Zaentz Community Fellowship Program

This program, graciously funded by the Zaentz Charitable Foundation, aims to support leadership development in early childhood champions within RAPID communities. The fellowship’s goal is to empower and support fellows in community-led research that leverages the interconnected resources and systems (e.g., family, child care, community services, cultural values) that surround young children and their families. The ZCFP particularly focuses on using parent voice to guide systems change and policy making. The fellowship will include mentorship and training sessions that will support fellows in the development of the following areas:  

• Developing community leadership with applied research skills and confidence and building coalitions to support systems-level change.
• Interpreting, integrating, and translating local community voice RAPID data findings to inform programmatic, community organization, and local policy decision-making.
• Building capacity in communities to utilize data to drive solutions-oriented community-based work in support of young children and families.
• Working collaboratively to enhance community engagement and integrate parent voices in solution-focused planning. 

The Community Fellowship program is not open for general applications. 

For questions about the Zaentz Community Fellowship, please contact Melissa “Meli” Segovia.

Meet the 2026-27 Zaentz Community Fellows

Talyn Cook Bridgeport Prospers  Connecticut	Tessa Harlin Early Matters San Antonio Texas
Raven Hartsfield Byler United Way of West Alabama	Kimberly Hendricks First Things First, Porter County Indiana
Andrea Jones San Mateo County Children’s Collective California	Dana Schmock Wisconsin Early Childhood Association
Tanya Skenandore Oneida Reads Oneida Nation	Tiffany Solomon THRIVE North Carolina
Amanda Yancey Ohio Head Start Association, Inc.

Previous Fellows

2025-26 Zaentz Community Fellows

Danielle Buckner Northside Achievement Zone, Minnesota	Mathias Burner The Connecticut Project, Connecticut
Debbie Ignacio Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, California	Summer Merrick Early Childhood Alliance, New York
Jacob Oates Groundwork, Ohio	Maria Ortiz Borden Pulse, Michigan
Caroline Pryor Delta Health Alliance, Mississippi	Megan Streng First Steps Kent, Michigan
Vesla Tonnessen Whatcom County, Washington	Lizzet Vargas Partnership for Community Action, New Mexico
Tyana Velazquez-Smith Rochester, New York