Rockefeller Foundation Launches U.S.-Focused Big Bets Fellowship

12 leading innovators in Alaska, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming to advance Food is Medicine solutions, drive economic investment, and increase efficiencies for greater prosperity and wellbeing for communities across the United States.

NEW YORK, May 22, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Rockefeller Foundation announced its first class of Big Bets Fellows focused on driving transformation for their communities across the United States—from Appalachia and the Midwest to the East and West Coasts. Over the course of the four-month fellowship, The Rockefeller Foundation will offer these 12 U.S. Big Bets Fellows—who are working in Alaska, California, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wyoming—programming, networking, and professional development opportunities so they can better implement and scale their bold solutions for greater economic growth and healthier, more resilient food systems to help American communities thrive.

"Our U.S. Big Bets Fellows represent the very best of America," said Dr. Rajiv J. Shah, President of The Rockefeller Foundation. "In a time of growing division, these twelve leaders are using their tenacity, innovation, and optimism to bring us closer to one another and to get all Americans, especially those so often left behind, closer to the American Dream. As we have since our founding, The Rockefeller Foundation is proud to support American big bettors, and we are excited for all this latest group will accomplish."

Communities across the United States face barriers to opportunity and wellbeing, with 60 percent of American households struggling to afford a quality of life that includes not just food and shelter, but also education, healthcare, and the chance for upward mobility. Harnessing American ingenuity to address the challenges their communities face, the 2025 U.S. Big Bets Fellows are working on bold, locally driven solutions:

• Alaska – Gretchen Fauske: Empower survivors of domestic and sexual violence to achieve financial independence and break cycles of insecurity, offering financial education, business grants, and access to safe banking options.
  
  
• California – Marina Zhavoronkova: Expand access to high-quality, federally funded construction job opportunities for communities across the United States, including for Veterans, women, and others, through workforce and educational programming.
  
  
• California – Rey Faustino: Leverage cutting-edge technology, including artificial intelligence, and work with government agencies to streamline how low-income families access critical government services, healthcare providers, and nonprofits.
  
  
• Georgia – Tiffany Terrell: Bring nutritious, locally grown food directly to vulnerable communities via a mobile grocery initiative, improving overall physical health and wellness, reducing food insecurity, and supporting local agriculture.
  
  
• Illinois – Dion Dawson: Reduce food, nutrition, and economic insecurity by logistically connecting the food system and employing local talent to deliver nutritious, locally grown fruits and vegetables to Chicago communities that need it most.
  
  
• Kentucky – Colby Hall: Expand access to meaningful employment in Eastern Kentucky by harnessing technology and entrepreneurship to reduce systemic barriers to workforce entry, such as reliable childcare and transportation.
  
  
• New Jersey – Catherine Wilson: Provide opportunities for low-to-moderate income residents to invest in community developed housing, generating financial returns for residents and creating a cooperative economy.
  
  
• New York – Melissa Bukuru: Enhance low-income workers' wellbeing and financial security by working with employers to increase employees' access to financial coaching, employee savings accounts, and other wealth-building tools.
  
  
• Oklahoma – Jennifer Hankins: Invest in Tulsa's innovative future, supporting the city's entrepreneurs, workforce, and infrastructure through workforce training, attracting and developing new businesses, and supporting industry needs such as the energy transition, building from Tulsa's strengths as a former oil capital of the world.
  
  
• Pennsylvania – Alexandre Imbot: Reinvent convenience stores as retail food pharmacies, making nutritious, fresh food more affordable and available, reducing future healthcare costs and supporting communities often characterized as "food deserts."
  
  
• West Virginia – Jacob Hannah: Revitalize rural Appalachian communities by leveraging local talent to transform dilapidated property into attractive investments for businesses, which then generate additional job opportunity and future prosperity.
  
  
• Wyoming – Paul Huberty: Strengthen Indigenous economies by disrupting status quos to increase access to capital, training, and technical and other assistance to support investments that create jobs, increase wages, and foster small business development in Wind River.

Since 1913, The Rockefeller Foundation has worked with partners across political, sector, state, and community lines to deliver results for people in the United States. Over that history, The Rockefeller Foundation has made investments in public health, scientific research, economic opportunity, and more. Since 2005 alone, The Rockefeller Foundation has invested nearly $3 billion in the United States, across every state in the nation, to advance Food is Medicine initiatives, tax policies that work better for American workers and their families, and efforts to expand economic opportunities for all.

The Big Bets Fellowship began in 2024, with 16 fellows who are developing scalable solutions to improve lives in Latin America and the Caribbean. During the course of their fellowship, these leaders sharpened their theories of change, developed skills to build and navigate unlikely partnerships, and crafted compelling stories to mobilize resources and support. For example, 2024 Fellow Marcela Angel reflected on her organization's theory of change, which was using technical solutions to predict landslides, and expanded it encompass other natural events. She is now spinning off a research center from MIT to scale the solution. Valmir Ortega was inspired by a fellow class member to expand his organization's model to new markets and Carlos Mango refined his impact measurement approach to support diversified funding engagements.

About The Rockefeller Foundation

The Rockefeller Foundation is a pioneering philanthropy built on collaborative partnerships at the frontiers of science, technology, and innovation that enable individuals, families, and communities to flourish. We make big bets to promote the wellbeing of humanity. Today, we are focused on advancing human opportunity and reversing the climate crisis by transforming systems in food, health, energy, and finance. For more information, sign up for our newsletter at www.rockefellerfoundation.org/subscribe and follow us on X @RockefellerFdn and LinkedIn @the-rockefeller-foundation.

SOURCE The Rockefeller Foundation