The Collective Impact Forum is excited to announce the launch of the Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) program, a leadership accelerator designed to invest in the capacity and wellbeing of individuals leading collaborative work in their local communities (e.g., “backbone leaders”).
Strong leadership is the cornerstone to advancing multi-sector collaboration that advances racial equity. However, place-based collaborative leaders face a number of challenges as they navigate the complexities of multi-sector collaboration and often lack the tools, resources, and support necessary to mitigate burnout and fatigue and deepen their leadership to support their collaboratives. Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) leaders, in particular, need support now more than ever in the face of systematic attacks on equity.
Through CLARE, leaders will have the opportunity to reflect on their personal leadership journeys, explore their role in leading and working with others in their place-based collaboratives, and drive systems change. Healing, somatic practices, and a focus on equity will be foundational to their leadership development.
We are thrilled to welcome the 20 place-based collaborative leaders who have been selected to participate in the 2025 CLARE program. These leaders have demonstrated a strong commitment to advancing equity and transforming systems in their communities and beyond.
CLARE 2025 Cohort
Yasmine Anderson (she/her/hers)
Cities Connecting Children to Nature (CCCN) Coordinator
Cities Connecting Children to Nature Austin – City of Austin Parks & Recreation Department (Austin, TX)
Natasha Barnett (she/her)
Community Development Initiatives Manager
Rush University Health System (Chicago, IL)
Traci Blue (she/her)
Director of Strategic Community Initiatives
Bright Community Trust, Inc. (Orlando, FL)
Leigh-Ellen Figueroa (she/her)
Health and Equity Programs Coordinator
Franklin Regional Council of Governments/Communities That Care Coalition (Greenfield, MA)
Maegan Frierson (she/her)
Director of System Building at KConnect
KConnect (Grand Rapids, MI)
Shanene Herbert (she/her/hers)
Director of Partnerships
Black Men Teach (Minneapolis, MN)
Pa Ousman Joof (he/him)
Executive Director
Washington West African Center (Lynnwood, WA)
Cindy Jurado Hernandez (she/her/ella)
Policy & Community Relations Manager
First 5 Fresno County (Fresno, CA)
Shawnell Johnson (she/her)
Director of PAACT: Promise All Atlanta Children Thrive
Georgia Early Education Alliance for Ready Students (Atlanta, GA)
Laticia King (she/her)
Innovation and Partnerships Catalyst
MetroMorphosis (Baton Rouge, LA)
Samantha Luu (she/they)
Director of the Chapel Hill Campus & Community Coalition
Chapel Hill Campus & Community Coalition (Chapel Hill, NC)
Dee Manyama (she/her)
Director of Initiatives
Prosper (Birmingham, AL)
Wendy Martinez (she/her/ella)
Director of the Housing Solutions Initiative
Community Foundation of Jackson Hole (Jackson, Wyoming)
Norma Mercado (she/her)
Executive Director
Bastrop County Cares (Bastrop, TX)
Monica Ordonez (she/her)
Program Director
Bachman Lake Together (Dallas, TX)
Stephanie Peete (she/her/hers)
Sr. Director of Workforce Development
Say Yes Buffalo (Buffalo, NY)
Kristal Perez (she/her)
Landlord-Tenant Partnership Program Manager
Thrive Asheville (Ashville, NC)
Selena Smith (she/her)
Community Health Equity Coordinator
United Way of the Piedmont (Spartanburg, SC)
Kamesha Walker (she/her)
Community Health Manager
Gwinnett Coalition (Lawrenceville, GA)
Jonathan M. Wicks (he/him)
Director of Equity and Social Change
YWCA of San Gabriel Valley (Covina, CA)
Program Contact
Courtney W. Robertson, CIF Director of Programs and Partnerships courtney.robertson@collectiveimpactforum.org
Support for the 2025 Collective Leadership Advancing Racial Equity (CLARE) program was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the views of the Foundation.
