As we prepare to welcome our 2024-26 Fellowship Cohort, we want to take a moment to reflect on what we have learned as a community since Pathwaves was born.
Pathwaves was created in response to the experiences of BIPOC leaders in the early childhood policy sector. Through thought partnership and research, we identified our top priorities in pursuit of our vision to build the collective power of BIPOC leaders in the early childhood policy sector:
- There must be more BIPOC leaders across the sector, in every space where decisions are being made and policies are being developed.
- These leaders should be surrounded by peers that support one another as they grow and develop.
- It is essential that early childhood policy organizations collectively commit to racial justice in pursuit of equitable outcomes for children and families.
These priorities informed our program design: a cohort-based, placement-based program that focuses on the leadership development of Fellows as individuals, and a collective, in partnership with their placement sites and supervisors.
Our 2022-24 Fellows and placement sites served as a testing ground for all that we had learned through our research and development process. Before the launch, we could only imagine that the Fellowship program was a solution to the problems we were observing in the sector. This first cohort courageously joined us on an uncharted journey, navigating new experiences and challenges with openness to growth and a relentless commitment to our shared vision. We were trailblazing together, and learned so much along the way.
We set out to co-create a space of transformational growth as individuals and as a collective, to have an impact on the early childhood policy landscape in Washington state. A key aspect of creating this space is belonging. We strive to ensure that Fellows have a strong community. Throughout the 20-month program, we enlisted the support of a number of collaborators: thought leaders that share our commitment to racial justice in the early childhood policy ecosystem. Belonging requires long-term investment and will remain a priority at Pathwaves in perpetuity.
The desire for the Pathwaves Fellowship program was further enforced as we started recruiting for our second cohort this summer. We received over 60 applications, and were amazed by the quality of the candidates. The selection process highlighted for us how many qualified BIPOC leaders are eager to break into the early childhood policy sector. This leads us to consider how we can collaborate with more leaders in future cohorts and in capacities beyond our existing program offerings.
We continue to pursue our vision to build the collective power of BIPOC leaders in the early childhood policy sector. And, we remain dynamic to respond to the emergent needs of our Fellows and placement sites throughout the program. We cannot wait to see how we learn and grow as a community through the 2024-26 Cohort, launching mid-September!
