Ford Foundation Announces 2026 Cohort of Ford Global Fellowship
The newest group of 32 leaders joins a global network of more than 150 fellows, building on Ford's 90-year history of investing in individuals to drive systemic change.
NEW YORK, April 7, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Ford Foundation today announced the 2026 cohort of the Ford Global Fellowship, welcoming 32 leaders into a burgeoning network that now exceeds 150 fellows working across Africa, Asia, the Americas, and the Middle East. This year's cohort reinforces Ford's 90-year commitment to strengthening democratic values by investing in those closest to the world's most persistent inequalities.
Launched in 2020 as a 10-year, $50 million signature investment, the Ford Global Fellowship seeks to transform how philanthropy supports social justice leaders. By co-creating this catalytic experience with the leaders themselves, the program design is powered by their collective wisdom. The vibrant FGF community of practice unites people from disparate fields, including artists, engineers, scientists, lawyers, entrepreneurs, teachers, and activists, to spark innovation and refine action-oriented strategies to dismantle inequality in their home regions and worldwide.
"The Ford Global Fellowship reflects an evolution of Ford's historical mission to invest in visionaries reimagining a more just future," said Adria Goodson, director of the Ford Global Fellowship. "By connecting these leaders across regions, we are fortifying the global civic architecture necessary to accelerate their ability to disrupt the drivers of inequality in an increasingly complex world."
"For 90 years, the Ford Foundation has operated on the conviction that individuals with lived experience are the most effective architects of social change," said Noorain Khan, chief innovation officer at the Ford Foundation. "This approach ensures that as we look toward the future of philanthropy, our resources remain focused on supporting those who are actively building more inclusive, democratic societies from the ground up."
The fellowship remains anchored in its belief that a robust civil society requires an "infrastructure of belonging." In this global community, fellows receive and create the support, resources, and network required to sustain and connect their work.
Introducing the 2026 Ford Global Fellows
The 2026 cohort represents a wide spectrum of fields, each contributing to a global movement for equity and promoting democratic values. This year's leaders were selected for their ability to bridge divides and lead institutions that generate transformative ideas within their communities.
Beinerth Chitiva Mosquera
General Director, English Learning Center
Colombia
Beinerth Chitiva Mosquera is the general director of the English Learning Center, a nonprofit that provides academic enrichment and leadership development for youths in Chocó, Colombia. He believes that equal access to high-quality education is one of the core pillars of a just and free society.
Chinenye Uwanaka
Founder and Managing Partner, The Firma Advisory
Nigeria
Chinenye Uwanaka is the founder and managing partner of the Firma Advisory, a pan-African law and policy advisory firm that provides strategic guidance across technology, infrastructure, investment, intellectual property, and public policy. She believes that by creating systems that are truly representative and responsive, leaders and governments can create wealth and dignity for citizens, public resources can be deployed transparently and effectively, and all citizens can become active contributors to governance.
Dr. Darshana Joshi
Founder and CEO, VigyanShaala International
India
Dr. Darshana Joshi is the cofounder and CEO of VigyanShaala International, an organization dedicated to dismantling systemic barriers in STEM education for underserved youth in India, especially girls and students from rural and low-income communities. She believes that science and technology will define how humanity responds to its greatest challenges, and that the people most affected by these challenges—no matter their identities, locations, or backgrounds—must be a part of designing solutions.
Diri Diepriye Ibim
Cofounder, FemBud Collective / Programs, Productions, and Advocacy Manager, Dorothy Njemanze Foundation
Nigeria
Diri Diepriye Ibim is a filmmaker and the cofounder of FEMBUD, a feminist creative collective; she also oversees programs and advocacy at the Dorothy Njemanze Foundation, a survivor-run nonprofit dedicated to sexual and gender-based violence response and prevention. She believes that art and creativity are essential to structural change and that storytelling can bridge the gap between empathy and action, allowing us to use our imaginations to shift cultural narratives and disrupt inequality.
