower Fellowships leadership program and with the Harvard Universitybased Abraham Path Initiative to find more sustainable ways to address and transcend these tensions. Kellogg Fellows from the United States met with Eisenhower Fellows from the Middle East in three separate gatherings to engage in authentic and purposeful dialogue. Using the synergy of the two fellowship networks, the group seeks to deepen international and cross-cultural understanding, especially between the Middle East and the United States. Two initial meetings were held in 2005 in the United States, in which Eisenhower Fellows from the Middle East joined with Kellogg Fellows to explore the volatile places where religion and politics intersect, and how to engage in specific conversations across cultural and ideological barriers. To continue the exchange and the development of relationships, a third meeting was convened in Istanbul, Turkey in 2006. There, the 24 Fellows from the two leadership programs, representing Egypt, Jordan, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, committed to collaborating on an action-oriented initiative to build bridges of understanding. Representatives from the two programs drafted a description of the initiative, which involves maintaining active communication to share perspectives; organizing face-to-face meetings aimed at transcending stereotypes, prejudices, and misunderstandings; pursuing policy initiatives with the goal of promoting justice in the members’ respective communities; and working to enable youth to appreciate and celebrate diversity. Group members also pledged to work individually at their community level, while promoting the groups’ efforts at the national and international levels. The ripple effects led Eisenhower Fellow Dalia Khalil of Cairo to organize an international youth conference based on the theme, “Connecting Cultures, Respecting Differences: A Global Dialogue for Development and Sustainability.” And Patricia Stephens, a Kellogg Fellow, has actively engaged the Muslim community in her hometown of Austin, Texas, to join in an effort to revision America with compassion and justice. In 2010, Eisenhower Fellows from Ireland will host Kellogg Fellows, Loeb Fellows, and Mitchell Scholars to further the dialogue across disciplines, religious orientations, and sociopolitical landscapes. The international group will explore the complex challenges of building community across differences. Beginning in Dublin and ending in Belfast, Fellows will learn from each other and from the rich experience on the island of Ireland.

Every

o n e o f u s wa s o n a p i l g r i m a g e

d o e x a c t ly w h a t

Abraham

â&#x20AC;&#x201C;

an opportunity to

d i d , w h i c h wa s l e av e w h a t y o u k n o w

a n d g o f o r t h to t h e u n k n ow n , t r u s t i n g t h at a l l wo u l d b e w e l l .

â&#x20AC;&#x201D;Barbara Elliott Kellogg Fellow

Intercultural Understanding & Respect

T h e Abr a h a m P a t h I n iti a ti v e A second component of the Peace and Justice Initiative is the Alliance’s involvement with the Abraham Path Initiative, an international effort to build a 1,200-kilometer trail in the Middle East retracing the footsteps of the prophet Abraham. The path is the vision of Bill Ury, co-founder of the Global Negotiation Project at Harvard, who believes the path will provide an opportunity for people of all backgrounds and religious faiths to meet, walk together, celebrate shared origins, and emphasize common ground. In 2006, three Kellogg Fellows were among a group of ambassadors for the initiative who traveled the path from southern Turkey, across sections of Syria, Jordan, and Israel, to its terminus in Hebron/Al Khalil in Palestine. The group held consultative meetings with government and religious leaders to build support for the initiative. They asked, “Does this path make sense? Is it something the people of this area want?” The answer in nearly all cases was, “Absolutely yes!” In 2008, an expanded group of Kellogg Fellows became trail-blazers on the path, employing both bus and foot travel, and undertook a “voluntourism” project in Jordan to lend a hand in the path’s development. As the path continues to coalesce, economic development and preservation of the region’s historical sites and natural environment will be important offshoots. Foremost, however, the Abraham Path (Masar Sayyidna Ibrahim) is intended to generate thousands of personal encounters between people of different faiths and cultures. For locals as well as outsiders, these meetings will provide a chance to see how easily prejudices and stereotypes are overcome by simple, friendly human contact.

