For more than 15 years, Nexus Community Partners has been dedicated to building more engaged and powerful communities of color. Through the work of BCLI, Nexus has continued to build sustainable and replicable models for community engagement and community orientated leadership development that strengthens communities.
The BCLI is a seven-month leadership program designed to identify, train, and support placement of dynamic leaders of color and underrepresented communities onto publicly appointed boards and commissions in the Twin Cities. BCLI fellows help advance a racial and economic equity agenda across several sectors and issue areas.
We’re pleased to announce our 2018-2019 cohort of 16 racially and ethnically diverse leaders. They come from the community, nonprofit, private, and public sectors and represent the Twin Cities metro area. The sixth BCLI cohort members are:
- Aarica Coleman, nominated by BCLI Alumni
- Abdi Ali, nominated by Center for Multicultural Mediation
- Annie Chen, nominated by YWCA Minneapolis
- Bao Lee, nominated by BCLI Alumni
- Carmeann Foster, nominated by Rebound Inc.
- Christine McCleave, nominated by National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition
- Clara Ugarte Perrin, nominated by Center for Urban and Regional Affairs
- Courtney Schroeder, nominated by Project for Pride in Living (PPL)
- Jamaica DelMar, nominated by Jeremiah Program
- Kameron Lindsey, nominated by BCLI Alumni
- Oluwatobi Oluwagbemi, nominated by The Office of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton
- Roshawn Renfroe, Ramsey County Children’s Mental Health Collaborative
- Sara Thomas, nominated by BCLI Alumni
- Tenaya Crenshaw, nominated by BCLI Alumni
- Vincent Henry, nominated by Simpson Housing Services
- Ying Lee nominated by Minneapolis Parks & Recreation
The BCLI continues to build momentum within local governing bodies by creating opportunities for community members to become active decision makers. The incoming BCLI fellows join a network of 69 alumni, 38 of which have to date been successfully appointed on a board or commission or hold a high-level policy position, and all of whom are building and pushing racial, social and economic equity in the community.
Biographies of each fellow can be found on Nexus’ website here.
For more information about the BCLI, the launch or ways to become involved, please contact the program director, Ms. Terri Thao at tthao@nexuscp.org or program coordinator Mr. Chai Lee at clee@nexuscp.org.
See below for an infographic of the 2018-19 BCLI cohort’s demographics.
