29 Jul 20 Community Leaders Selected for Knight Emerging City Champions Fellowship Program to Build Vibrant Communities Across the U.S.
Press Release
8 80 Cities
Toronto, July 29, 2024
MIAMI – Twenty community leaders from cities across the United States have been selected to participate in the 2024-2025 Knight Emerging City Champions fellowship program. Launched in 2015, Knight Emerging City Champions is a fellowship and micro-grant program for young civic innovators with bold ideas for developing engaged, inclusive and equitable communities toward a more effective democracy.
The program is powered by 8 80 Cities with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
The fellowship is open to U.S. residents aged 18-35 with an innovative project idea and the drive to see it through in one of Knight Foundation’s eight resident communities. Applicants may be educators, urbanists, designers, artists, entrepreneurs, etc. We want diverse voices with fresh perspectives, talent, and commitment to building vibrant neighborhoods and cities.
Champions receive $5,000 in seed funding to implement one community project in one year. Each champion will also receive a $500 tech bundle to support their project activities. The chosen projects respond to community needs, build on local assets, and are implemented through collaboration, within the following categories: downtown and neighborhood revitalization, public space and/or economic opportunity.
“The future of Knight cities depends on the next generation of leaders,” said Kelly Jin, vice president of Community and National Initiatives at the Knight Foundation. “For nearly 10 years, the Emerging City Champions program has launched hundreds of civic leaders and over 100 public space and engagement projects. This year’s cohort continues this legacy with innovative ideas like alcohol-free pop-up events and collaborative art-making for climate resilience. These projects showcase the power of grassroots placemaking and community-driven solutions. I look forward to seeing these young leaders bring their visions to life, fostering thriving Knight communities.”
The program encourages fresh perspectives toward common urban challenges. Many participants build on their ongoing work in their communities, while others have new and creative solutions to improve their local streets or public spaces with support from the program.
“Knight Emerging City Champions brings together civic leaders who all share a common drive to build equitable and vibrant cities,” said Amanda O’Rourke, executive director of 8 80 Cities.
“After a three-year hiatus due to the pandemic, we are thrilled to support the participants as they harness their own ingenuity and collaborative partnerships to create real community change. The 2024 cohort is an incredible group, and we look forward to seeing them bring their ideas to life and grow as leaders in their communities.”
The 20 participants will meet in Toronto, Canada from August 23 to 25 for the Knight Emerging City Champions Studio. The Studio is an immersive three-day learning experience including city tours and meetings with grassroots community city leaders. Champs will have the opportunity to build relationships with alumni and peers as well as work through their project ideas with support and coaching from 8 80 Cities.
For the rest of the fellowship year, there will be ongoing virtual learning labs and monthly meetups to support peer-to-peer learning and capacity building.
The Knight Emerging City Champions will begin implementing their projects after returning home from Toronto. In one year, their cities will have new and enhanced neighborhood programs, community events, interactive public art, and vibrant public spaces that will push boundaries, change mindsets and inspire long-term investment in the public realm.
More information is available at www.emergingcitychampions.org.
2024 Knight Emerging City Champions
AKRON, OH
Erica Banks, Safe Space
Safe Space hosts alcohol-free pop-up events to foster community, create jobs, and revitalize neighborhoods, establishing a permanent location for inclusive social gatherings.
Rachel Whinnery, Food for Thought: Exploring Akron Restaurants
A “Diners, Drive Ins and Drives” style YouTube show that goes behind-the-scenes of Akron restaurants, food trucks, etc. Each episode would be 10-15 minutes.
CHARLOTTE
Cheryse Fulton, Preserving Legacy
Preserving Legacy will host a free event that allows people to come digitize their personal memorabilia.
Jordan Braswell, Shop with Us
A small business retail incubator that enables entrepreneurs to test the market demand for their physical products, attract potential investors, and network.
Marlin Wilson, West End Connect: Resource Guide and Community Fair
A phone-book style guide of resources in Charlotte’s historic West-End to be given out over time beginning at a community event.
