The Boston Foundation announces new class of 12 Boston Neighborhood Fellows

Fellows receive two-year grants, along with training, leadership opportunities

February 11, 2019

Boston – The Boston Foundation is proud to announce the selection of 12 remarkable community leaders as the 2019-2021 class of Boston Neighborhood Fellows. The 12 Fellows, from across Greater Boston, join the ranks of nearly 170 people selected as Boston Neighborhood Fellows since 1990.

BNF Class photoThe new class fellowship will run through January 2021. The Fellows receive a two-year grant, along with leadership and other training. They play an ambassador role too, and will help the Boston Foundation surface its 2021 class of Fellows.  Fellows also get a chance to take part in core activities of the Boston Foundation’s Grassroots strategy. The 2017 Fellows played an integral role in designing and leading the 2018 round of Collaborate Boston, a $100,000 prize competition that encourages new forms of collaboration to solve key problems.

“I am excited and honored to be able to spend the next two years working with this remarkable, diverse cohort of community leaders,” said Natanja Craig-Oquendo, Senior Director, Grassroots Programs at the Boston Foundation. “Each of them has dedicated so much of their time and experience to improving the lives of the people in their communities, and together, I have no doubt they will be a powerful force for improving the city, even as they get a chance to expand their own skills.”

The new class was nominated by past fellows, civic leaders, and key partners selected earlier this year by the Foundation for a two-year program designed to recognize and empower some of those making change happen across Greater Boston, but often without fanfare or acclaim.

The program was created by an anonymous donor in partnership with The Philanthropic Initiative (TPI) in 1990, and has been folded into the Boston Foundation’s Grassroots strategy.

Photos, biographies of the 2017 and 2019 Boston Neighborhood Fellows and a full historic list of Fellows are all available by request or online at http://www.tbf.org/BNF.