News Release
INDIANA — Through the Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship, the Youth Worker Well-Being Project aims to tackle the need for leadership diversity in Indiana’s youth-serving sector by investing in youth workers of color’s skillsets and foster more inclusive youth organizations statewide.
The following local individuals were among the nearly 40 exceptional youth workers of color from across the state selected to join the inaugural Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship through a competitive application process that considered their aspirations or current leadership in a youth-serving organization as well as commitment to a career in youth services: Selena Nelson, Kosciusko Teen Court, Kosciusko County; Jasmine Moreno, Boys and Girls Club of Northeast Indiana, Fort Wayne; Kne’Osha Parker, Euell A. Wilson Center, Fort Wayne; Chris Seminario, Ryan’s Place, Goshen; Velishea Smiley, Tolson Center for Community Excellence, Elkhart and Marlette Gomez Wengerd, Concord Community Schools, Elkhart.
Participants will engage in an intensive six-month training and development series designed to enhance leadership capabilities and provide opportunities to cultivate robust community networks. Monthly sessions will cover topics like adaptive leadership, navigating crucial conversations, community building, and sustainability and strategic direction from a diverse team of highly-qualified facilitators and speakers, equipping the cohort to lead and grow thriving youth-serving organizations.
A second round of applications for the Emerging Leaders of Color Fellowship will launch in August 2024.
The Youth Worker Well-Being Project is a collaborative statewide effort to address individual youth worker well-being, workplace conditions and root causes of stress in the sector with the goal to promote meaningful change in youth workers and invest in their well-being so they can provide the highest-quality services for Indiana youth. Other recently launched programs include telemedicine and virtual mental health services, peer support groups and grant opportunities.
The youth work profession includes staff from youth development organizations and service bureau staff, mental health counselors, child and family welfare professionals, mentors, family support clinicians, residential treatment staff and others at community-based organizations. Through their work, Indiana’s youth-serving professionals impact more than 1.5 million children under 18 across the state. Children benefit when professionals are engaged, aware of the needs of youth and families, knowledgeable about best practices and when they can effectively cope with stress.
Interested Indiana youth workers and youth-serving organizations can learn more about the next round of fellowship applications and other project initiatives here.
