NEW ORLEANS — The Civil Society Fellowship, a partnership of ADL and the Aspen Institute, has announced its fourth cohort of Civil Society Fellows and the completion of the cohort’s first of five seminars together in Montgomery, Ala.
A cohort of 22 fellows was selected from a pool of approximately 180 nominees from across the country. Among the Class of 2023 fellows is Syrita Steib, founder, president and CEO of Operation Restoration, a New Orleans-based organization that works with formerly incarcerated women and girls to reenter the community.
The new class of community and civic leaders represent a diverse cross-section of geography, profession, race, religion and political ideology. Along with Steib, the fellows include other nonprofit leaders, former White House staff members, authors, state senators, journalists, military commanders, entrepreneurs, movement leaders, election managers and consultants.
“I am honored and excited to be selected for the Civil Society Fellowship,” says Steib. “It brings together an amazing group of leaders with different perspectives and beliefs that allow us to explore key issues facing our world today. For me personally, it also provides an excellent opportunity for the long-silenced voices of justice-impacted women and girls to be heard as part of the national discourse.”
Launched in 2019, the fellowship invests in and cultivates the next generations of national leaders, across political ideology and other differences, to explore and forge solutions to the biggest issues facing our society including racial injustice, mental health advocacy, economic disparities and more. The bi-partisan fellows address these issues on both communal and societal levels to contribute toward collective progress and preserve the nation’s democracy.
“At a time when our country is grappling with difficult problems, including a surge in antisemitism in light of recent events in Israel and Gaza, we are also grappling with polarizing political identities,” says ADL CEO and National Director Jonathan Greenblatt. “We need to bring leaders together from both sides of the spectrum and engage in tough conversations with fresh perspectives. ADL is proud to join this effort with our Aspen Institute partners to build our most diverse class of fellows yet.”
Civil Society Fellows will spend five weeks over the course of three years in structured retreats in the United States and abroad—exploring their leadership, core values and visions for a more free, just and equitable society, as well as their desired legacies. Each fellow will then launch a leadership venture tackling a society problem of their choosing with the aim of positively impacting their communities, country and the world.
“As we welcome the newest class of Civil Society Fellows, we are filled with excitement and hope for the future,” adds Dan Porterfield, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute. “The Aspen Institute is committed in all of its work to strengthening and building community across difference—two pillars of this fellowship—and we are confident that the fellows in this cohort are ready to work toward our shared goal of a more free, just, equitable and inclusive society.”
