Current SEED Fellows
Our first SEED Fellows have been selected based on their past experience as client partners. They have been instrumental in their agency's integration of SEED's breakthrough approach to strategic planning. They are shining examples of the difference SEED makes.
Esther W. Y. Lok, is Assistant Director of Policy, Advocacy and Research (PAR) & Senior Policy Analyst for HIV and AIDS, at the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies (FPWA).
In September 2011, Esther and her colleagues in the PAR Department returned to SEED for their 4th annual, two-day staff retreat-to assess current outcomes, refresh their five-year vision, and define a one-year work plan.
Esther's participation as a SEED Fellow represents an exciting partnership for FPWA and SEED. Over the next two years, Esther will deepen her understanding of the SEED methodology by training one day per week to help grow the reach of SEED services. As she increasingly becomes an effective SEED trainer serving SEED client partners, she will also be supported to extend the SEED practice as an enhancement to FPWA's capacity-building offerings. FPWA serves over 1,200 programs throughout the New York City metropolitan area.
Esther remarks:
"I am especially interested to use the SEED methodology in my policy and advocacy work, engaging more direct service providers to become advocates themselves. I also want to spread SEED practices to build stronger coalitions. This opportunity creates a connection of my life experience, strengths, interests and passions."
Victoria C. Brady, comes to SEED as Founder and President of Ray of Hope Center of the Arts, located on the Southeast side of Chicago, Illinois.
Victoria represents further potential for SEED to partner with umbrella organizations offering management assistance and capacity-building across their networks.
 Victoria's role at Ray of Hope Center of the Arts is shifting as she develops arts activism strategies. Victoria wants to use the SEED methodology as a part of her mission to reach community organizations nationwide in ways that allow individuals to unite, build alliances and address critical issues using the arts.
We anticipate that she will be enriching the SEED methodology, as much as she spreads it.
Victoria comments:
"I was a client of SEED for three years, engaging teams of youth leaders, ensemble performers, and board members. I really appreciate the way SEED combines art and science in its practices that build organizational capacity and sustainability. This creative approach, combined with the skill that SEED trainers bring to it, has helped inspire me to move forward in my work as an arts activist. I hope to use this method to inspire others."
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