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Roddenberry Fellowship

The Children of the Shore

By Aideé Granados Aideé Granados, 2021 Roddenberry Fellow and founder of Rosa Es Rojo, Inc, writes about her experience as a young child that has shaped her outlook on life and dedication to educating Hispanic women on wellness and cancer prevention.   “Money for bread?” Timidly and rapidly, the children of The Shore repeated this…

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Live long, prosperous, and trauma-informed

Andy Blevins 2020 Roddenberry Fellow Long-term, episodic dramas do not often showcase the impact that traumatic experiences can have on a person’s life, despite most characters enduring life-altering crises in every show. At the turn of the century, many Americans used their television time as a means of escape from the mundane, and even traumatic,…

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When The Lights Go Off During Fire Season, The People Can Turn them Back on

Crystal Huang People Power Solar Cooperative 2020 Fellow In the wake of one of the most devastating wildfire seasons in California’s history, Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) and other California utilities carried out widespread “Public Safety Power Shutoffs” (PSPS) across urban and rural areas  The PSPS program, which purported to protect against wildfires during especially…

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Productivity “Hacks” to Let You Focus on The Big Picture

Headshot of Jose Magaña-Salgado

Jose Magaña-Salgado #ACA4DACA 2020 Roddenberry Fellow August 18, 2020 As someone running a consulting firm with multiple clients and competing deadlines, every hour in my day counts. I often find myself brainstorming how to increase productivity to attain a helpful and happy work-life balance. Below, I share my productivity hacks to help you spend less…

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9 Organizations to Support This Holiday Season

Holly tree with red berries and snow.

Was it just us or did 2019 feel loooooooong? Well, it’s finally December and time to take stock of the past 12 months and look ahead. How do you want to wrap up 2019? What do you want 2020 to look like? Whether you want to make a difference, support an important issue, or up…

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Meet a Fellow: Sonya Passi

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Meet a Fellow: Sonya Passi  November 3, 2019 Meet Sonya, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow    Sonya is the founder of FreeFrom, a national organization on a mission to create pathways to financial security and long-term safety with and for survivors of intimate partner violence, so that they have the opportunity to live free from abuse.…

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The Cost of Charity

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The Cost of Charity Hannah Dehradunwala | October 26, 2019   I’ve been thinking a lot about money and how we dance with it. In the nonprofit world, it feels like an awkward bachata with a partner that your parents have set you up with. You try your best to touch minimally, making shy and…

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Questions with Ebele Ifedigbo

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  Ebele Ifedigbo The Hood Incubator   Where is home currently? Oakland, CA What is your hometown? Buffalo, NY   Tell us about your project, The Hood Incubator! The Hood Incubator works to build economic power for Black communities through the legal cannabis industry   What advice would you give your younger self? I would tell…

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Meet a Fellow: Ebele Ifedigbo

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Meet a Roddenberry Fellow Ebele Ifedigbo | October 15, 2019   Meet Ebele, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Ebele is the founding co-executive director of The Hood Incubator, a national organization leveraging the historic rise of the legal marijuana industry to build economic and political power for Black communities harmed by the drug war. The Hood…

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You can’t see what you don’t look at.

A blue drawing of three students drawing stars and planets on a chalkboard.

You can’t see what you don’t look at. DeMar Pitman | September 20, 2019   As I sit and reflect on my past experience as an educator, I am reminded of the immense power that schools have in shaping the way our children view themselves and the world they live in.   Once our kids…

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Meet a Fellow: DeMar Pitman

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Meet a Roddenberry Fellow: DeMar Pitman September 11, 2019 Meet DeMar, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow   DeMar Pitman is an educator, activist, and self-taught technologist who believes strongly in the power of technology to shrink long-standing equity and achievement gaps. He is the founder and executive director of Discriminology, a non-profit focused on leveraging technology…

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Meet A Fellow: Vanessa Luna

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Meet a Fellow: Vanessa Luna September 5, 2019   Meet Vanessa, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow   Vanessa Luna is the Co-Founder and Chief Program Officer of ImmSchools. She immigrated to the United States at the age of 10 from Lima, Peru. Growing up undocumented and as a former DACAmented teacher, she has experienced first hand…

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Meet a Fellow: Hannah Dehradunwala

Photo of Hannah Dehradunwala with red shapes in the background.

