LISC Announces 2022 Rubinger Community Fellows

11.23.2021 - Press Releases

Year-long fellowship celebrates the impact of local changemakers, invests in innovative efforts to promote economic and racial justice.

NEW YORK (Nov. 23, 2021)—The Local Initiatives Support Corporation (LISC) has named the 2022 winners of the Rubinger Community Fellowship, an annual program that invests in local leaders focused on testing forward-thinking ideas and catalyzing grassroots opportunities in the communities where they live and work.

LISC will award $40,000 to each of the 10 fellows, who will spend the next year developing programs and researching strategies to explore areas for growth within their communities and support efforts that amplify the voices of community members – from supporting incarcerated youth to addressing child care barriers and addressing food deserts to revitalizing commercial corridors. The fellows also meet regularly to build a community of practice and peer-to-peer support.

“These local leaders have the skills and the passion to address persistent gaps in health, wealth and opportunity in communities across the country,” said Lisa Glover, interim LISC president and CEO. “They are developing models that can be replicated by others and be transformative for their communities,” she said.

The new cohort of Rubinger Fellows, along with their planned fellowship projects, includes:

• Charity Hallman, vice president, HOPE Federal Credit Union/HOPE Enterprises, Little Rock, AR
  Research barriers that hinder the growth and development of high-quality early care and education programs in resource constrained areas of Arkansas and to develop materials and policy recommendations that will lead to increased investment, so providers are able to build and grow their operations to better meet the needs of children and families.
• Renata Hannans, founder, P.S. Never Give Up Hope, Jacksonville, FL
  Expand a Florida outreach program that improves the lives of teens who have been incarcerated through literacy, meditation, behavioral intervention and counseling.
• Jamiah Hargins, founder, Crop Swap LA, Los Angeles, CA
  Fuel hyper-local urban microfarms to produce nutrient-dense food in underserved communities and create green jobs. 
• Asha Jackson, chief judge of Dekalb County/founder of Project Pinnacle, Decatur, GA
  Scale up a counseling and education program that keeps young and first-time nonviolent offenders out of the criminal justice system. 
• Rebecca Kaufman, senior director, Ag Launch, Memphis, TN
  Establish a revolving loan fund for under-resourced farmers to test new technology, participate in conservation pilots, and grow new crops that offer higher margins in new markets.
• Joseph Kunkel, director, Sustainable Native Communities Design Lab, Santa Fe, NM
  Develop a housing assessment tool specifically focused on Indian Country as part of a strategy to expand access to safe, healthy, affordable housing and address historic injustices exacerbated by the pandemic.
• Jasmine Lopez, co-founder/executive director, The Firehouse Dream, Maywood, IL
  Extend the reach of a successful arts and life skills program for youth in the Chicago area, with creative arts mentorship as well as financial wellness and mental health support.
• Senchel Matthews, president, Southeast Regional Development Corporation, Memphis, TN
  Engage community members in an integrated economic development plan that expands access to healthy food in South Memphis, including developing micro-grocers.
• Noni Sessions, executive director, East Bay Permanent Real Estate Cooperative, Oakland, CA
  Create a corridor investment plan for West Oakland’s Historic 7th Street Corridor.
• Hope Wollensack, executive director, Georgia Resilience and Opportunity Fund, Atlanta, GA
  Design a community advisory council for the GRO Fund’s guaranteed income program and develop a toolkit outlining approaches for community engagement and racial justice programs.

The Rubinger Fellowship program is named in honor of Michael Rubinger, a long-time LISC CEO who pioneered new approaches to revitalizing communities throughout his 40-year career. He stepped down in 2016 after 17 years at the organization’s helm.

“This year’s fellows are taking on a range of urban and rural challenges that directly impact the quality of life in our communities,” said Rubinger. “They are researching, testing and scaling strategies to address local challenges and, in the process, they are building models that can help break down barriers to opportunity for people throughout the country.”

Support for the Rubinger Fellowship is provided by Lisa & Dick Cashin and LISC Chairman Robert E. Rubin, with additional support from Nancy and George Walker; Bank of America; Citi Foundation; Ford Foundation; The Kresge Foundation; John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; MetLife Foundation; Morgan Stanley; State Farm; The Greater Milwaukee Community Foundation; and New Jersey Governor Philip D. Murphy.

They come from all corners of the country, and all share a deep commitment to helping their communities thrive. Meet the 2022 class of the Michael Rubinger Community Fellowship. 

Meet the Fellows

About LISC

With residents and partners, LISC forges resilient and inclusive communities of opportunity across America – great places to live, work, visit, do business and raise families. Since 1979, LISC has invested $24 billion to build or rehab more than 436,320 affordable homes and apartments and develop 74.4 million square feet of retail, community and educational space. For more, visit www.lisc.org.