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<figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*4huKLlu63x5Cu7kpmIuVYA.jpeg" /></figure><p><strong>The end of the year is a bittersweet time for the Network.</strong></p><p>Please join us in sharing a warm, heartfelt congratulations to this year’s Hello Neighbor Network Fellows on completing our 2023 Fellowship program! While we are unbelievably proud of all these leaders have accomplished over the last 10-months, it’s always sad to see another fantastic cohort to a meaningful conclusion.</p><blockquote>“Each of these Fellows has demonstrated unwavering dedication to making the world a better place for refugees and immigrants. They have shown us that in times of adversity, the human spirit can shine even brighter.”<br><strong>- Sloane Davidson | Founder &amp; CEO, Hello Neighbor</strong></blockquote><p>We were thrilled to gather this group of amazing leaders for two virtual celebrations last month.</p><p><strong>First</strong>, we invited all of our Members to witness a spread of brief presentations from our 2023 Fellows around the organizational projects they completed during the course of our 10-month Fellowship. This year’s projects were extremely diverse, focusing on everything from revenue stream diversification to organizational rebranding to succession planning.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*j-z71VgCJoKHQ0pJBBmMsw.png" /><figcaption>Screenshot from our interview with Sloane Davidson at the Fellows-only End of Year Celebration event.</figcaption></figure><p><strong>The following day</strong>, we gathered our Fellows for one final commemorative celebration. During this celebration we hosted an interview and open Q&amp;A with Hello Neighbor’s Founder &amp; CEO, Sloane Davidson, engaged in a reflective discussion activity, listened in awe to a trumpet performance from Ashley Mwalekwa and much more. Each Fellow also received an end of year care package in the mail which we opened together; this package included a unique Network tee shirt, a Fellowship completion certificate, a copy of Nilofer Merchant’s fantastic book “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/Power-Onlyness-Ideas-Mighty-Enough/dp/0525429131/">The Power of Onlyness: Make Your Wild Ideas Mighty Enough to Dent the World</a>” and more.</p><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/1024/1*wTrXT6tXXRZxuW6DQKCFwA.png" /><figcaption>Screenshot of 2023 Network Fellows opening their end of year care packages.</figcaption></figure><p>It was an honor getting meet and learn alongside this cohort of inspirational leaders, and we greatly look forward to continuing our relationship with many of them as Network Members.</p><p>Once more, please join us in congratulating our graduating 2023 Fellowship cohort below!</p><ul><li><strong>Ashley Marine</strong> | <a href="https://www.girlforward.org/">GirlForward</a> (Chicago, IL)</li><li><strong>Brian Leone Tracy</strong> | <a href="https://foxvalleylit.org/">Fox Valley Literacy</a> (Appleton, WI)</li><li><strong>Catarina Lorenzo Antonio</strong> | <a href="https://amorri.org/">Alliance to Mobilize our Resistance</a> (Providence, RI)</li><li><strong>Diana Higuera</strong> | <a href="https://www.rockymountainwelcome.org/">Rocky Mountain Welcome Center</a> (Aurora, CO)</li><li><strong>Diya Abdo</strong> | <a href="https://everycampusarefuge.net/">Every Campus A Refuge</a> (Greensboro, NC)</li><li><strong>Erin Freeman</strong> | <a href="https://www.projecthope4kids.org/">Project Hope 4 Kids</a> (Salt Lake City, UT)</li><li><strong>Jill Segulin</strong> | <a href="https://www.refugeeassistancepartnersnj.org/">Refugee Assistance Partners</a> (Scotch Plains, NJ)</li><li><strong>Krystsina Shchelkunova</strong> | <a href="https://slavics.org/">Slavic Refugee &amp; Immigrant Services Organization</a> (Chula Vista, CA)</li><li><strong>Laura Youngberg</strong> | <a href="https://mirachicago.org/">Middle Eastern Immigrant &amp; Refugee Alliance</a> (Chicago, IL)</li><li><strong>Melissa Phillips</strong> | <a href="https://sdrefugeetutoring.com/">San Diego Refugee Tutoring</a> (San Diego, CA)</li><li><strong>Michelle Lasnier</strong> | <a href="https://www.rbazaar.org/">R Bazaar</a> &amp; <a href="https://www.rbazaar.org/rubys-market">Ruby’s Market</a> (Denver, CO)</li><li><strong>Naseema Gilson</strong> | <a href="https://www.facebook.com/sanctuarykitchen.org/">Sanctuary Kitchen by CitySeed</a> (New Haven, CT)</li><li><strong>Pam Font-Gabel </strong>| <a href="https://www.refugeewomenrising.org/">Refugee Women Rising</a> (Omaha, NE)</li><li><strong>Raghad Bushnaq </strong>| <a href="https://mozaicdmv.org/">Mozaic</a> (Adie, VA)</li><li><strong>Said Hassan </strong>| <a href="https://www.comsausa.org/">Community Services Agency, Inc.</a> (Green Bay, WI)</li><li><strong>Sedique Popal </strong>| <a href="https://www.noorislamicandculturalcommunitycenter.com/">Noor Islamic &amp; Cultural Community Center</a> (Concord, CA)</li><li><strong>Sheila Badwan </strong>| <a href="https://hananrrg.org/wisconsin-chapter/">Hanan Refugees Relief Group</a> (Milwaukee, WI)</li><li><strong>Taneeza Islam </strong>| <a href="https://www.sdvfpeace.org/">South Dakota Voices for Peace</a> (Sioux Falls, SD)</li><li><strong>Vickee Moy </strong>| <a href="https://startingpointsac.org/">Starting Point for Refugee Children</a> (Elk Grove, CA)</li></ul><figure><img alt="" src="https://cdn-images-1.medium.com/max/576/1*0pANcqZlhr9QGUL4PAH6aA.png" /></figure><p><strong>About the Hello Neighbor Network:<br></strong>The <a href="https://www.neighbornetwork.io/">Hello Neighbor Network</a>, powered by <a href="https://www.helloneighbor.io/">Hello Neighbor</a>, works with grassroots organizations serving immigrants and refugees. It promotes greater understanding and connection between new neighbors and host communities and encourages the development of more resilient and inclusive communities by supporting nonprofit organizations and their leaders. For more information, please visit <a href="http://neighbornetwork.io/">neighbornetwork.io</a></p><img src="https://medium.com/_/stat?event=post.clientViewed&referrerSource=full_rss&postId=c6872f5caa21" width="1" height="1" alt=""><hr><p><a href="https://medium.com/hello-neighbor-network/the-network-celebrates-the-conclusion-of-2023-fellowship-program-c6872f5caa21">The Network Celebrates the Conclusion of 2023 Fellowship Program</a> was originally published in <a href="https://medium.com/hello-neighbor-network">Hello Neighbor Network</a> on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.</p>