Enrique Salanic
Actor, Ajq'ij
Guatemala
Enrique Salanic is a K'iche' and queer actor, cultural practitioner, and spiritual guide. Through his work in film, performance, and Mayan fire ceremonies, he confronts the idea that only certain bodies, beliefs, and stories deserve protection, and seeks to shift inequality by making Indigenous and queer presence visible, respected, and self-determined.
Erika Moore
Assistant Professor, The University of Maryland, College Park / Principal Investigator, The Moore Lab
United States
Erika Moore is a biomedical engineer, the principal investigator of the Moore Lab, and a professor at the University of Maryland. She works to dismantle inequity in the study of human health and believes that we can create a healthier, stronger world by teaching equity as a core research design principle.
Febriana Firdaus
Journalist
Indonesia
Febriana Firdaus is an award-winning Indonesian journalist and documentary filmmaker who has reported extensively on human rights violations, government accountability and transparency, and environmental issues across Southeast Asia. She believes that developing innovative digital storytelling methods is essential to inspiring future generations to address global inequality and safeguard our planet's future.
Gabriela Carrera
Director of Public Action, Universidad Rafael Landívar
Guatemala
Gabriela Carrera is a professor and community organizer who works at Universidad Rafael Landívar as the director of public action, an initiative focused on transforming communities. She believes that by engaging in dialogue and mutual education, we can collectively build a global alternative to inequality.
Gerald Sikazwe
Communications and Advocacy Lead, Word Smash Poetry Movement / Communications Officer, Centre for Young Leaders in Africa–Zambia
Zambia
Gerald Sikazwe is a social movement builder who uses poetry, performance, and digital storytelling to amplify the voices of underrepresented communities in Southern Africa and challenge the systemic inequalities that exclude them from civil society and governance. He believes that freedom of expression is key to fighting inequality and that art is a powerful catalyst for change.
Gervas Evodius
Cofounder and Executive Director, Hakizetu Organization
Tanzania
Gervas Evodius is a priest, a gender activist, and the cofounder and executive director of Hakizetu Organization, which promotes gender equality and works to advance women's economic rights across Tanzania. He believes that inequality stems from social norms, culture, and power structures, not inherent differences between people, and that economic independence creates pathways to dignity and safety.
Guadalupe García Prado
Founder and Director, Observatory of Extractive Industries
Guatemala
Guadalupe García Prado is an anthropologist and the founder and director of the Observatory of Extractive Industries in Guatemala. By grounding research and advocacy in a deep connection with land, forests, waters, and living territories, she believes we can create a world in which lands are protected together and abundance replaces imposed scarcity as the foundation of collective futures.
Hashem Hashem
Theatermaker / Cofounder, Qorras / Founder, Hashem's Apple for Creative Writing
Lebanon
Hashem Hashem is a playwright, theatermaker, poet, and performer based in Beirut; he is also the founder of @hashems_apple, an Instagram page that specializes in Arabic creative writing techniques. Hashem believes that theater and storytelling are powerful tools for exposing injustice that can build communities of care, hope, passion, and solidarity.
Hassana Maina
Founder and Executive Director, ASVIOL Support Initiative
Nigeria
Hassana Maina is the founder and executive director of ASVIOL Support Initiative, a feminist organization that advances survivor-centered legal support, policy reform, research, and community organizing. She believes that by addressing the structural inequality that enables sexual and gender-based violence to persist as tools of control, we can create a world where equality is lived, not negotiated.
Hind Hamdan
Gender and Workers' Rights Specialist
Lebanon
Hind Hamdan is a gender and workers' rights specialist who advances gender-transformative approaches within trade unions, grassroots movements, and labor governance systems. She believes that in order to create a more just and interconnected world, we must make invisible labor visible, shift power rather than accumulate it, and interrogate systems through dialogue, storytelling, and mentorship.
Kari Guajajara
Attorney, Indian Law Resource Center
Brazil
Maria Judite da Silva Ballerio (Kari) Guajajara is a Guajajara-Tenetehára lawyer with the Indian Law Resource Center in Brazil. She believes that protecting Indigenous lands is indispensable to climate justice and human rights and is committed to upholding the constitutional right of Indigenous communities to the use and occupation of their ancestral lands.
