CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE
Lead with courage
Leaders of Color 2021-2022
Throughout Champions for Change, we nurture and support leaders in their efforts for racial justice and healing. We cultivate dialogic skills, engage in critical self-reflection, and empower each other to leverage our influence to create racially equitable communities. Here, you’ll find a space for reflection, experimentation, embodiment, visioning, and transformation. Together, we’re laying the groundwork for systemic change in our communities.
Applications for the 2024-25 Champions for Change cohort are no longer open. Click the link below to join our newsletter and stay updated on the next cohort opportunity!
Why Champions for Change and why NEW?
Our society remains segregated because of systemic racism and other forms of oppression. To make vibrant communities, we need leaders who are aware of and committed to addressing racial injustice. Champions for Change is an embodiment of NEW’s devotion to that vision. Here, we offer innovative ways to approach racial co-liberation on personal and collective levels.
Josyln Hunscher-Young
Leader of Color 2021-2022
listener, thinker, organizer, caregiver, and educator!
Carly Friedrich & Mai Hitotsuyanagi
NEW Learning Communities Team
THE CHAMPIONS FOR CHANGE EXPERIENCE
In Champions for Change (CFC), you’ll grow in your abilities as a values-driven leader. You’ll uncover the implicit and explicit ways race has impacted your lived-experiences. You’ll practice dialogue across identity. And you’ll conspire with others to spur change towards racial co-liberation.
Champions for Change commit to a nine-month-long (9 months) intensive leadership development program. Champions meet monthly in full-day (7-hour) sessions. Most sessions will take place in-person in Washtenaw County. Each session emphasizes building relationships, sharing stories, practicing deep listening, and skill-building. (We also make time to play and share meals together!)
While all Champions for Change are part of the same cohort, you will, at times, connect in smaller groups by social identities like race and ethnicity, gender, generation, role or area of work, and more. This will allow space for open dialogue between those who may have shared experiences. We all have different needs on our journeys to racial justice and collective healing. And we all need space to share honestly and deeply about our experiences, lowering our armor. Affinity groups allow us to do that.
The ‘24-’25 cohort will include up to twenty-six (26) people from communities across Southeast Michigan. Most sessions will include time both in affinity groups and all together. This approach minimizes harm and creates moments for deeper dialogue with the cohort.
Through this experience, you’ll:
- Deepen your understanding and skills for advancing social and racial justice, equity and inclusion.
- Enhance your emotional skills and practices of courage, resilience and compassion to sustain justice work.
- Honor the wisdom and experiences of the CFC community by uplifting their knowledge and expertise.
- Strengthen your relationships with other justice-focused leaders across SE Michigan who are focused on racial justice.
- Identify and upend unjust policies, practices and procedures within your spheres of influence.
- Create the conditions for more BBIPOC leaders to grow in their leadership across sectors and industries in SE Michigan.
SESSIONS
Meet & Greet Bonfire (OPTIONAL)
Wednesday, October 2 (10/02/24), 6pm – 8pm
Kickoff Retreat
Friday, October 18 (10/18/24), 2pm – 7pm
Saturday, October 19 (10/19/24), 9am – 5pm
Embedded Racism & Embodied Resistance
Saturday, November 16 (11/16/24), 9am – 4pm
End of Year Social Gathering with Alum (Optional)
Friday, December 13 (12/13/24) 4pm – 6pm
New Year Social Gathering (Optional)
Wednesday, January 8 (01/08/25) 4pm – 6pm
Introduction to Dialogue
Saturday, January 25 (01/25/25), 9am – 4pm
Transforming Our Organizations
Saturday, February 22 (02/22/25), 9am – 4pm
VISIONING
Saturday, March 15 (03/15/25), 9am – 4pm
Washtenaw & Wayne Historical Journey
Saturday, April 12 (04/12/25), 9am – 4pm
Retreat to Idlewild, MI
Friday, May 30 – Sunday, June 1 (05/30/25-06/01/25), Depart: 8am | Return: 3pm
Celebration
Saturday, June 21 (06/21/25), 11am – 1pm
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How Do I Know if Champions for Change is Right for Me?
