2023 Chicago Peace Fellows

The Goldin Institute invites you to learn about each of our 2023 Chicago Peace Fellows representing 14 community areas across the city.  Founded in 2019 in collaboration with the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, the Chicago Peace Fellows program is the only leadership development program that is built by and for grassroots community leaders on the South and West sides of Chicago.

Overview

Peace Fellows participate in GATHER, an online asset-based community engagement course, as well as in-person training, collaborative action projects, and networking experiences with civic leaders, academic researchers, and policy makers. The Chicago Peace Fellows reduce violence by building relationships, engaging youth, collaborative peace building projects over the summer and by creating new networks among residents, families, schools, and nonprofit organizations.

Meet the 2023 Chicago Peace Fellows

Abdullah Pratt

Abdullah Pratt

Founder and Executive Director, The Medical Careers Exposure and Emergency Preparedness Initiative

Alexandra Auguste

Alexandra Auguste

Founder and Executive Director, Community Leadership Fellows

Antwan McHenry

Antwan McHenry

Board President, Nobel Neighbors

Beria Hampton

Beria Hampton

President, Altgeld-Murray Home Alumni

Carlil Pittman

Carlil Pittman

Executive Director, GoodKids MadCity Englewood

Cecilia Victory

Cecilia Victory

CEO, Gods Flava & Grace

Ceola Henderson-Bryant

Ceola Henderson-Bryant

CEO, C.B.R. Tranquility Development

Devonta Boston

Devonta Boston

Founder and CEO of TGi

Diane Deaderick DeMartra

Diane Deaderick DeMartra

President, Just for You Girlfriend

Ernest Dawkins

Ernest Dawkins

Executive Director, Live the Spirit Residency

Jonathan Johnson

Jonathan Johnson

Assistant Minister, Maypole Avenue Church of Christ

Kanesha Walker Amaro

Kanesha Walker Amaro

Founder and CEO, Flipped Conscious

Lauryn Collins

Lauryn Collins

Youth Worker, Woodlawn Restorative Justice Hub

Lyana Funches

Lyana Funches

Capacity Building and Advisory Services, Chicago Cares

Mary Long

Mary Long

Founder and President, Sacred Ground Ministries Violence Prevention

Nachelle Pugh

Nachelle Pugh

Co-Founder and Executive Director, John Walt Foundation

Nate Tubbs

Nate Tubbs

President, Island Civic Association

Tomi Moore

Tomi Moore

Outreach Coordinator, The Monroe Foundation

Trevor Lester

Trevor Lester

Author Circle Facilitator, ConTextos Chicago

Yaritza Guillen

Yaritza Guillen

Stewardship Coordinator, NeighborSpace

Zahra Glenda Baker

Zahra Glenda Baker

Program Manager, Harmony, Hope and Healing

About the Program

The Chicago Peace Fellows project connects and equips cohorts of past grantees of the Chicago Fund for Safe and Peaceful Communities to reduce violence and promote peace. The 2023 Chicago Peace Fellows is the fifth all-Chicago cohort to utilize the GATHER platform, an online learning hub built by the Goldin Institute to empower grassroots leaders.

The Chicago Peace Fellows will engage in a 22-week course of intensive shared learning as well as group projects, culminating in a graduation event in October 2023. The curriculum has been designed in collaboration with the grantees themselves, based on their practical knowledge and hard earned wisdom, with input from a wide range of civic leaders. Fellows will reflect on their past summer work, identify successes and lessons learned, and improve their abilities by sharing strengths and learning new skills.

The Goldin Institute and the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities have aligned missions that value authentic community leadership. The Chicago Fund is uniquely effective at finding motivated problem-solvers and community-builders. By connecting Chicago leaders through GATHER, their efforts to nurture safer and more peaceful communities will be more effective, interconnected and lasting.

Learn about our GATHER platform

The Fellows are learning together through GATHER, which is both a mobile platform for shared learning and a curriculum for people who want to build on the talents of their neighbors and the assets of their communities to make real and lasting change. Gather Fellows learn and work together through an innovative curriculum that comes pre-loaded on a tablet device with all the connectivity, materials, videos, practices and tools necessary to provide a mobile classroom and toolkit for community leadership.

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Chicago Peace Fellows Team

Tony Raggs

Tony Raggs

Senior Advisor, Violence Prevention

Cree Noble

Cree Noble

Team Coordinator

Burrell Poe

Burrell Poe

Director, Mutual Aid Collaborative

Michael Henderson

Michael Henderson

Director, Chicago Peace Fellows

John Zeigler

John Zeigler

Senior Director of Programs