Karina Penha
Co-Executive Director and Founder, Amazônia de Pé / Director, PerifaConnection
Brazil
Karina Penha is the co-executive director and founder of the Amazônia de Pé Movement, a prominent movement in Brazil dedicated to protecting the Amazon and its people and confronting land, racial, and territorial inequality as root causes of the climate crisis in Brazil. She envisions a future grounded in "buen vivir," a concept from Indigenous and Afro-descendant traditions emphasizing belonging and harmony with nature.
Kartik Sawhney
Cofounder, I-Stem
India
Kartik Sawhney is a tech entrepreneur, a disability advocate, and the cofounder of I-Stem, a nonprofit that builds digital infrastructure to ensure all people can independently access public services in India. He believes that accessibility is essential to dismantling systems of inequality, fostering economic mobility, and building a world where people with disabilities can participate fully in all spheres of life.
Letícia Leobet
Cochair, Stakeholder Group of People of African Descent / Deputy Coordinator of the International Area, Geledés–Black Women's Institute
Brazil
Letícia Leobet is a Black feminist advocate dedicated to amplifying the voices of Afro-Brazilians, especially women and girls; she leads Geledés–Black Women's Institute's efforts across the United Nations system, translating community demands into effective policy. She believes that reparative approaches, not technocratic solutions, are needed to truly transform the systems that produce inequality.
Luis Sevillano
Transformer of Social Realities for Colombia's Ethnic Communities
Colombia
Luis Sevillano is a university professor and transformer of social realities who has worked for 25 years with USAID and local and national governments to promote the rights, self-governance, and cultural heritage of Afro-Colombian and Indigenous communities. Luis believes that by designing public policy that fosters cultural inclusion and understanding, we can build a future where opportunity is equal and not defined by race or place of birth.
Makomborero Carl Muropa
Cofounder, African Montessori Hub / Vice President of Programs, Aslan Housing Foundation
Zimbabwe
Makomborero Carl Muropa is a human rights lawyer, education strategist, and housing justice practitioner, as well as the cofounder of African Montessori Hub, which provides underserved communities with culturally responsive, child-centered learning. He seeks to cultivate systems where African children and educators are central architects of their own learning and futures.
Naomi Mwaura
Executive Director, Flone Initiative Trust
Kenya
Naomi Mwaura is the founder and executive director of Flone Initiative Trust, a charity in Kenya that improves safety and inclusion for historically excluded commuters. By asking how transportation systems can prioritize safety and dignity as core infrastructure, she seeks to create a world where women and people with disabilities move confidently, children get to school safely, transport work is dignified and inclusive, urban areas are designed around care, and increased mobility resources expand opportunities for all people.
Paknam Kɨma Pai
Indigenous Leader of the ɨnkal Awá People / Legal Representative, Paknam Kɨma Pai Foundation / Director, Katsa Tɨ Ecomuseum / Traditional Authority on the Awá Indigenous Legal System and Legal Pluralism for the ɨnkal Awá Katsa Tɨ Indigenous Reserve
Colombia
Paknam Kɨma Pai is a lawyer, researcher, and advocate for Indigenous rights in Colombia who challenges systemic inequality and social injustice. She believes that territorial autonomy and self-governance are essential to the future of Indigenous communities and that, by working together and respecting diversity and tradition, it is possible to attain "Wat Uzan" ("Harmonious Living") for historically excluded peoples.
Parasurama Pamungkas
Digital Rights Advocate
Indonesia
Parasurama Pamungkas is a researcher and advocate working with communities, policymakers, and civil society networks on AI governance, spyware accountability, platform regulation, and data protection in the Global South. He believes that technology should be used to benefit society: to aid vulnerable individuals, lighten workloads, and ensure lives full of dignity and joy.
Pravin Nikam
Founder, SAMAVESH
India
Pravin Nikam is an Indian lawyer and educator working to redesign how justice, education, and public institutions serve historically excluded communities; he founded SAMAVESH, an organization that works to transform the conditions that exclude communities from education and economic opportunity. He believes that addressing inequality requires redesigning social systems so that basic rights are guaranteed by design.
