The quarterly newsletter of Princeton AlumniCorps | Winter 2024

Greetings,

As winter comes to an end each year, I am always awed and inspired by the brilliant young leaders that apply for our Project 55 Fellowship Program, and this year’s applicants are no exception. We received over 70 applications for the FY24-25 fellowship year, all with a keen desire for civic leadership work. When asked the question during an interview, “What does civic engagement mean to you as a developing leader and professional?”, one applicant responded, “Civic engagement work has been this broader theme of access: who has it, who doesn’t, and why.” When asked how they understand equity and justice, another applicant replied, “Equity, justice and inclusion are often just equated with DEI work. But the real key to equity work is recognizing the different needs of different populations and removing barriers to meet those needs.” It is this passion and insight from young leaders that continually inspires and motivates the AlumniCorps staff, board and volunteers to do the work of advancing civic engagement and professional development.

We are pleased to announce that Tim Schmidt has been promoted to Director of Programs and Strategy as of January 1st. As director, Tim leads our Program Team in the growth and expansion of AlumniCorps' robust program portfolio including, our flagship program, Project 55 Fellowship, and our 8-month cohort program, Emerging Leaders. Tim Schmidt joined the Princeton AlumniCorps team in July 2023 as Program Manager of Partnership Engagement and Investment. Congratulations Tim! Join me, also, in welcoming Andrijana Bilbija ‘21 as AlumniCorps’ new Program Manager. Andrijana is a Project 55 alum and co-author of the book, “When We Walk By.” She will be leading our Emerging Leaders program. 

If you are in town for Princeton Reunions this May, please stop by our offices at 12 Stockton Street on Thursday, May 23rd for our 1st Annual Fellowship, Leadership and You Open House event. We invite you to meet with AlumniCorps Board and Staff, hear from our Project 55 Fellowship and Emerging Leaders alum and learn about exciting new AlumniCorps initiatives. Hors d'oeuvres and beverages will be available. 

Your investment in Princeton AlumniCorps allows us to continue to inspire and support generations of leaders working in the public interest. Please consider participating in our upcoming Donor Match Campaign this March. In the interim, You can visit our donor page here. 

If you are in Princeton, I invite you to stop by our office at 12 Stockton Street. Spring is right around the corner and soon all the bright colors will be blooming in our Founders Garden. It would be a great place to join me for a chat over a cup of coffee. 

In community,

Kimme Carlos

Executive Director

Andrijana Bilbija '21 is a Princeton graduate with a BS in psychology and a 2021-22 Project 55 Alum, who completed her fellowship at Housing and Neighborhood Development Services Inc. (HANDS). She co wrote When We Walk By, authored by Kevin F. Adler and Donald W. Burnes '63 with Amanda Banh '23, featured in the December 2023 Princeton Alumni Weekly. 

When We Walk By, delves into the poignant narrative of forgotten humanity amidst America's homelessness crisis. This insightful book intricately dissects broken systems, urging readers to confront the role each individual plays in ending homelessness. The authors shed light on the complexities of the issue while championing proactive solutions. When We Walk By serves as a rallying call to action, challenging society to recognize the inherent dignity of every human being and to collectively strive for a more compassionate and equitable future.

Andrijana is also AlumniCorps' new Program Manager as mentioned in the Executive Director Letter!

 You can read more about the book on the When We Walk By website. 

Will you be in town for Reunions 2024? Join us for AlumniCorps’ 1st Annual Fellowship, Leadership and You Open House from 3:00 - 6:00 pm on Thursday, May 23rd. Come visit with AlumniCorps Board and Staff, hear from our Project 55 Fellowship and Emerging Leaders alum and learn about exciting new AlumniCorps initiatives. Our Founders Garden will also be in full bloom with all the colors of Spring. We look forward to re-connecting with you over hors d'oeuvres and beverages in May! 

