The Transformative Leader Program 2022 Cohort
The Transformative Leader Program is a leadership development and award program for social justice, social impact, and nonprofit leaders. The program is designed to recognize leaders from all sectors for their impactful community centered work through a financial award as well as support them in building strategies that navigate existing barriers, and designing solutions that lead to sustainable change. This program intentionally centers justice, equity, and inclusion as the core principles, within an infrastructure designed and led by individuals with the appropriate skills, expertise, knowledge, and lived experience.
Introducing the inaugural Transformative Leader Cohort:
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mission: To provide educational, social, and mentoring opportunities to students of color, specifically Black women so that they can thrive on a more equitable playing field.
Bianca Moore
Location: New Orleans, LA
Mission: To aid in ending the school-to-prison pipeline, by replacing it with a school-to-vision pipeline; aid in ending the cycle of poverty for Black and Brown people and underserved communities in New Orleans.
Fatima Bunafoor
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mission: To empower people to thrive authentically in their workplaces and create accountability and success in access, diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Isaiah Johnson
Location: Baltimore, MD
Mission: To inspire youth to reach their fullest potential by providing them with the fundamentals, skills, and knowledge necessary for their journey to adulthood and success.
Kelli Shakur
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mission: To create and promote positive images for Black girls so that they can recognize their self-worth and see beauty when they look in the mirror.
Martice Sutton
Location: Atlanta, GA
Mission: To empower girls to be global citizens by providing the tools, mentorship, and educational experiences, to make their mark on the world.
Nadyli Nuñez
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mission: To help entrepreneurs start and build their companies by offering free educational programming, mentorship, expert coaching, incubation, and a collaborative co-working space.
Natalie Sweet
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mission: To provide creative space for people to connect and expand their relationship with the arts.
Riley Jones, IV
Location: Washington, D.C.
Mission: To mobilize Black alumni, students, faculty and staff to improve access to education.
Terri Shields
Location: Pittsburgh, PA
Mission: To uplift teens growing up in Hazelwood and Greater Pittsburgh by providing an inclusive physical space where they can build positive relationships, strengthen their social, emotional, & spiritual lives.
Tiffany Huff-Strothers
Location: Coraopolis, PA
Mission: To empower single mothers to move their families from poverty to prosperity through education, advocacy, and personal and professional development.
The Transformative Leader is a program of the Equity | Impact Center designed and facilitated by Leigh Solomon Pugliano. The Transformative Leader Program is supported by the Heinz Endowments and Pittsburgh Foundation.