14 of Cleveland’s rising Black and Jewish leaders will engage in meaningful cross-cultural dialogue intended to build bridges, inspire tangible social change.
Rekindle, a leadership initiative, graduated its first class cohort of fellows June 6. They are front row, from left, co-founders Matt Fieldman and Charmaine Rice, Trysa Shulman, Ali Stern, Keshia Chambers and Phillip Rowland-Seymour. Middle, Kelly Rice, Michael Collins, Justin Kadis and Ben Becker. Back, Chris Smith, Tory Coates, Andrew Zelman and Joe Black. Fay Margareten is not pictured.
Matt Fieldman is a serial social venturer. Among other endeavors, he was on the founding team of EDWINS Leadership and Restaurant Institute and is founder of the Cleveland Codes software development bootcamp.
When the outgoing and energetic nonprofit executive, who directs the America Works program for MAGNET: The Manufacturing Advocacy and Growth Network, realized that his Jewish friends don’t know his black friends, he saw that as a situation that needed fixing. Finding a like-minded collaborator in his wife’s friend, Charmaine Rice, the duo launched Rekindle, a fellowship program developed to bring blacks and Jews together for honest dialogue. that Fieldman and Rice want to see result in meaningful social change, certainly in Cleveland and perhaps beyond.
The Rekindle platform supports facilitates four three-hour sessions over a five week period. Participants are expected to commit to using the insights and new relationships produced in these conversations to enhance current social justice initiatives and/or spark new ones.
The founders have high expectations. According to Rekindle co-founder Rice, vice president of learning, development and diversity for AmTrust Financial Services, the hope is to share and replicate the program in other communities across the country.
Rice and Fieldman believe the first cohort, which graduated in June 2021, was extremely successful, a view shared by speech therapist and TheraPeds founder Fay Margareten, one of the 13 inaugural fellows. “The Rekindle Fellowship helped me challenge my thinking, shift my perspectives, and served as an inspiration to become more self-aware and understanding of others,” said Margareten, a speech pathologist and founder of TheraPeds. “I’m looking forward to transforming the knowledge gained and connections made into actionable ways to strengthen the synergy between the Black and Jewish communities.”
Chris Smith, a deal flow manager at Jumpstart, found similar benefits in his participation. “The readings and discussions allowed people to be open, honest, and vulnerable in a safe space. I believe what Rekindle is doing and what the Fellows can do together is on the doorstep of being historic in our region,” said Smith.
The second cohort of Fellows was selected over the summer and will convene later this month. They are:
- Charlie Beer, Business Development Manager, Locus Fermentation Solutions
- Tonya Byous, Assistant Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Centers for Families and Children
- Ronald Crosby, ReLink Medical
- Tanzalea Daniels, CFO, Goodwill Industries of Greater Cleveland
- Jennifer Price Davis, Artist and Author
- Sam Friedman, Director, Chagrin Valley Soap & Salve
- Kate Kaput, Communications Manager, Cleveland Clinic
- Ashley King, Project Manager, CHN Housing Partners
- Carrie Miller, Assistant Director, JFLA
- David Miller, Marketing Director, GOJO Industries
- Aviva Roland, Associate Director of Community Relations, Jewish Federation of Cleveland
- Dontravious Singleton, True Freedom Ministries
- Jeremy Umansky, Owner, Larder: A Curated Delicatessen & Bakery
- Ramat Wiley, Owner, Adun Spice Company
Participating with Margareten and Smith in the initial cohort were: Ben Becker; Joe Black, Sisters of Charity Foundation; Keshia Chambers, OHM Advisors; Tory Coats, Boys and Girls Clubs of Northeast Ohio; Michael Collins, JFF [Jobs for the Future]; Justin Kadis, Federal Equipment Company; Kelly Rice, The Keratin Barber College; Philip Rowland-Seymour, University Hospitals; Trysa Shulman, psychologist; Ali Stern, The Jewish Agency for Israel; and Andrew Zelman, Euclid Media Group.
Applications for the Spring 2022 cohort are being accepted on a rolling basis at www.rekindlefellowship.org.
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