What does it take to recharge your batteries? For the 20 nonprofit leaders newly selected as Rhode Island Foundation Fellows, the answers included “contributing on a global level,” “taking risks,” “facing challenges,” and “broadening my perspectives,” among other challenges.

With $12,500 in hand, these 20 new Fellows will be able to pursue self-designed plans for professional and personal development, which the Foundation hopes will re-energize both them and their agencies in future years.

“In each of the past three years, we’ve seen Fellows break new ground, learn new skills, and experiment with new approaches. The experiences have benefited not only the Fellows, but also their organizations and the communities they serve,” explained David Karoff, director of both the Foundation’s Program Department and the Fellows program.

In addition, the Fellows meet together in facilitated gatherings to learn from one other, said Karoff. With this new round of Fellows, 80 nonprofit leaders have been part of the program.

This year’s “class” includes:

Year Four Rhode Island Foundation Fellows:

Elizabeth J. Akin, State Director, March of Dimes, Providence
A resident of Portsmouth, Betsy Akin seeks “to participate in volunteer, work and study programs in Japan, Canada and Cuba; to be part of social changes both locally and internationally; and to develop…life balance and ensure the long-term capacity of my team and myself.” She will use Fellowship funds to participate in an educational, professional, artistic and cultural travel program in Japan, to take part in a cultural and volunteer work program in Cuba, and to attend an executive management training program in Alberta, Canada.

Christopher A. Butler, Executive Director, AIDS Project RI, Providence
A resident of Pawtucket, Chris Butler seeks to become “a stronger and more effective manager and leader by taking advantage of a diverse set of personal and professional development opportunities [and to meet] with leaders of other AIDS service organizations to find out what strategies they employ to maintain their organizations’ relevance.” He will use Fellowship funds to travel to Thailand to participate in an international program that assists people with HIV/AIDS, to attend a nonprofit management course at Harvard University, and to attend a national AIDS conference in New Orleans.

Brenda Jane Clement, Executive Director, Housing Network of RI, Providence
A resident of Pawtucket, Brenda Clement seeks “to effectively communicate the work of the Housing Network through storytelling, to help the Network move to its next stage of development, to improve my computer skills, and to build on relationships former Fellow Joe Garlick began.” She will use Fellowship funds to attend storytelling conferences in Illinois, Tennessee and Massachusetts, to visit with community development associations in states throughout the country, to obtain computer training, and to further relationships with the Irish Council on Social Housing and other European housing networks.

Avery M. Colt, Executive Director, Rhode Island Public Health Foundation, Providence
A resident of Providence, Avery Colt seeks “to develop a strategic plan to guide the next decade of the Public Health Foundation…and to fashion a career which allows me to work in an advisory capacity to non-profit community-based health organizations.” He will use Fellowship funds to travel to public health institutes, federal health agencies and national foundations that support public health programming, allowing him to meet with senior staff members at agencies in New England, on the Eastern Seaboard, in the South, and in the West.

Tyler Jon Denmead, Executive Director, New Urban Arts, Providence
A resident of Cranston, Tyler Denmead seeks “to take stock of where I am as a leader and build my capacity to direct New Urban Arts through its next phase of growth.” He will use Fellowship funds to pursue a second apprenticeship to a chef in Brittany, France (His first apprenticeship six years ago with the chef provided him with the inspiration to launch New Urban Arts.), to discuss pathways to leadership and leadership qualities with private and public sector leaders in Rhode Island, Boston, and Washington, DC., and to create his first local art exhibition since 1998.

Barbara L. Eaton, Director, Iya Moopo Workshop, Hopkinton
A resident of Hopkinton, Barbara Eaton seeks “to guide Iya Moopo Workshop in a re-structuring, to distinguish it as a unique contributor to Rhode Island’s multicultural arts environment, to achieve proficiency in the Yoruba language, and to integrate my life as an artist, teacher and researcher with my interest in propagating ancient Yoruba forms of art and craft.” She will use Fellowship funds to travel to Nigeria to conduct an arts investigation/study and to participate in an annual festival and meeting of the Council of Chiefs, to receive instruction both in the United States and Nigeria in the Yoruba language, and to document her experiences.