Our Champions are leaders from across Southeast Michigan, from diverse backgrounds, committed to advancing racial justice and social change. They’re eager to partner with others across lines of difference and form deep relationships. They’re ready to grow and learn, both together and alone. They’re excited to engage in reflective, affective, and experiential learning.
Champions must be eighteen years or older (18+) and live or work in Southeast Michigan. This program is open to anyone, regardless of citizenship.
How are Champions selected?
Applications for the 2024-25 cohort will open on August 1, 2024 (08/01/24) at 9:00am and close on September 9 (09/09/24) at 9:00am. You’ll be able to submit your application virtually, via a link shared on this page. After that our team will invite prospective Champions to participate in 15-minute virtual conversations. Relationships matter in Champions for Change, and we know you’re so much more than the “written word” of an application. This is your chance to connect with facilitators and alum, get to know them and more about CFC, and share more about yourself and what racial co-liberation means to you!
The most important element of your application is your personal commitment to advancing racial justice in Southeast Michigan. Otherwise, you must:
- Live or work in Southeast Michigan (regardless of citizenship).
- Be available to attend program sessions and complete session pre-work.
- Demonstrate openness to learning, readiness to engage, and the will to be vulnerable. You must be ready to grow, on your own and as a collective.
- Be committed to deepening relationships in our community.
In all of our Learning Communities, NEW strives to bring together diverse cohorts of people with a wide range of lived experiences. This fosters more learning, creativity, and innovation. As we pursue a just and thriving society, we also center our work on the people and communities that have been historically underrepresented or marginalized. This means taking intentional action to include people who have been excluded, denied access, or limited in their influence based on: race or ethnicity, age, ability status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and other markers of identity. As we’re building our cohort, we’ll consider all of the identities you share with us, with a promise not to tokenize or penalize you based on “what boxes you check”.
How Much Does It Cost?
Champions for Change has a tiered participation fee structure, because we recognize that everyone has unique financial circumstances.
The actual cost of Champions for Change is four thousand dollars ($4,000) per person. However, NEW subsidizes this cost through donations and sponsorships to make the program more accessible. These contributions give each cohort member the flexibility to pay a participation fee of either three thousand dollars ($3,000), two thousand dollars ($2,000), one thousand dollars ($1,000), or another amount that closely aligns with their financial capacities.
When applying, you’ll be invited to review and reflect upon the ‘Green Bottle Method’ [linked here] of financial privilege. You’ll then select a participation fee amount that you feel aligns with your financial circumstances.
Even if you are concerned about the cost, we encourage you to apply. We will do our absolute best to make it work.
Your ability to pay will in no way affect your application to the program.
*We encourage employers to sponsor their staff’s participation in Champions for Change. Institutional racial co-liberation requires team members that are themselves anti-racist. Your sponsorship is an investment in your organization to become more racially just. If you would like to sponsor someone, we recommend reviewing the application criteria, then gauging their interest and capacity. If they’re a good fit, recommend they complete our application, and affirm you’ll financially support their engagement.
What's the 2024-25 schedule?
All sessions listed below take place in person in Washtenaw County and are required for Champions to attend, unless otherwise noted.
| Meet and Greet Bonfire (Optional) | Wednesday, October 2 (10/02/24) 6pm – 8pm |
| Kickoff Retreat | Friday, October 18 (10/18/24) 2pm – 7pm Saturday, October 19 (10/19/24) 9am – 5pm |
| Embedded Racism & Embodied Resistance | Saturday, November 16 (11/16/24) 9am – 4pm |
| End of the Year Social Gathering with Alum (Optional) | Friday, December 13 (12/13/24) 4pm – 6pm |
| New Year Social Gathering (Optional) | Wednesday, January 8 (01/08/25) 4pm – 6pm |
| Introduction to Dialogue | Saturday, January 25 (01/25/25) 9am – 4pm |
| Transforming Our Organizations | Saturday, February 22 (02/22/25) 9am – 4pm |
| Visioning | Saturday, March 15 (03/15/25) 9am – 4pm |
| Washtenaw & Wayne Historical Journey | Saturday, April 12 (04/12/24) 9am – 4pm |
| Retreat to Idlewild, MI | Friday, May 30 – Sunday, June 1 (05/30/25 – 06/01/25) Depart: 8am | Return: 3pm |
| Celebration | Saturday, June 21 (06/21/25) 11am – 1pm |