Meet Hannah, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow August 29, 2019   Meet Hannah, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Hannah is a Pakistani-American Muslim and the co-founder & CEO of Transfernation, a logistics company focused on building tech-based, integrated food rescue systems for cities. She co-founded Transfernation during her sophomore year at New York University.    Transfernation is…

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Meet a Fellow: Frank Leon Roberts

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Meet a Fellow: Frank Leon Roberts August 14, 2019    Meet Frank, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow   Frank Leon Roberts is an activist, professor, political organizer and founder of The Baldwin Hansberry Project. The proud son of two formerly incarcerated parents, he is currently on the faculty at New York University, where his course on…

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Hip Hop & Health: Lyrics and Lessons

Photo of Ivelyse standing in the center of a street in NYC.

Hip Hop & Health: Lyrics and Lessons Ivelyse Andino | August 14, 2019   Hip Hop & Health: Lyrics and Lessons   “It’s funny how money change a situation Miscommunication leads to complication My emancipation don’t fit your equation I was on the humble, you on every station” Lauryn Hill. Lyrics to “Lost Ones” The…

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Meet a Fellow: Ivelyse Andino

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Meet a Fellow: Ivelyse Andino August 8, 2019    Meet Ivelyse, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow  Ivelyse Andino is an Afro-Latina health equity innovator born and raised in The Bronx and the founder and CEO of Radical Health. While she routinely trained oncologists on new drugs, she found herself unprepared when her mother was diagnosed with…

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Meet A Fellow: Gautam Jagannath

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Meet Gautam, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow  Gautam Jagannath is a leading innovator and founding director of Social Justice Collaborative. Gautam was certified by the State Bar of California as an Immigration & Nationality Law expert.  SJC provides deportation defense and related legal services to low-income immigrants, mostly refugees, in the San Francisco Bay Area and…

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Meet a Fellow: Cristina Leos

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Meet a Roddenberry Fellow Cristina Leos  July 22, 2019     Meet Cristina, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow   Cristina Leos is the co-founder of Real Talk, a mobile app that connects teens with authentic stories and trusted resources on sensitive health topics, like sexual health and mental health. Her expertise centers around using behavioral science…

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10 Questions with Andrew Grant-Thomas

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Name: Andrew Grant-Thomas, Current City: Amherst, Massachusetts.   Tell us more about your project, EmbraceRace! EmbraceRace is a national nonprofit providing resources and creating a community for parents and other caregivers working to raise children who are thoughtful, informed, and BRAVE about race.   How did you get into this work?  There are a lot…

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Meet a Fellow: Andrew Grant-Thomas 

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Andrew Grant-Thomas  July 19, 2019   Meet Andrew, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow    Andrew is the co-founder of EmbraceRace, a national nonprofit that supports parents, teachers, and other adults to raise children who are thoughtful, informed and brave about race. They are working to help nurture a generation of children with…

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Meet a Fellow: Alia Salem

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Alia Salem July 12, 2019 Meet Alia, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Alia Salem is the Founder and President of FACE (Facing Abuse in Community Environments). Her professional background is in organizational development, community organizing, and communications with a particular focus on the intersections of institutionalized racism and the push towards an…

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A Green New Deal is Happening Now, at a Local Level

Sunrise photo of windmill farm.

