“But this week, I was not alone,” is how Fellow Dr. Maria Uloko ‘25, founder of VULVAi, described feeling at Echoing Green’s 2026 All Fellows Convening (AFC), held February 9–12 in Mexico City. With past iterations hosted in cities like Accra, Ghana and Medellín, Colombia, AFC brings together the latest Echoing Green Fellowship cohort and the greater Fellow community for a week of respite, bridge-building, candid discussion, and strategizing.

Reflecting on her first time at AFC, Maria described not only the shared dedication on display and its motivating effect, but also how Fellows, varying as their work might be, are more than the sum of their parts. “I came back energized and braver, knowing that there is a global community building alongside us.” 

AFC is a core experience for any new Fellow; it’s also an event that characterizes what sets Echoing Green apart as a social innovation organization. The result of diligent care and planning, Jessica Robles-Morales, Echoing Green’s director of events, explained what goes into cultivating a convening atmosphere that, to many Fellows, is unlike any other. 

“Connection doesn’t just happen because people are in the same room. It happens when people feel seen and at ease, when they're invited to show up fully and authentically, and when they feel cared for. Fellows are the center of how we choose to operate and convene,” she said. “Every year, I hear Fellows say their work can feel isolating because they are carrying big questions and navigating difficult realities in their own context, but coming together for AFC creates a sense of recognition and community.”

Fellows frequently name AFC as why Echoing Green stands out from similar programs. “I’ve been part of several fellowships over the years, and Echoing Green remains one of my all-time favorites. The depth of community, honesty, and commitment to justice in this space is something special,” Nivishe Foundation founder Amisa Rashid Ahmed ‘24, wrote in her own post-convening post. 

Maria and Amisa’s remarks are the reflections of a current Fellow and a recently graduated Fellow, the newest additions to a network that has grown to nearly one thousand social innovators. Indeed, the Echoing Green experience doesn’t end after 18 months; when Fellows graduate from the program at the conclusion of AFC, it’s still the beginning. They join a lifelong community of Fellows, one that is both integral to leaders’ continued individual success and which corroborates Echoing Green’s social innovation framework. 

RacismoMX founder José Aguilar-Contreras ‘21—whose anti-racist tour of Mexico City was a programming highlight—explained that, in hindsight, it wasn’t the Fellowship’s monetary support that proved most influential for him. “. . . With time now, five years after I became a Fellow, now I know, and I'm sure that money is not the most important part of Echoing Green— [it] is the community,” he said. 

To Echoing Green, supporting social innovators cannot be done at arm's length. With $16 billion raised by Fellows to date, approximately 80 percent of program alumni remain in the social sector. Surrounding Fellows with a range of likeminded and visionary peers—in addition to funding and counsel—is a key reason why. Community is our differentiator.

As Fellows have acknowledged, being a social innovator can be isolating and daunting to undertake alone. But as part of Echoing Green, Fellows find mutual understanding with others in their cohort year, who are often facing similar growing pains and challenges. At the same time, they gain access to a network of Fellows from years past and their accompanying wisdom and insight. 

Facilitating connection among the world’s top social innovators—from early-stage leaders to established ones, years on from their Fellowship—is what we do best. These connections lead to new introductions and partnerships, new funding sources, and ultimately, to more robust leaders and organizations.

Echoing Green’s unique value is as an intermediary. In addition to spotting and funding the most promising talent, we promote community among social innovators and help create the conditions for further connection at events like AFC, fostering Fellows’ personal development and enabling them to sustainably advance their work.

Stay tuned for more on Echoing Green’s Fellow community as we celebrate a major milestone later this year—reaching the 1,000th Fellow mark.