Allentown, Pa., July 25, 2023—Lehigh Valley Community Foundation (LVCF) has announced the 2023-2025 cohort for its CORE Fellowship Program, a two-year capacity-building process designed to bring Lehigh Valley nonprofit leaders together to center equity in themselves, their relationships, their organizations, and the nonprofit sector. LVCF is proud to partner with 15 fellows from 8 organizations, as well as 8 systems-stakeholder in this year’s fellowship.
“The CORE Fellowship Program name signifies that this work will focus on addressing the core of our own selves, the core of our organizations, and the core of our systems,” noted Megan Briggs, LVCF Vice President of Community Investments. “As a funder in the Lehigh Valley, we recognize that nonprofits are working to incorporate equity into their organizations. Due to our positioning and experience, our approach is to support that work that needs to be done to reach equity by providing the infrastructure and resources necessary to both individuals and organizations.”
“We recognize that individuals and organizations are in many different places in their work on equity, and the CORE Fellowship Program is designed to meet people where they are at in their own equity journey, as long as there is a demonstration of commitment to being on an equity journey,” explained Monique Saunders Moreno, Assistant Director Community Investments.
The Community Foundation is partnering with consultants again this year to deliver the model, including Phyllis Alexander, Guillermo Lopez, Jr., and Carter Gilbert. These consultants contribute in the program design and decision-making as well as being in the facilitation role for the program. The CORE Fellowship program offers benefits to both the individuals in the cohort, but also their respective organizations. CORE Fellows will receive leadership development coaching along with guidance from organizational development consultants on the creation of an equity-centered capacity-building project. LVCF has partnered with Partnering For Change as the organizational development consultants for the fellowship. They will conduct an in-depth equity and organizational discovery process with time to carry out an equity-centered capacity-building project. Fellows will also benefit from building connections to a network of nonprofit leaders. The CORE Fellowship offers a $25,000 grant to each participating organization.
Below is the list of Organizations and Fellows that were selected for the 2023-2025 CORE Fellowship Program:
Big Brothers Big Sisters of the Lehigh Valley
- Susan Bartels, Chief Executive Officer
- Tyrone Fisher, Director of Volunteer Engagement
Easton Area Community Center
- Lisa Campbell, Associate Director
- Kathryn Presto, President of EACC Board of Directors
Muhlenberg College (Office of Multicultural Life and Trexler Library)
- Robin Riley Casey, Associate Dean of Students and Diversity Initiatives
- Jess Denke, Community Engagement Librarian
NAMI Lehigh Valley
- Mitchell Lopez, Director of Community Outreach
- Margaret Murphy, Executive Director
The Bach Choir of Bethlehem
- Ebony Stevens, Marketing Manager
- Christopher Jackson, Artistic Director & Conductor
Pinebrook Family Answers
- Angie Andresen, Vice-President Human Resources
- Monica R. Harrison, Family Based Teams Coach
Pratyush Sinha Foundation | Mindful Child Initiative
- Prabha Sinha, Founder
- Sara Kanoff Martinez, Co-Executive Director
SELF – LV
- Enid Santiago, Board Chair
Stakeholders
In addition to nonprofit leaders selected to participate in the program, there are eight nonprofit stakeholders who were invited to participate in the CORE Fellowship Program. These stakeholders are important partners in shifting the nonprofit sector to becoming more equitable and have consistently demonstrated a commitment to equity. Stakeholders are represented from the philanthropic, government, or corporate sectors.
The following stakeholders have agreed to participate in the 2023-25 fellowship cohort:
• Monica Brooks, Manager, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion, PPL Corporation
• Dannah Hartman, Director of Marketing, Ben Franklin Technology Partners of Northeastern Pennsylvania
• Margaret McConnell, Director of Strategic Partnerships, People First Federal Credit Union
• Laura McHugh, Vice President, Marketing and Communications, United Way of the Greater Lehigh Valley
• Holona Ochs, Marcon Institute Director & Associate Professor, Lehigh University
• Genesis Ortega, Communications Manager, City of Allentown
• Erika Riddle Petrozelli, CPA, CAP, President & CEO, Lehigh Valley Community Foundation
• Melissa Starace, Foundation Director, Baker Foundation/Boldly Go Philanthropy
Learn more about the CORE Fellowship Program
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