Leadership Exchange: A Meeting of Minds, Lifting One Another Up
In September, we launched the Leadership Exchange Fellowship, our new program designed to support the growth of BIPOC professionals working in LA County’s homeless response sector. The goal is simple but important: to build a more inclusive, equitable leadership pipeline for BIPOC leaders by creating real access to mentorship, coaching, and leadership development opportunities.
We kicked off the program with a mixer in Downtown LA, where ten Fellows and their mentors came together for the first time. The energy was intentional, enthusiastic, and open — people sharing their experiences, talking passionately about the work, and building the early foundation for what’s already becoming a strong network of mutual support.
This Fellowship isn’t only about gaining new skills or checking boxes for professional development. It’s about opening up leadership pathways in a field that urgently needs more diversity and more lived experience at the decision-making table.
Why This Fellowship Matters
Everyone working to address homelessness in Los Angeles knows the stakes are high. The work is demanding, the systems are complex, and the need for thoughtful, effective leadership has never been greater.
But too often, BIPOC professionals — many of whom bring deep community knowledge and frontline experience — don’t have clear opportunities to advance into executive roles. Leadership Exchange was created to help shift that dynamic.
What Fellows Are Doing Now
The Fellowship is structured in three rotations over the course of the next nine months, and the first is already underway. Fellows are spending time alongside their mentors, attending board meetings, visiting program sites, sitting in on team strategy sessions, and joining fundraising events.
These shadowing rotations allow Fellows to see how leaders handle challenges, manage relationships, and make decisions in real time. Fellows see first-hand what leadership looks like day to day, and gain insight into how to shape their own approach.
The feedback so far has been encouraging. Fellows are asking thoughtful questions, building confidence, and starting to see a place for themselves in roles they may not have previously imagined possible. It’s becoming clear that this kind of hands-on learning is invaluable.
At the same time, mentors are getting the chance to listen and learn too, which is why we named it the Leadership Exchange. Several have noted how much they’ve gained from hearing their Fellows’ perspectives and experiences — reminders of why they entered this work in the first place.
Coaching and Community
In addition to the shadowing experience, each fellow is working with an executive coach, meeting for one-on-one sessions twice a month. These sessions are a space for reflection, problem-solving, and growth. For many Fellows, it's the first time they've had access to this kind of dedicated support focused entirely on their leadership journey.
The group also gathers once a month for structured programming facilitated by our senior advisor, Dr. Va Lecia Adams Kellum. These meetings include deep, honest conversations about what it takes to lead with integrity in this space, the pressures that come with it, and how to stay grounded in your values while navigating complex systems.
It’s a rare opportunity to pause, connect with others in similar roles, and think critically about how to lead in a way that is effective, sustainable, and aligned with community needs.
What’s Next
As the Fellowship progresses, we’re looking forward to seeing how these relationships evolve and what ideas come out of them. Fellows are already applying these experiences into practice in their own teams and organizations.
This work is long-term, and there’s no quick fix. But by investing in leadership in a thoughtful way — especially leadership that comes from and reflects the communities most impacted — we’re laying the groundwork for a stronger, more responsive system.
Learn more about the cohort and mentors of Leadership Exchange Fellowship: