• This will be a 6-week fellowship experience, running from June 20 to July 29
• Fellows can expect to meet Monday through Friday for about 20-25 hours per week
• Experiences for this fellowship will include kick-off events during the first week, full day sessions once a week after that, meetings with project teams, one-on-one goal setting, final project presentations and an alumni celebration

We’re looking for leaders who…

• Are committed to championing causes that serve Colorado kids and families.
• Are Innovators, creative thinkers and change agents who are constantly thinking about how to build breakthrough solutions that will support their communities.
• Are empathetic leaders with a strong willingness to learn and collaborate with those who have diverse perspectives.
• Live in Metro Denver (specifically Adams, Arapahoe, Denver and Jefferson counties), as this is a place-based fellowship.

During the program, Piton Fellows in the Youth Cohort will have the opportunity to…

LEARN from inspirational changemakers in business, government and nonprofit, in the Denver metro area and across the country.

CONNECT with their community by building a network of fellows, experts and community members who will help them explore how to become a leader and drive needed change.

BUILD talents through 1:1 goal setting support and opportunities to explore potential career and professional interests.

DEVELOP as human beings through facilitated conversations designed to help fellows uncover their core values, powerfully embrace their identities, improve their communication strategies and push through barriers.

Gary Community Ventures partners with our community to reshape the arc of opportunity for Colorado kids and families.

Since 1976, we’ve worked to leverage business, policy and philanthropy to break down the biggest barriers to opportunity and co-create breakthrough solutions for those who need it most. We listen with humility to our community and partners, learning together to drive action that guarantees School Readiness, Youth Success, and Family Economic Mobility. Whether we’re growing solutions that already exist, building solutions that don’t yet exist or changing the policy landscape, we dare to be bold, working urgently with our community and partners to deliver a future where all Colorado kids can grow up healthy and reach their full potential.

Although our initiatives now live under the Gary Community Ventures name, we intentionally chose to honor our history as The Piton Foundation in selecting Piton Fellowship as the title for this program. We did so because we believe this name tells a perfect story about the idea of ascendency in leadership that Piton has long represented.

As with all our ventures, Gary Community Ventures designed The Piton Fellowship in partnership with our community. Iesha Mitchell was part of that group.

Iesha Mitchell, Director of Community Partnerships at Invest in Kids, was among those whose feedback was vital to the development of The Piton Fellowship. Having participated in the Colorado Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Fellowship and the Colorado Education Policy Cohort at the University of Colorado, Mitchell shared how these valuable programs helped her build new networks and skills as a young leader of color.

“I think it’s really hard to design something for someone without their voice in it. Historically we’ve done that,” Mitchell said. “What’s the point of a fellowship? What’s the opportunity it presents fellows? You don’t know until you talk to those who will occupy that space. This isn’t a new concept, but I have seen (the Gary team) focus on it — building for the community with the community.”