NLC Community Grows to Nearly 9,000 Progressive Leaders

New Leaders Council New Jersey, the local chapter of the nation’s largest organization that recruits, trains, and promotes a rising generation of progressive leaders, announced today the selection of 20 New Jersey progressive residents as 2021 NLC NJ Fellows. This class will join a local chapter of more than 150 alumni and a nationwide alumni network of nearly 9,000 trained progressive leaders nationwide.

“This year’s class represents the resilience of the progressive movement and its commitment to elevating young changemakers into a variety of leadership positions in their communities. While COVID-19 has forced us to reimagine and innovate our NLC Institute for all-online training, this presents us with an incredible opportunity for our fellows to connect with the national NLC network as well as their fellows class,” remarked Kaitlyn Wojtowicz, Chapter Direction of New Leaders Council New Jersey. “Over the next 6 months, our cohort will develop their skills and connect with others to make real and systemic change in their communities. New Leaders Council New Jersey welcomes these dynamic young progressives to the NLC Family and we can’t wait to begin.”

The NLC Institute is a six-month training program focused on skills building for each cohort on issues such as goal setting, strategic communications and digital outreach, economics, finance and fundraising, management and coalition building, progressive policy, and diversity and inclusion. This year’s training will be 100 percent remote to ensure the health and safety of our Fellows.

“The NLC Institute is the bedrock of New Leaders Council’s mission to train young progressives to make an impact on their communities by providing them with the necessary tools, training, and professional network,” noted Stephanie Brown, Deputy Director of New Leaders Council New Jersey. “After graduation, our fellows join a nationwide community of progressives who are helping to create a more inclusive, just, and opportunity-generating society. I want to congratulate the class of 2021 for their exceptional perseverance during this difficult time.”

NLC Fellows are civic, political, social, and business entrepreneurs who lead the charge on the ground to solve the most critical challenges facing our communities. NLC’s Capstone Project, a cornerstone of our Institutes, challenges Fellows to identify a project that captures their passion, fills a need in the community, and leverages the skills NLC provides through the fellowship in order to come up with a plan to address it head on.

2021 Fellows List

Adriana Abizadeh
Executive Director, Kensington Corridor Trust

Aissa Heath
Technical Research Assistant, MDRC

Amy Torres
Director of Policy & Advocacy, Chinese-American Planning Council (CPC)

Brian Olivares
Census Community Support Specialist, NJ Department of State, Office of the Secretary of State

Brittany Hale
CEO & Chief Culture Architect, BND Consulting Group

Danielle Jones
EOF Student Communications & Leadership Development Specialist, Brookdale Community College

Emy Quispe
NJ Political Coordinator, SEIU Local 32BJ

Hector Oseguera
AML Analyst, UBS

Jonathan Lancaster
Lead Teacher and Social Studies Teacher, Bergen County Technical Schools

Priscilla Robinson
Community Organizer, New Jersey Resource Project//New Jersey Organizing Project

Renee Kraus
Project Manager, Maternal Mortality Review Committee, New Jersey Department of Health

Ruth Delgado
Communications Associate, Make the Road New Jersey

Samantha Parker
Development and Public Affairs Director, Society for the Prevention of Teen Suicide

Selaedin Maksut
Executive Director, CAIR-NJ

Tom Little
Chief of Staff, Office of Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling & Joann Downey

Tyrus Stokes-Ballard
Pharmacy Production Clerk/Trainer; Candidate for BS, Cigna/ Express Scripts

Vineeta Kapahi
Policy Analyst, New Jersey Policy Perspective

Wesley McWhite
Policy and Development Manager, Hyacinth Foundation

William Cunningham
Senior Legislative Counsel, United States House of Representatives

William Wang
Leadership Fellow, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey

Full bios can be read at https://www.newleaderscouncil.org/new-jersey

About New Leaders Council
New Leaders Council is a 501c3 and is the leading training program for rising generation progressive leaders. NLC equips its leaders with the skills to run for office, manage campaigns, create startups and networks of thought leaders. NLC leaders take their activism back into their communities and workplaces to impact progressive change. To learn more, please visit www.newleaderscouncil.org.
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