Here are the 2024 Bush Fellows

June 11, 2024

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Bush Fellows Group Headshot_Mshale — Bush Foundation 2024 fellows, (Row 1 L-R) Rod Adams, Mari Tototzintle Avaloz, Autumn Cavender, Adrean Clark, Trahern Crews, Lachelle Cunningham. (Row 2 L-R) Roberto de la Riva , Frederick Edwards, Jr., Michelle Goose, Monica Hurtado, Arlene Krulish, Jouapag Lee. (Row 3 L-R) Lily Mendoza, Manka Nkimbeng, David O’Hara, Alysha Price, Kasim Abdur Razzaq, Leslie Ellen Redmond. (Row 4 L-R) Jamil Stamschror-Lott, Antony Stately, Irma Marquez Trapero, Moira Villiard, May Lee Xiong, Amber Zora. Photos: Courtesy Bush Foundation

The Bush Foundation on Tuesday announced 24 recipients of its Bush Fellowships for 2024. The fellowship provides up to $100,000 to recipients to help them “build their skills and their networks and expand their thinking in ways that can help them drive transformational change in and across communities.”

Recipients are from Minnesota, North Dakota and the 23 Native nations in the same geography as the three states.

“This year’s Fellows represent transformational leaders with deep love for their communities,” said Ms. Adora Land, the foundation’s grantmaking director in the announcement. “We are excited to be a part of their leadership journey as they continue to have greater influence and change within our region.”

Among this year’s recipients is former Minneapolis NAACP president Ms. Leslie Redmond who announced her selection on X and thanked God for the win, saying this was the fourth time she had applied and that “I guess the 4^th time is the charm!!!”

Thank you, God ❤️🙏🏾 I guess the 4th time is the charm!!!! It’s official. I have been selected as a 2024 Bush Fellow from the @BushFoundation

Hundreds of people apply for the fellowship every year. I am 1 out of 24 people who have been selected to receive the fellowship. #DCA pic.twitter.com/GhSKpeOLGU

— Leslie E Redmond (@LeslieERedmond) June 11, 2024

She was president of the Minneapolis NAACP when George Floyd was murdered by Minneapolis Police and the unrest that followed. She is the youngest person ever elected to be Minneapolis NAACP president. In the bio posted following her selection as a fellow, the Bush Foundation said by leading the Minneapolis NAACP during the pandemic and unrest that followed Mr. Floyd’s murder, “Leslie has demonstrated her leadership in extraordinarily challenging circumstances.”

Also notable among this year’s fellows is Mr. Trahern Crews. His efforts, the Bush Foundations said, led to legislation such as Saint Paul Recovery Act Community Reparations Commission. That is a permanent advisory body whose powers and duties are spelled out in the capital city’s city code.

Mr. Crews will use his Fellowship to “spend time engaging more deeply in educational initiatives, expanding his network and enhancing his public speaking skills to better advocate for his community.”

You can read more about this year’s fellows on the Bush Foundation website.