Stubbornly stuck in time like the hearty rock it takes its moniker from, the Granite State can feel behind waves of modern culture and social progress. For the communities of color in New Hampshire who are looking to honor their heritage in a region with an overwhelmingly white majority, this can ring especially true.
Equity Leaders Fellowship (ELF), a New Hampshire-based program designed by leaders of color for leaders of color, works to uplift their voices in Granite State institutions. As a free program
for aspiring leaders of color looking to advance professionally and personally, ELF emphasizes the value of sharing space with like-minded Black, Indigenous, People of Color (BIPOC) individuals. It has a dual goal of building understanding of equity and social impact while building a network of engaged community fellows, alumni and advisors.
The program attempts to remove barriers to participation for fellows who may lack experience in continuing education and leadership development, while deepening the conversation on what it means to lead with an equity-focused mindset.
ELF prioritizes skills of self-advocacy and diplomacy to empower the fellows to find their voice and mobilize within their network. With those skills, they can create change in their community and the workplace. A major feature of the ELF experience is board exposure, where fellows are matched by their interests to local nonprofit committees and boards for an insight into the operations of professional decisions.
Guided through legalese, jargon and sessions by their board champion — an individual selected from the board to mentor and steward the ELF fellow during their six-month tenure — candidates are invited to sit in on voting sessions and subcommittee meetings. Many fellows over the last decade have been invited to retain full-time positions with their placements, with some even rising in ranks of responsibility. Each move reinforces the tenacity of the web of connections ELF holds, enriching the wealth of resources and social capital available to its members.
Leadership team member Dottie Morris offered inspiration in her keynote speech at the fellowship’s recent 10-year anniversary gala, reflecting on the ways in which ELF’s mission have begun to resemble that of an Olympic relay. Her analogy was that the key to success lies not always in being the fastest on the track, but in the swift and purposeful passing of the baton between hands of leadership for a brighter future.
Securing this handoff of insight and strategy is integral in ensuring that people of color continue to have a seat at the table and grow their impact and reach in these spaces.
Guest panelists of peer experts aim to ignite passionate and critical conversations among fellows during the six months of programs. These sessions and the interactions that come from them drive the ELF mission; amassing and engaging a network of mentors, advisors, board members, and alumni to uplift one another’s missions and goals.
The program recently graduated its 10th cohort of fellows, racking up an alumni account of over 115 participants since its conception in 2014. This expansive and impressive list of alumni, which included the program’s six founders as well as its foundational cohort, forms an ecosystem of mentorship, guidance and trust for new recruits to rely upon on their journey. The community surrounding ELF has become unified by creating a more equitable world via their own projects and ideas.
Although fellows are tireless civic servants, self-care has become a core element of the energy that thrums through their programming and culture. Many fellows have expressed how the group’s meetings have become a refuge after finding themselves engulfed in New Hampshire’s predominantly white neighborhoods and institutions.
Swimming upstream, these leaders are often pushed to the wayside, feeling isolated due to micro-aggressive behaviors. Affinity groups and spaces like these allow individuals to collaborate, conceptualize and create together to provide much-needed healing and community to people of color.
The momentum of ELF’s intent rolls onward unrelentingly as they are already preparing to begin its 11th cohort in September. ELF plans to strengthen the roots it has already planted. Hoping to further cement its hybrid capability and expand further in reach with more accessibility, it has no plans to uproot from the Granite State.
As a product of the grassroots desire and need in the BIPOC community of New Hampshire, ELF’s determination to ensure a just future for all retains its focus on serving the community it was created from. ELF’s critical programming will continue to unify people of color in New Hampshire as it passes the torch onward and upward.
To learn more about the program, apply to be a member of the next cohort, or engage an ELF fellow on your board, contact Jason Bonilla, ELF program director, [email protected].
This article is featured in the fall 2024 issue of 603 Diversity.
603 Diversity’s mission is to educate readers of all backgrounds about the exciting accomplishments and cultural contributions of the state’s diverse communities, as well as the challenges faced and support needed by those communities to continue to grow and thrive in the Granite State.