A Green New Deal is Happening Now, at a Local Level Jessica Tovar    I have been working to address the problem of environmental racism and fighting pollution in communities of color, the PG&E Hunters Point power plant in San Francisco and the tar sands expansion of Bay Area refineries.  The big question has always…

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Meet a Fellow: Jessica Guadalupe Tovar

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Jessica Guadalupe Tovar June 25, 2019 Meet Jessica, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow   Jessica Guadalupe Tovar is an organizer for the Local Clean Energy Alliance, based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The Local Clean Energy Alliance is the Bay Area’s foremost membership organization working at the local, state, and national…

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10 Questions with Heejae Lim

Two photos of Heejae Lim climbing up to the Observatory in LA.

Heejae Lim Founder, TalkingPoints   Where is home currently? San Francisco What is your Hometown? Seoul/London   Tell us more about your project, TalkingPoints!  TalkingPoints’ mission is to drive student success in low-income communities by using accessible technology to unlock the potential of family engagement in children’s education. Our multilingual engagement platform connects family members…

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Meet a Fellow: Heejae Lim

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Heejae Lim June 20, 2019   Meet Heejae, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Heejae is the founder of TalkingPoints, a non-profit with a mission to drive student success—especially in underserved, diverse immigrant communities—by using accessible technology to unlock the potential of family engagement in children’s education. Heejae founded TalkingPoints based on her…

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On violence, memory, God, and Karma

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On violence, memory, God, and Karma Evan Weissman | June 15, 2019   As “spiritual but not religious” becomes more and more prevalent I think our communities are in desperate need of some more Rites of Passage into adulthood. I’ll trash-talk the negative aspects of religion with the best of them but if my bar…

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Meet a Fellow: Evan Weissman

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Evan Weissman June 11, 2019   Meet Evan, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Evan is the founding executive director of Warm Cookies of the Revolution, a Civic Health Club that blends innovative arts and culture with crucial civic issues. Evan teaches nonviolence at The Colorado College. He was a Kellogg Foundation Leadership…

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2020 Roddenberry Fellowship Webinar

A mural with the words "REFLECT" painted with an image of a boy wearing a hood and many birds.

2020 Roddenberry Fellowship Webinar | June 7, 2019 This is a recording from the June 6, 2019 webinar about the Fellowship and the 2020 selection process. The second half of the webinar will includes a live chat for participants to ask questions. If you have further questions about the Fellowship or application process please send…

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Communication is a Privilege for Prisoners

The image is of many shapes and sizes of envelopes in different shades of white.

Communication is a Privilege for Prisoners  Amani Sawari  | June 7, 2019   When I open a letter from someone on the inside a sense of gratitude washes over me. I can’t help but think about the cost of the journal that they tore the sheet of paper from in order to share their thoughts…

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Meet a Fellow: Amani Sawari

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Amani Sawari June 4, 2019   Meet Amani, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Amani is a writer and founder of the site sawarimi.org. She was also selected as Jailhouse Lawyers Speak’s spokesperson for the 2018 National Prison Strike. Her advocacy for prisoners’ human rights has stemmed from her understanding of the negative…

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Meet a Fellow: Judith LeBlanc

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Judith LeBlanc May 28, 2019   Meet Judith, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Judith is a member of the Caddo Tribe of Oklahoma and the director of the Native Organizers Alliance (NOA), a national Native training and organizing network. Together Judith and NOA have built relationships with tribes, traditional societies and grassroots…

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Meet a Fellow: Katie Sgarro

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow Katie Sgarro May 21, 2019   Meet Katie, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Katie is the co-founder and president of AsylumConnect, a tech nonprofit providing the first ever digital platform for LGBTQ asylum.  Launched in 2016, AsylumConnect’s flagship product (the “AsylumConnect catalog”) is the first and only resource website and app designed…

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Advances of an energy uprising in Puerto Rico

Arturo Massol-Deya and Alex Hannold lead the Casa Pueblo "Marcha Sol" protest down the street in Puerto Rico.