Reem Almasri
Digital Security Strategist
Jordan
Reem Almasri is a digital security strategist who advises social justice organizations and networks in Southwest Asia and North Africa on how to take greater ownership of their communications and data. She believes that by exploring collective models of governance, we can build a future grounded in experimentation, imagination, and learning.
Roishetta Sibley Ozane
Founder and CEO, The Vessel Project
United States
Roishetta Sibley Ozane is an environmental justice leader and the founder and CEO of the Vessel Project, which provides critical support to vulnerable populations, particularly Black and Indigenous communities, in Louisiana. She believes that through courage, resilience, and a deep understanding of the interconnectedness of our struggles, we can create a world where all people can lead healthy, fulfilling lives, contribute to their communities, and enjoy the natural beauty of their environments.
Siphiwe Ngwenya
Executive Director and Curator, Maboneng Township Arts Experience
South Africa
Siphiwe Ngwenya is a South African artist, a creative economist, and the executive director of the Maboneng Township Arts Experience, which transforms township and rural homes into gallery, cinema, and heritage spaces, shifting value back to communities historically excluded from economic participation. He is committed to building a world where art sustains households and communities own the means of cultural production and distribution, becoming drivers of their own success.
Staicy Naanyu Letoluo
Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Indigenous Friends of the Mau Forest
Kenya
Staicy Naanyu Letoluo is the founder and chief executive officer of Indigenous Friends of the Mau Forest, the first Indigenous Maasai Lady youth-led organization in Narok, Kenya. Staicy believes that Indigenous communities, and especially the women and girls in them, must be at the center of decision-making processes about their land, education, and conservation strategies.
Yaw Owusu-Boahen
Vice President of Impact Investing at ConnCORP / Executive Director at Wealth Accelerator
United States
Yaw Owusu-Boahen is a mission-driven impact investor dedicated to closing the racial wealth gap through investments in people, places, and platforms. He believes that everyone should have access to education, fair employment, adequate income, decent housing, and adequate medical care, and that by persistently pursuing programs and opportunities designed to narrow inequality, we can help ensure that everyone has access to reliable pathways to wealth and brighter futures.
Yazmany Arboleda
NYC's People's Artist, NYC Civic Engagement Commission / Founder and Artistic Director, The People's Creative Institute / Senior Artistic Advisor, Community Arts Network
United States
Yazmany Arboleda is the founder and artistic director of the People's Creative Institute, a civic art studio and participatory design platform that uses public art to transform civic spaces, deepen community engagement, and advance social change; he is also New York City's inaugural "people's artist" for the Civic Engagement Commission, an independent city agency charged with expanding democratic participation. He believes that democracy is a reflection of what we collectively value, prioritize, and choose to resource in public life.
Ying Xin
Program Manager, Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program, Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights
United States
Ying Xin is the program manager for the Global LGBTQI+ Human Rights Program at the Harvard Kennedy School's Carr-Ryan Center for Human Rights, where she designs and implements leadership initiatives that support LGBTQI+ leaders in under-resourced regions who face intense systemic and social pressure. She believes that by bridging the gap between frontline community advocacy and high-level systemic change, it is possible to transform existing social structures into ones that are more equitable and resilient.
Zhen Ni
Project Manager
United States
Zhen Ni is a project manager at the University of Chicago and an advocate for the disabled community in China who works to dismantle systemic exclusions in education, care, and social services. He envisions a society where disability is honored as a profound source of knowledge and agency regarding justice, care, and interdependence.
To learn more about the Ford Global Fellowship, please visit fordf.org/FordGlobalFellows.
About the Ford Foundation
The Ford Foundation is an independent organization working to address inequality and build a future grounded in justice. For 90 years, it has supported visionaries on the frontlines of social change worldwide, guided by its mission to strengthen democratic values, reduce poverty and injustice, promote international cooperation, and advance human achievement. Today, with an endowment of $16 billion, the foundation has headquarters in New York and 10 regional offices across Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. Learn more at www.fordfoundation.org.
SOURCE Ford Foundation
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