Emerging leaders from around the world join network of leaders tackling global drivers of inequality
The Ford Foundation announced today the 2025 cohort of the Ford Global Fellowship, a program that aims to connect and support the next generation of leaders from around the world who are advancing innovative solutions to end inequality. The 30 leaders announced today join an existing network of 127 fellows working across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East.
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2655821/Banner_image_FNL.jpg
Launched in 2020 with an investment of $50 million over 10 years, the foundation's flagship fellowship program provides emerging leaders with the tools, networks, and solidarity they need to effectively advance social justice. The Ford Global Fellowship focuses on shared learning across issue areas, building and strengthening connections across local contexts, and developing a supportive, interconnected cohort across a wide variety of sectors and regions. It aims to build a powerful network of approximately 200 fellows over the course of the program and serve as a catalyst for the fellows to further the impact of their work, individually and collectively.
“The Ford Global Fellowship is thrilled to welcome 30 new leaders into our community who bring with them tremendous wisdom and experience from their local contexts as they work to advance creative solutions to some of the world's most pressing challenges,” said Adria Goodson, director of the Ford Global Fellowship. “At the Ford Foundation, we have long known that individual leaders play a critical role as drivers of change, through generating ideas and leading institutions. Our investments in emerging leaders are critical for both their immediate impact on the fellows' life trajectories and the long-term ripple effects through their lifetimes of contributions to the world.”
Central to the Ford Global Fellows initiative is its “community of practice.” Based on principles of co-learning and co-design, the fellows not only learn from each other as peers but also invite the foundation's grantmakers, grantees, and other networks of leaders from the broader social justice field to learn alongside them. Experiential, place-based learning trips and sessions are organized by fellows from the 11 regions in which Ford operates. The community works to shed light on their interdependent histories and shared challenges in service of creating space for innovation. Each new fellow receives a no-strings-attached $25,000 stipend, alongside individualized coaching, to help grow their leadership skills and reach new audiences.
“I have no doubt that these 30 new, dynamic fellows will have transformational impact as they drive innovative local and global solutions that disrupt inequality,” said Bess Rothenberg, deputy vice president of the Office of Strategy and Impact at Ford. “I commend Adria and the Ford Global Fellowship team for their leadership of Ford's overall strategy to invest in individuals and the role it plays in advancing Ford's mission to advance equality across the globe.”
The network of Ford Global Fellows represent a broad range of backgrounds, fields, and approaches to addressing inequality, with areas of focus that include climate justice, labor rights, disability inclusion, and local economic models. Many fellows are from directly impacted communities and emerged as leaders by drawing from their own lived experiences with the challenges of inequality.
The 2025 fellows cohort are:
Bertha ZúnigaGeneral Coordinator, Civic Council of Popular and Indigenous Organizations of HondurasHonduras
Dani AyersCEO, me too. InternationalUnited States
Divya VarmaCofounder and Director of Policy and Practice, Work Fair and FreeIndia
Emmanuela ShintaFounder, Ranu Welum FoundationIndonesia
Fainta NegoroFounder, Jaga Semesta; Chief of Impact and Sustainability Officer, Jejakin.comIndonesia
Gabriela ChavesEconomist, Nofront Empoderamento FinanceiroBrazil
Jeremy MaarmanExecutive Director, Initiative for Community AdvancementSouth Africa
Joy Hayley MunthaliFounder, Green Girls PlatformMalawi
Jumko Ogata-AguilarWriter and Education and Racial Justice AdvocateMexico
Kodzo YaotsePolicy Lead, Africa Centre for Energy PolicyGhana
Letícia Santiago de MoraesVice President, The National Council of Extractivist PopulationsBrazil
Luis Javier Velásquez VarelaFounder and Director, Amazon Forever Org and the Amazon Rescue CenterPeru
Lydia NamubiruEditor-in-Chief, The ContinentUganda
Mallory ZhanResearcher and Just Transition AdvocateFrance
Mercy MutemiManaging Partner, Nzili & Sumbi AdvocatesKenya
Michael LiuExecutive Director, Chinese Initiative on International LawNetherlands
Milady Garcés ArboledaEconomic and Business Development LeaderColombia
Noncedo MadubedubeGeneral Secretary, Equal EducationSouth Africa
Odun OrimoladeArtist, Curatorial Director, Yaba Art Museum, Yaba College of TechnologyNigeria
Patricio Cumming RiveroCEO, Project ChaacMexico
Priya ThuvasseryFilmmaker and Co-CEO, Chambal MediaIndia
Racha GhanemFeminist Facilitator, Community Organizer, and Co-op AdministratorLebanon
Rasak AdekoyaGlobal Technical Advisor of Economic Empowerment, SightsaversNigeria
Ronaldo MatosExecutive Director, Desenrola E Não Me EnrolaBrazil
Sahar AloulLeadership Team, SADAQAJordan
Samer SfeirManaging Director, ProAbledLebanon
Samuel OkulonyChief Executive Officer, Environment Governance InstituteUganda
Sandhya GuptaFounder, AavishkaarIndia
Dr. Troy JacksonExecutive Director, UNDIVIDEDUnited States
Valeska Ruiz PeñaIndigenous Rights and Gender Justice AdvocatePeru
To learn more about the Ford Global Fellows please visit: https://fordf.org/FordGlobalFellows.
ABOUT THE FORD FOUNDATIONThe Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For more than 85 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East.
https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/2068348/Ford_Foundation_Logo.jpg
https://c212.net/c/img/favicon.png?sn=DC55478&sd=2025-04-02
View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/ford-foundation-announces-30-new-members-of-ford-global-fellowship-302418390.html
SOURCE Ford Foundation
https://rt.newswire.ca/rt.gif?NewsItemId=DC55478&Transmission_Id=202504020930PR_NEWS_USPR_____DC55478&DateId=20250402