That’s a wrap on the 2021 Fellowship!

In early August, we celebrated the culmination of our inaugural Fellowship. This 6-month cohort was a vision from when I joined Foster Advocates in the spring of 2020, a way to ground our movement building with Minnesota Fosters through a dedicated annual learning space. Since February, Fellows focused on owning their story and their boundaries; developing an equity mindset and understanding the roots of the current foster system; building the capacity and healing tools for an abundance mindset; and engaging their passions and curiosity as adaptive leaders.

We are so proud of the Fosters who focused their time and talent to develop themselves as advocates and activists this year. Cultivating community and advocacy are inherently intertwined. As an organization, our work happens through deep relationship with Minnesota Fosters. We are excited to grow the Fellowship in 2022 as we continue to build structured leadership opportunities for Fosters across the state (stay tuned for a special announcement this Friday about the launch of our Community Board!)

On a deeply personal note, I want to thank each of the Fellows for taking a chance on this program in its first year (and for dealing with my learning curve for creative Zoom facilitation!). I do not take this trust lightly. It has been an honor to invest in you all and to have you all invest in the mission of Foster Advocates. The long game of advocacy can sometimes be draining. I draw inspiration and conviction for this work from witnessing your imaginative power and deep belief in the future that Fosters across the state deserve. I am so excited to keep working with each of you as our movement for change grows, and I can’t wait to see where your dreams take you.

In Solidarity,

Elena Leomi

Associate Director