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Introducing the 2021 Class of Echoing Green Fellows

Meet the 18 new Echoing Green Fellows who are disrupting cycles of structural racism and transforming systems worldwide.

The 2021 Echoing Green Fellows work in nine countries and territories (Kenya, Libya, Malawi, Mexico, Myanmar, Oman, Puerto Rico, Somalia, and the United States) and U.S. cities including Nashville, Oakland, Flagstaff, and Washington, D.C. With seed funding, collaborative community, and holistic support, these Fellows are ready to reimagine inequitable systems alongside their communities and with their cohort of innovators.

Selected from a global pool of nearly 1,500 applicants, these 18 best-in-class leaders are the first to be supported by Echoing Green’s Racial Equity Philanthropic Fund, created to ensure that the social innovation field is an essential actor in the longstanding racial justice movement. Each Fellow is part of making that prospect a reality as they draw upon legacies of courageous change-making to drive forward the bold, innovative solutions that will define our futures. To invest in these leaders is to invest in their communities and our shared vision of a more just, equitable, and sustainable world for all.

Read the press release

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Meet the 2021 Fellows

Mohamed Aburawi

Founder & CEO, Speetar

Bold Idea: Create equitable health care access for marginalized and displaced communities in MEA countries through an AI-enabled telemedicine platform connecting patients to a global network of language- and culture-matched specialists.

Learn more about Mohamed


José Antonio Aguilar-Contreras

Founder, RacismoMX

Bold Idea: Acknowledge and eradicate systemic racism in Mexico by building the capacities of young antiracist leaders, generating new data and research, and launching innovative public communication initiatives.

Learn more about José


Rumaitha Al Busaidi

Founder, WomeX

Bold Idea: Foster economic independence for millennial women in the Arab world by equipping women leaders in the workplace with culturally relevant programming that teaches negotiation skills and promotes confidence building.

Learn more about Rumaitha


Alexander Bailey

Founder, Black Outside, Inc.

Bold Idea: Transform outdoor spaces into safe and equitable spaces of joy and liberation for Black youth by cultivating culturally relevant and restorative outdoor experiences.

Learn more about Alexander

Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation


Sirrita Darby

Co-Founder & Executive Director, Detroit Heals Detroit

Bold Idea: Build access to healing, joy, and liberation for Detroit youth through healing justice, youth-led organizing, and asset-driven strategies that combat systemic and generational trauma.

Learn more about Sirrita

Funded with support from KKR


Lin Thu Hein

Co-Founder & Co–Executive director, Atutu

Bold Idea: Reduce energy inequities faced by ethnic and marginalized communities in rural Myanmar by delivering reliable and affordable community-led solutions that promote a circular economy.

Learn more about Lin


Shawon Jackson

Founder, Vocal Justice

Bold Idea: Mobilize Black and Brown youth to be the next generation of socially conscious leaders by teaching them how to advocate for social justice using their authentic voice.

Learn more about Shawon

Funded with support from KKR


Jamie LeShaé Jenkins

Founder & Executive Director, Building Opportunities & Opening Minds (BOOM)

Bold Idea: Build the collective power of survivors of European and Euro-American colonial terrorism by training proximate visionary youth leaders to design and facilitate liberation-oriented learning communities.

Learn more about Jamie

Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation


Tequila Johnson

Co-Founder & Co-Executive Director, The Equity Alliance

Bold Idea: Build the political and economic power, influence, and direct decision-making authority of Black people in the American South through political education, relational organizing, and community mobilization.

Learn more about Tequila

Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation


Juvaria Khan

Founder & Executive Director, The Appellate Project

Bold Idea: Diversify the United States’ highest courts by providing resources, training, and equitable opportunities for law students of color to become the next generation of appellate attorneys and judges.

Learn more about Juvaria

Funded with support from the Citi Foundation


Okong’o Kinyanjui

Co-Founder & Executive Director, The Queer African Network (QAN)

Bold Idea: Establish meaningful social and professional connections for LGBTQI+ persons of African heritage through a comprehensive digital information hub that globally crowdsources opportunities, transnational alliances, and affirming content.

Learn more about Okong’o


Deqo Mohamed

Founder & Executive Director, Hagarla Institute

Bold Idea: Build sustainable, high quality, and affordable public health care in the Horn of Africa through community-led solutions in direct service delivery to marginalized peoples, capacity building for medical providers, and public health research, education, and advocacy.

Learn more about Deqo


Dee Punungwe

Co-Founder and Design & Operations Lead, GGEM Farming

Bold Idea: Increase the income and self-investment of rural smallholder farmers in Malawi through training, financing, and ethical market solutions

Learn more about Dee


Mariolga Reyes Cruz

Co-Founder & Executive Director, The Fideicomiso de Tierras Comunitarias para la Agricultura Sostenible

Bold Idea: Promote sustainable social, economic, and food systems in Puerto Rico by ensuring permanent access to land for landless ecological farmers through the first agricultural community land trust in the archipelago.

Learn more about Mariolga


Jahmeer Reynolds

Founder & Executive Director, Marin County Cooperation Team (MCCT)

Bold Idea: Promote a self-sustaining community in Marin City, California by advancing health, educational, and economic outcomes for residents through collaborative and comprehensive community-based support services.

Learn more about Jahmeer

Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation


Suzanne Singer

Co-Founder & Executive Director, Native Renewables, Inc.

Bold Idea: Mobilize Navajo and Hopi tribal communities to achieve energy independence by training local Native American solar installers to provide affordable access to off-grid power.

Learn more about Suzanne

Funded with support from the Citi Foundation


Brandon Smith

Executive Director, The Forestry and Fire Recruitment Program (FFRP)

Bold Idea: Create pathways to career success for individuals formerly incarcerated in California’s fire camps through post-release support and training that help them attain gainful employment as wildfire personnel within the firefighting profession.

Learn more about Brandon

Funded with support from the Jerome L. Greene Foundation


Ashante Taylorcox

Founder & Executive Director, You Are More Than, Inc. (YAMT)

Bold Idea: Transform the growth and potential of LGBTQ+ and Black, Indigenous, and people of color survivors of domestic trafficking and exploitation through survivor-centered aftercare support that provides barrier-free access to mental health services, education, and financial stability.

Learn more about Ashante

Funded with support from the Citi Foundation


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