The Community Foundation of Louisville Announces 2025 Alden Fellows Recipients
Photo Credit: Abdul Sharif Photography
Pictured left to right: Michael Washburn, Executive Director of Kentucky Waterways Alliance; C.J. Carter, Founder and Executive Director of Sharp Futures; Meka Kpoh, Executive Director and Founder of Black Birth Justice; Ron Gallo, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville; Shameka Parrish-Wright, Executive Director of VOCAL-KY; Amina Shale, Founder and Executive Director of More Than a Smile Foundation; and Kristen Williams, Founder and Executive Director of Play Cousins Collective.
The Community Foundation of Louisville is proud to announce the 2025 Alden Fellows recipients. The Alden Fellows program was redesigned in 2025 as an open opportunity for the Foundation to invest in inspirational executive leaders of Louisville’s nonprofit sector. Supported by the Alden Fellows Fund at the Community Foundation of Louisville, the program was made possible by an endowment left by William O. Alden Jr. The following local nonprofit executives received a $10,000 grant to pursue professional certifications and/or professional development opportunities:
C.J. Carter, Founder and Executive Director of Sharp Futures, a nonprofit transforming young lives through in-school barbershop and beauty salon programs. As an Alden Fellow, he will attend Cornell University’s Executive Leadership Program and the 2026 Skoll World Forum to develop sustainable nonprofit models and bring a global perspective on social change to Louisville.
Meka Kpoh, Executive Director and Founder of Black Birth Justice, an organization founded to reduce the despairing Black maternal and infant crisis in our community. Meka will use grant funds to attend the 3rd World Conference on Gender & Women’s Studies in London, UK, engage in executive coaching, and work with a research mentor to prepare scholarly publications on Black maternal health. Her plan will strengthen her ability to bridge frontline community care with academic research, expand her global network, and position Black Birth Justice as a thought leader in reproductive justice.
Amina Shale, Founder and Executive Director of More Than a Smile Foundation, a Louisville-based nonprofit serving immigrant, refugee, and low-income youth and families through mentorship, education, sports, and wellness programs. As a 2025 Alden Fellow, Amina will participate in executive leadership programs, attend global refugee and immigrant leadership conferences, and return to Kenya for strategic learning with organizations supporting refugee girls. This experience will strengthen her capacity to scale More Than a Smile Foundation’s impact from 200 to over 500 families annually in the next five years, while modeling for refugee women and youth that leadership is not only possible, but also a powerful legacy.
Michael Washburn, Executive Director of Kentucky Waterways Alliance (KWA), a statewide nonprofit working to protect, restore, and celebrate the Commonwealth’s waterways. As an Alden Fellow, Michael will take Harvard Kennedy School’s Leadership and Character in Uncertain Times course and launch Watershed in Action, a civic salon series that brings people together to reflect on water, place, and repair. He hopes the year will sharpen his skills in moral and adaptive leadership, deepen his ability to work across difference, and catalyze his thinking on replicable models for civic engagement rooted in environmental stewardship.
Kristen Williams, Founder and Executive Director of Play Cousins Collective. Under her leadership, Play Cousins Collective centers the voices of those it serves with a structure built on four pillars: caregiver support, youth enrichment, community healing, and civic engagement. Kristen will use grant funds to visit a network of practitioners whose work exemplifies cultural preservation and healing justice. This includes attending the International Gullah Geechee and African Diaspora Conference in South Carolina and visiting Queen Quet of the Gullah/Geechee Nation. She intends to leave with tools, templates, and insights that can be applied to Play Cousins Collective programs, staff development, and policy advocacy work in Louisville.
Shameka Parrish-Wright, Executive Director of VOCAL-KY, a statewide membership organization that builds power among low-income people directly impacted by HIV/AIDS, the drug war, mass incarceration, and homelessness. She will use grant funds to support an organizational planning retreat, one-on-one instruction and guidance in resource development and financial management, and learn new technology to support organizational and project management. Shameka’s plan will support her in being a strong and effective leader and will help ensure VOCAL-KY’s longevity, sustainability, and growth.
“We are excited to champion these six nonprofit business leaders as they invest in their professional development,” said Ron Gallo, President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Louisville. “Leadership turnover is a well-known challenge within the nonprofit sector. The Foundation sincerely appreciates the Alden Family Fund for making these grants possible, enabling these executives access to exceptional professional development opportunities which might otherwise remain out of reach.”
Since the Alden Fellows’ inception in 2014, the Community Foundation has awarded $270,000 in grants for building the leadership capacity of 44 fellows. Supported by the Alden Fellows Fund at the Community Foundation of Louisville, the program was made possible by an endowment left by William O. Alden Jr. Through participation in Alden Fellows, awarded leaders join a network of past and present fellows, cultivating relationships and forming new connections to collaborate for greater impact. For more information on the Alden Fellows program, visit www.cflouisville.org/community-support/alden-fellows/.