Chenoa Velarde selected as community leadership fellow

Feb 4, 2026

UNM Taos campus at night with logo overlayed

Every child deserves a fair shot. Every adult is a potential steward for a child’s success. Every community can generate and nurture innovation for its children and families.

Collaborating leadership and action to unite and build expansive coalitions of people who care about our children is essential.

Congratulations to UNM-Taos Indigenous Outreach Coordinator Turquoise “Chenoa” Velarde on becoming a fellow of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership!

The WKKF Community Leadership Network with the Center for Creative Leadership is an innovative fellowship program that helps leaders connect, grow, and transform change toward a world where all children and families thrive.

The fellowship brings together 80 inspiring and diverse leaders to connect, grow, and lead in WKKF’s priority places of Michigan, Mississippi, New Mexico, and New Orleans, Tribal Nations, and from across the United States.

This class includes Tribal leaders, elected officials, health practitioners, youth mentors, educators, businesspeople, attorneys, civil rights activists, and environmental justice advocates, among others.

We look forward to seeing what Chenoa does through the fellowship to lead transformational change on behalf of children, families, and communities.

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