Meet Our 2019 PLACES Fellows

By Martha Cecilia Ovadia, Senior Program Associate, Equity & Communications

TFN is proud to announce our 2019 PLACES Fellows — 16 exemplary leaders in philanthropy who will embark on a year-long curriculum focusing on race, equity and inclusion.

A key element of TFN’s mission is to ensure these important values are reflected in the work we do — and ensuring that we support those working in philanthropy with the tools they need to turn ideals into outcomes.

For the third year in a row, our fellowship has drawn a record number of applicants from across the U.S. and Canada, and reflect a deep diversity in experience, expertise and backgrounds.

As we grapple with the real-life consequences of structural racism and other inequities, it’s hard to understate the important role philanthropy can play in these contentious times.

PLACES, whose alumni now number more than 125 individuals, is designed to help professionals in philanthropy embed an equity lens into the work they do. Recent cohorts have addressed issues impacting disenfranchised communities, including structural racism, gender justice, health equity, environmental sustainability, economic development and community engagement — asking difficult questions, exploring uncomfortable truths and confronting their own biases along the way.

For more information about the new fellows, past alumni, and the PLACES fellowship itself, click here.

Many of our PLACES fellows and alumni will be at our TFN 2019 Annual Conference in Miami March 18-20. Feel free to ask them about their PLACES experience, and don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly if you’d like to know more about this extraordinary fellowship. And be sure to check out our conference agenda and highlights for more information about our sessions, plenary speakers, and our first ever PLACES Equity Bash.

Join us in congratulating the 2019 PLACES Cohort, and we look forward to seeing you in Miami!