Bernard P. Fishman, Executive Director, Rhode Island Historical Society, Providence
A resident of Cranston, Bernard Fishman seeks to achieve greater “skill-building, as well as to create opportunities to work intensely and personally with colleagues in my field in a manner now rarely available to me.” He will use Fellowship funds to visit with senior personnel at historical institutions that have overcome financial or organizational problems in New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia and Missouri, to attend the State Historical Administrators Meeting in Nevada, and to attend the Getty Museum’s Leadership Institute’s Museum Management Institute at the University of California.

Matthew T. Jerzyk, Executive Director, RI Jobs with Justice Education Project, Providence
A resident of Providence, Matt Jerzyk seeks to gain “the skills that I need to succeed professionally, to understand the roots of my neighborhood and my family, to gain an appropriate ‘balance’ in my life, and to gain a larger perspective of my life.” He will use Fellowship funds to travel to the Dominican Republic to study Spanish and the country’s labor and social movement history and to learn his family history by visiting his grandmother in Chicago and recording her memory of life in Poland, his final travel destination.

Dorothy Jungels, Artistic Director, Everett Dance Theatre, Providence
A resident of Providence, Dorothy Jungels seeks to “make deeper connections with my community, research and document my family history in Ireland, and improve my technical skills to meet the requirements of new technology.” She will use Fellowship funds to host convenings with Mount Hope leaders to discuss and address community needs, to travel to New York City to meet with an artist who successfully uses the arts to engage communities, to travel to Ireland to research and document her family history, and to hire tutors in video editing and digital graphic design.

Joan L. Kwiatkowski, Chief Executive Officer, CareLink, Providence
A resident of Barrington, Joan Kwiatkowski seeks “to expand my connections to other non-profit administrators in the state, to better understand the various cultures, motivators and strategies that challenge and benefit nonprofit organizations, and to stretch my intellectual skills, take risks, and face the challenge to translate new skills into my professional practice and personal definition.” She will use Fellowship funds to participate in both national and state internships to strengthen her knowledge of how policy decisions are made, attend a nonprofit leadership course, and take both golf lessons and a painting course.

Lisa Anne LaDew, Managing Director, Festival Ballet Providence
A resident of Walpole, MA, Lisa LaDew seeks “to create a balance between my professional and personal lives, to expand my knowledge of the great ballet companies in Europe and the United States, and to increase by knowledge of ballet company administration by interviewing administrators and artistic directors of the companies I visit.” She will use Fellowship funds to visit ballet companies and meet with their key personnel in England, France and Spain, as well as in California, Florida, Kentucky, Virginia, and Wisconsin, and to develop healthier living habits through a weeklong spa visit.

Kristen A. Lehoullier, Executive Director, City Year Rhode Island, Providence
A resident of Providence, Kristen Lehoullier seeks to “deepen my own understanding and perspective of non-violence in the Civil Rights movement, improve personal well-being, cultivate inner serenity, and deepen my coaching skills.” She will use Fellowship funds to participate in the annual Civil Rights Educational and Historical Tour, attend a nonviolence course at the University of Rhode Island, participate in a meditation retreat in California, enroll in coaching courses offered by the Coaches Institute, and participate in a life enhancement program in Arizona.

Francis Leo Lennon, President, USS Saratoga Museum Foundation, Providence
A resident of Providence, Frank Lennon seeks “to create an educational center and family attraction at Quonset featuring the retired aircraft carrier Saratoga, to learn enough about the Russian sub [now in Providence and open to the public] to be able to preserve, maintain and present it effectively to visitors, to visit other museum [administrators] who have gone down this path before, and to enjoy a mental health break.” He will use Fellowship funds to learn the political process in Washington, DC, to attend Georgetown University’s Nonprofit Management Executive Certificate Program, to visit the former Soviet Union, and to visit other European naval and aviation museums.

