Congratulations Malik!
Congratulations to Silk Road Rising's Co-Founder and Co-Executive Artistic Director Malik Gillani on being named a 2021 Leader for a New Chicago! The Silk Road Rising community has always known Malik as an incredible leader. Now, the rest of Chicago knows too!
Field Foundation & MacArthur Foundation Announce 2021 Leaders for a New Chicago
Ten Leaders Awarded for Their Groundbreaking Work across the City
The Field Foundation of Illinois, in partnership with the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, announced today the 2021 Leaders for a New Chicago cohort. The leadership awards, created in 2019, are part of Field’s ongoing investment in racial justice visionaries and organizations addressing systemic issues in Chicago’s historically underserved communities. The MacArthur Foundation committed $2.1 million to support the awards to recognize and support a diverse group of leaders from communities directly impacted by Chicago’s history of structural racism, discrimination, and disinvestment.
The ten leaders, whose work aligns with Field’s grantmaking areas of Justice, Media & Storytelling, and Art, represent a diversity of religion, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age and expertise, and individuals from different geographies and income levels. Some are CEOs and executive directors, some are creators and co-founders, some are activists and organizers, and some are part of collective, shared leadership models.
“We continue to be inspired by these powerful visionaries,” said Field Foundation Leadership Investment Program Officer Hilesh Patel. “The Leaders for a New Chicago Award continues to find where power lives inside our communities, and provides the support and funding these folks need to dream bigger so they can continue to create change.”
Said MacArthur Senior Program Officer Geoffrey Banks: “We are proud to play a part in elevating the voices of individuals who are leaders in their communities and professional fields and to provide them with unrestricted support to keep pursuing their goals and personal growth as they change the landscape of our city.”
The 2021 Cohort includes:
Tony Alvarado-Rivera, Executive Director, Chicago Freedom School
Brandon “Chief Manny” Calhoun, Co-Founder, The Era Footwork Crew
Malik Gillani, Co-Executive Artistic Director, Silk Road Rising
Monica Lynne Haslip, Founder and Executive Director, Little Black Pearl
Maira Khwaja, Director of Public Strategy, Invisible Institute
Meida Teresa McNeal, Artistic and Managing Director, Honey Pot Performance
Grace Pai, Director of Organizing, Asian Americans Advancing Justice/Chicago
Aislinn Pulley, Co-Executive Director, Chicago Torture Justice Center
LaSaia Wade, Founder and Executive Director, Brave Space Alliance
Damon Williams, Co-Director, #LetUsBreathe Collective
