We’re honored to introduce the Fellowship for Liberated Futures’ inaugural cohort. We are joined by 17 visionary Black leaders who are at the forefront of reimagining inequitable systems and creating sustainable, liberated futures for marginalized communities across the country and the world.
Meet the Fellows on the East Coast and beyond:
Cheryl Whilby, NY
Market Manager of Schenectady Greenmarket, Soul Fire Farm
Cheryl has dedicated the past 7 years to creating a more equitable food system for Black and Brown communities through her food justice work. She has served as Market Manager of Schenectady Greenmarket for 5 years, leading initiatives centered on making the market more accessible and welcoming for Black and Brown communities. In 2023, she transitioned into an Executive Director role with the market to focus on building the market’s fundraising strategies to sustain the growing market’s food access programming and initiatives. Cheryl also serves as Co-ED of Communications and Development at Soul Fire Farm (Grafton, NY), where she cultivates and stewards relationships with foundations, businesses, and individuals to educate and inspire communities to take action in dismantling racism in the food system. She is also one of the 12 Black food system leaders who developed the Anti-Racist Farmers Market Toolkit in collaboration with the Farmers Market Coalition.
Destiny Hodges, DC
Generation Green
Destiny Hodges (they/she) is a Black queer organizer, multimedia director/producer, and senior interdisciplinary communications major at Howard University from Birmingham, Alabama. They are a co-founder and lead steward of Generation Green, where the concept “environmental liberation” evolved into an ideological framework and movement. As a student of Black liberation movements with a love for narrative organizing, Destiny’s storytelling methods are rooted in their lived cultural experience and connections to the more than human world. Their work is rooted in the belief that climate justice and environmental justice are key components of Black liberation, along with building community and solidarity across the Global Black Diaspora to build collective power needed for systems change. They are exploring the role of African/African diasporic traditional religions in movements as a practitioner in the Ìṣẹ̀ṣe (Yoruba) tradition as a priest of Ifá (Iyánífá) and several Òrìṣà (Ìyálòrìṣà). They are also a producer for the award-winning climate and culture focused podcast The Coolest Show presented by Hip Hop Caucus.
Elize Rostant, Barbados
Walkers Institute for Regenerative Research Education and Design (WIRRED) and Walkers Reserve
Elize is a creative professional with a background in design, management and arts administration. Her collaborative approach has led to her successful management of public, private and civil sector teams in the Caribbean, Canada and the United States. She has also worked on transnational projects in the creative and cultural industries with partners from around the world.
Over the past several years, Elize has delved more deeply into sustainable development initiatives in the Caribbean, integrating eco-tourism, the arts and regenerative environmental practices as a means of achieving positive cultural transformation in the region. Elize believes in the power of harnessing the region's potential through the development of our people and strives to be a catalyst for positive change by applying her skills and talents to building communities nationally, regionally and internationally.
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