â&#x20AC;Śwe

h o p e to c r e at e a c u lt u r e o f o p e n i n g u p a b o u t

m e n ta l h e a lt h a n d r e m ov i n g t h e s t i g m a t h at c o n t i n u e s to persist in some segments of the

L at i n o

â&#x20AC;&#x201D; E va M o y a Co-Chair, Border Health Collectiva

community.

Border Health Issues

T h e B o r d e r H e a l t h C o l l e c ti v a Following a 2004 Kellogg Fellows’ Call to Action on Border Health Issues, 11 Fellows came together in a Collectiva to work on some of the issues raised. Ultimately, they focused their attention on women’s mental health needs and health coverage for children. Coordinating with the Bi-national Commission on International Health for issues of mental health for women, they identified a Spanish-language manual, Es Difícil Ser Mujer? Una Guía sobre Depresión (Is It Difficult Being a Woman? A Guide for Women on Depression), by Dr. María Asunción Lara, that they believed would be an effective tool for community health workers/Promotoras in better understanding the social pressures, signs, and risks of depression in Latinas on the U.S./Mexico border. The Fellows obtained permission from the author to reprint the manual in English, as well as to make culturally relevant adaptations and add materials for U.S. health workers based on feedback they received from focus groups. The Collectiva went a step further and collaborated on a companion training manual to guide health workers/Promotoras in facilitating mental health discussions, recognizing the symptoms, making proper referrals, screening for chronic depression, and more. The Fellows presented the resulting A Health Workers’ Group Training Manual, and the new English translation of the guide, as a gift to 300-plus attendees at the National Community Healthworker Conference in San Diego in 2006. Both publications continue to be available for clinics across the country working with Latina immigrants. Said Eva Moya, an El Paso-based health and human services consultant, and co-chair of the project, “With the new translation and the training manual, we hope to create a culture of opening up about mental health and removing the stigma that continues to persist in some segments of the Latino community.” Another Collectiva effort promoted a California model, Healthy Kids, which provides health insurance to undocumented children. A Fellow in California collaborated with Fellows in other border states to expand the insurance program to children in their states. The Collectiva is now working to show the replicability of its efforts in communities along the U.S./Mexican border.

As I have said, the first thing is to be honest with yourself. You can never have an impact on society if you have not changed yourself... Great peacemakers are all people of integrity, of honesty, but humility. Nelson Mandela

The Journey Continues The journey continues for Fellows and the Alliance. Looking to the future, the Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance will take up the issues of racial equity, immigration, and civic engagement with the objective of influencing outcomes at the community, state, and national levels.

While the issues they choose to become involved in individually or as a group are often daunting, the Fellows are compelled to do their part to bring about change. At the same time, they are able to draw courage and fortitude from their experiences as Kellogg Fellows and from the network they have formed of like-minded leaders.

About Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance The Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance, Inc. (KFLA) is a network of 1,200 individuals from 40 countries that engages with communities to address pressing social, economic, and environmental issues. By connecting head and heart, our leadership network operates as an effective, humane change agent in addressing critical issues.

KFLAâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Programs and Collaborative Opportunities: CALL TO AC TION A series of dialogues around emerging issues to provide collaborative opportunities for Kellogg Fellows and Advisors to influence outcomes at the community, state, and national levels. FORUM Held every two years, Forums are three-day events by Fellows and for Fellows to reconnect, re-energize, and take collaborative action. Kellogg Fellows Consulting Group Connecting the broad knowledge base and diversity of Fellows with community needs, participating Fellows in the Consulting Group provide keynote speeches for major events, advisory services for philanthropic endeavors, leadership services, and facilitation resources to clients worldwide. TRAVEL & LEARN Fellows and their guests explore cultures and places, exchange ideas, and take part in projects that give back to the areas they visit.

Kellogg Fellows Leadership Alliance

kfla.org