Benedict F. Lessing, Jr., Executive Director, Family Resources Community Action, Woonsocket
A resident of Bristol, Benedict Lessing seeks “to improve my leadership capabilities, to become a more culturally competent leader, to improve my communication and advocacy skills, and to improve my skills in another language and culture.” He will use Fellowship funds to attend leadership and management training seminars, to attend seminars at WEB DuBois Institute in Boston and visit a non-profit organization in California noted for its cultural competence, to employ a communications coach, and to take courses to improve his Spanish language and cultural capacity skills.

George Thomas Marshall, Executive Director, Flickers –
The Newport Film/Video Society & Arts Collaborative, Newport
A resident of Newport, George Marshall seeks “to travel and network with other leaders in the film/media arts field, to hone my leadership skills, to learn more about the discipline I am in, to inspire me to continue to create and evolve as a human being, and to learn to develop a balance in both my personal and professional life.” He will use Fellowship funds to visit six film festivals and their staff/board to observe, participate and assess their effectiveness, with the festivals being located in Australia and Canada, as well as the United States.

Drake Patton, Executive Director, RI Council for the Humanities, Providence
A resident of Providence, Drake Patton seeks “to play an increased role in national humanities work, to develop new strategies for engaging those not typically drawn to our programs, to start to write again, to get back into the studio to sculpt, to find time to volunteer for at least one organization, and to strike a balance between my work life and my home life.” She will use Fellowship funds to study the Cultural Ministry in Denmark and to examine use of a lay “crew” by two successful programs, Archeworks in Chicago and the Clemente Course in Seattle.

Bob Rizzo, Director, Capitol Arts Providence
A resident of Warwick, Bob Rizzo seeks to gain “a much richer and deeper understanding of the music and art of Zimbabwe and to produce an exhibition that would showcase the amazing resiliency and talent of the Zimbabwean people.” He will use Fellowship funds to travel to Zimbabwe and South Africa where he will meet and work alongside some of the countries’ best contemporary sculptors and study with one of the many mbira (a Zimbabwean musical instrument known here as a “thumb-piano”) masters.

Molly Soum, President, The Cambodian Society of RI, Providence
A resident of Providence, Molly Soum seeks “to gain more leadership skills, to assist in the resettlement of people not familiar with the system, and to develop relationships between the Southeast Asian community and other communities and organizations within the state…and outside of Rhode Island.” She will use Fellowship funds to visit Cambodian communities throughout the United States that are successfully meeting the needs of Cambodian people, to travel to Cambodia to learn about social service agencies there, and to take leadership development courses.

Karen M. Votava, Executive Director, East Coast Greenway Alliance, Wakefield
A resident of Wakefield, Karen Votava seeks “to build my leadership capacity and my capacity to guide the East Coast Greenway Alliance, to see first-hand more of the Greenway trail system, and to re-gain more balance between my work life and personal life.” She will use Fellowship funds to receive marketing training, to visit other trails and trail management teams both in the US and abroad, to participate in a bicycle excursion along the Greenway, to receive kayaking instruction, to attend the Adventure and Eco Tourism Congress in Chicago, and to participate in a meditation seminar in Virginia.

Kurt L. Wootton, Director, The Arts Literacy Project, Providence
A resident of Providence, Kurt Wootton seeks “to gain a working knowledge of the Spanish language, to learn about multiple artistic mediums in Spanish-speaking countries, and to develop friendships and partnerships with artists and arts organizations in Spanish-speaking countries.” He will use Fellowship funds to travel to Puerto Rico, Bolivia and the Dominican Republic where he will participate in a Spanish immersion program, visit cultural organizations, and establish partnerships with theater groups and other organizations in these countries.