DETROIT
Ayanna-Grace King, City Sprouts: A Youth Run Urban Farm
A student-run urban farm on school grounds for hands-on agricultural and environmental education. All harvests are distributed amongst local families.
David Silver, Urban Equestrian Education Center
Transforming a 14-acre demolished Detroit school site into the largest urban equestrian center in the country to scale free youth programming.
Shamere Duncan, The Black Initiative 313 and She SO Detroit
A youth-run mobile thrift store that aims to bring affordable and free-of charge clothing to underserved neighborhoods in Detroit. The mobile thrift store will additionally provide a space for youth entrepreneurs to sell their locally made products.
MACON
Laura Gómez, Macon for everyone, Macon para todos!
A collaborative project focused on making Downtown Macon more accessible for all, enjoyable for all and more attractive for the Hispanic community.
Jonathan Weatherbee, Macon’s Most Inclusive Playground
An inclusive playground thoughtfully crafted for children across the ability spectrum and their families, leveraging the latest in accessible playground equipment.
MIAMI
Vicky Nelson, Building Champions
Empowering youth in Miami-Dade with leadership, business, and tech skills through a summer fellowship program.
Dries Darrow, Connect Miami Beach
A pop-up program that leverages empty spaces for community engagement thereby improving quality of life and local social responsibility.
Omọlará Williams McCallister, Miami Is My Backyard
Nature-based, collaborative art-making and plant mapping workshops that ignite conversations about how we can collectively care for and create climate resilience in urban spaces that we call home.
PHILADELPHIA
Chloe Mshana, The Connected Community Initiative
The Connected Community Initiative mitigates technology inequities in Philadelphia. The core services include community-led workshops, a free Wi-Fi cafe, and technology-oriented mentorship for local businesses.
Hayley Oleksiak, Open Space Sandbox
Working with a local community for a 6-month pilot in letting residents co-design open spaces using the Open Space Sandbox software.
Taylor Nickens, Alignment Community Wellness Festival
Alignment is a free community wellness festival. It fosters community synergy, supports local artists/small businesses, and offers holistic healing practices and fresh farm produce.
SAN JOSE
Anthony Tordillos, Community Quick-Build Safe Streets
The project will develop a playbook for community-driven, quick-build traffic calming solutions and build a pilot project to assess impact on road safety.
Carman Gaines, Creative Liberties
Creative Liberties aims to develop a cooperatively owned creative hub dedicated to BIPOC (Black Indigenious People of Colour) communities in San José.
ST. PAUL
Liban Kano, Strangers Meeting Strangers (SMS)
This project will host citywide forums that foster community bonds through shared storytelling, promoting empathy and unity across diverse groups.
Jenessa Carlisle , Mush St. Paul
A mushing program partnering with parks and local sled dog kennel that invites BIPOC folks to learn, train, and participate in a never-before-seen winter series.
About 8 80 Cities
8 80 Cities is a nonprofit organization based in Toronto, Canada. Our mission is to ignite action and challenge the status quo to create healthier, more equitable and sustainable cities for all people. We are dedicated to contributing to the transformation of cities into places where people can walk, bike, access public transit and visit vibrant parks and public places. Our approach is to engage people and communities across multiple sectors to inspire the creation of cities that are easily accessible, safe, and enjoyable for all. We achieve our mission through grant projects, research and advocacy, and our innovative services. For more, visit: 880cities.org.
About the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation
We are social investors who support a more effective democracy by funding free expression and journalism, arts and culture in community, research in areas of media and democracy, and the success of American cities and towns where the Knight brothers once published newspapers. Learn more at kf.org.
Contact:
KNIGHT FOUNDATION – Rebecca Dinar, Director/Communications, Knight Foundation, dinar@kf.org
8 80 Cities – Shannon Lawrence, Director of Programs and Development, 8 80 Cities, 289-212-3530, slawrence@880cities.org
The Knight Emerging City Champions fellowship exemplifies a commitment to community-driven solutions and supporting young leaders who are dedicated to making a lasting impact in their cities. To stay up to date and learn more about this year’s champions visit www.emergingcitychampions.org.