Project 55 Fellowship Program

As part of Project 55 Fellowship recruitment efforts, we continued our tradition of co-hosting an information session for Princeton seniors with Princeton’s Health Professions Advising Center (HPA) this past December. We invited current Fellows and alumni from health-related fellowships to share their experiences in these roles. This info session was great for students interested in pursuing health-related professions after graduation, from public health to future medical practitioners.

This HPA session featured Katie Coppola '23- Sinai Institute (Chicago), Karen Yang '23 and Mina Musthafa '22- Breast Care Center (Bay Area), and Gillian Hillscher '23- Notterman Lab (Princeton). Through the session, we learned that there are ups and downs no matter what job you have, but through their experience in Project 55, they are making a difference working with the populations they serve.

Our program team also hosted two national seminars during December and January as part of the Project 55 professional development curriculum. The December seminar was titled “Managing Through Difference” and was led by Jayson Council, who also facilitates AlumniCorps’ Emerging Leaders program. The purpose of this seminar was to explore how Fellows, as developing leaders, can increase their tools and confidence in working across different dimensions such as identity, age, race, ideology, etc, and how growing in this skill contributes to our larger democracy.

For our January seminar, we coordinated a panel of guest speakers featuring AlumniCorps’ very own board member and Project 55 alumnus, Furman Haynes ’17. Furman brought with him three distinguished young professionals from diverse life experiences and career fields to talk to the Fellows. The guest panelists included David Valesquez, Dylan Alles, and Mussab Ali.

The purpose of this seminar was to discuss the topic of continuing civic leadership beyond traditional scopes and boundaries, and how to recognize one is on the path of becoming a civic leader, at the very beginning stages. During the session, the panelists were asked a series of questions spanning from what life experiences inspired them to choose working in the public sector, to how to expand and leverage their networks- especially when they were just getting started. It was great to hear from Furman, David, Dylan, and Mussab as they talked about their accomplishments and moments of uncertainty while ultimately discovering themselves as civic leaders.

Concurrent with Project 55 programming, we have simultaneously been wrapping up the application process for the 2024-2025 cycle of the Fellowship! This year, we had 71 applications and 30 Fellowship positions available with our partner organizations. We are ecstatic that the mission of our program can resonate with so many young graduates, and that they are just as eager as ever to embark on a journey of lifelong civic engagement and leadership. For the first time, we are publishing a Project 55 Partner Directory for our network to see the amazing organizations that support our mission and Project 55 program.

Emerging Leaders Program

Our current cohort of Emerging Leaders, NYC, entered 2024 at the mid-way point of our program! Time flies when we’re developing leadership and it’s hard to believe that there are only three program sessions left for the year. Our final session is in April, and we hope you will consider joining us for our in-person Emerging Leaders Closing Ceremony! We’ll have more details to share when we send out invitations in March. 

Since our Shared Effort- Fall Edition, we’ve successfully implemented our new hybrid structure for Emerging Leaders. Our learning cohort has been virtual since December and this month is our final virtual session before we convene in-person again in March. We’ve had several incredible guest speakers, such as Kandasi Griffiths and Marcia Stepanek, share perspectives and tools from the field on topics from diversity, equity, and inclusion to storytelling and communication.

Our team is working effortlessly to prepare for our 2024-2025 Emerging Leaders recruitment! If you, or someone you know, is 3-7 years into their nonprofit or social impact career and might be interested in developing your leadership and nonprofit management skills, consider applying for our Emerging Leaders- NYC Cohort! Join our contact list to find out when our application launches and to receive updates on upcoming recruitment events.

Dr. Harris’ insightful research provides a keen understanding of the traumas and resulting behaviors found deeply embedded in oppressed, marginalized communities. I encourage everyone committed to civic engagement work to read this book.

John Stewart Krecker '55

1933 - 2024

Princeton AlumniCorps mourns the loss of people who have contributed their time, talent, and treasure to the organization over the past thirty years. We share the obituaries of volunteers and supporters to celebrate their dedication to civic engagement. Princeton AlumniCorps supporters can read classmate memorials and timely class news on the class website.

For any additional questions regarding joining the Sustainers Circle or making a gift, please contact the Development team at development@alumnicorps.org