Advances of an energy uprising in Puerto Rico Arturo Massol-Deyá | May 16, 2019 It’s 4:36 AM, time to make coffee. I look briefly at the news in darkness before leaving from San Juan, to the other side of the island where I teach at the University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez Campus. The weekend’s work,…

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Meet a Fellow: Arturo Massol-Deyá

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow  Arturo Massol-Deyá May 14, 2019   Meet Arturo, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Arturo Massol-Deyá is the executive director of Casa Pueblo de Adjuntas, a community-based group with 39 years of services in natural resources conservation, education, and sustainable development in Puerto Rico. His parents founded Casa Pueblo and Arturo has continued…

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Macrocosm: Kat Calvin

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Roddenberry Fellowship  “Macrocosm” By Kat Calvin | May 13, 2019   I’ve been thinking a lot about Captain Janeway lately. There’s a great Voyager episode (“Macrocosm”) where a giant virus takes over the ship. After the entire crew is taken ill, Janeway alone has to strap up and fight it. It is without a doubt…

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Meet a Fellow: Kat Calvin

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Meet A Roddenberry Fellow  Kat Calvin May 10, 2019   Meet Kat, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow Kat Calvin is the founder of Spread The Vote, a nonprofit organization that aims to close the gap between registered voters and voter turnout by obtaining government-issued photo IDs, educating, and empowering voters. Today there are about 21 million…

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Fellowship Vlog: Jonathan Lykes

A headshot of Jonathan Lykes

Jonathan Lykes is a Black queer artist, activist and senior policy analyst. He’s the co-founder of Keeping Ballroom Community Alive Network (KBCAN.org), founder and co-producer, The Black Joy Experience (@blackjoyexperience), a founding member of Black Youth Project 100 (BYP100), and a 2018 Roddenberry Fellow. For more about Jonathan and his work, check out his bio.…

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Thinking about applying for the Roddenberry Fellowship?

A photo of protesters at the airport holding up "We the people" signs with the American flag in the background.

Roddenberry Fellowship 2020   Great! We’re thrilled you’re considering a Fellowship application because that probably means you’re doing badass work to make our country better. (If you’re not — this may not be the right program for you…)   2020 Fellowship Criteria Broadly speaking, the Fellowship is designed to support talented and passionate individuals who…

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Fellowship Vlog: Maddie Hayes

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Maddie Hayes is is a North Carolina native and the Director of the Refugee Community Partnership (RCP), where she works with refugee leaders to develop community-driven models for refugee support work in NC. She was part of the inaugural Roddenberry Fellowship 2018 cohort. For more about Maddie and her work, check out her bio. Video…

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Come for the cash, stay for the community

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Roddenberry Fellowship 2020 Come for the cash, stay for the community Roddenberry Foundation | May 6, 2019    There are A LOT of amazing fellowship opportunities out there. And more launching by the day. From our point of view, the more the merrier – activists, organizers, leaders, disruptors need recognition, support, and resources.   What…

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Meet a Fellow: Charlene Carruthers

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Meet Charlene, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow  October 25, 2019   Meet Charlene, a 2019 Roddenberry Fellow  Charlene Carruthers is a strategist, author and a leading organizer in today’s Black liberation movement.  As the founding national director of BYP100 (Black Youth Project 100), she has worked alongside hundreds of young Black activists to build a member-led…

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#Charlottesville

A photo of white supremacists holding swastika and confederate flags.

Roddenberry Fellowship #Charlottesville Lior Ipp | August 2017   Watching the images of Neo-Nazis and white nationalists fill our news and social media feeds, is as frightening as it is disturbing. It’s easy to feel powerless – even hopeless – in the face of this past weekend’s events in #Charlottesville. When we conceived of the…

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2018 Fellowship: Press Release

An aerial view of the beach were many people have formed the word "RESIST!!"

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Los Angeles, July 25, 2017 The Roddenberry Foundation Launches $1 Million Fellowship Fund for US-Based Activists Inaugural Fellowship Accepting Applications for Projects in Civil Rights, Climate Change and Environmental Justice, Immigration and Refugee Rights, and LGBTQIA and Women’s Rights The Roddenberry Foundation is pledging $1 million towards activism through its inaugural Roddenberry…

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