Leading up to the seminar, a statewide weather event required the original date to be rescheduled. Ultimately, the winter storm that weekend brought measurable snowfall in all 100 North Carolina counties for the first time in over a decade. A few weeks later, the 13th Friday Fellowship cohort gathered together, demonstrating how adaptive leadership remains essential in a changing world. 

The group gathered in Columbia, NC at the Eastern 4-H Center on the Albemarle Sound. In line with seasonal shifts, the weekend beside Bulls Bay was peaceful and serene. 

In preparation for Seminar Two, the cohort read several texts:  

• The Four Pivots by Shawn Ginwright: As a text that spans the two year seminar experience, this seminar focused on the first of four pivots: shifting from lens to mirror.

• Alexis Pauline Gumbs’ Undrowned: Written by Durham-based Black feminist and author Alexis Gumbs, Undrowned serves as a reminder of the lessons humans might take up from mammals, especially marine mammals, surviving rapid changes in climate and ecological living conditions.

• The Serviceberry by Robin Wall Kimmerer: The latest publication from Kimmerer, The Serviceberry was adapted from a 2022 essay which supports the idea of a reciprocal economy and challenges readers to think of ways that a gifting economy could reshape our relations and interactions with the natural world around us. 

The group also enjoyed a meaningful excursion to downtown Creswell, just six miles away from the Eastern 4-H Center. While there, they engaged in an informal study of the surrounding downtown area, an activity based generally on the idea of walking as critical pedagogy (for more details see this link). Following that, they had a fireside chat style conversation with former WLI board member and Friday Fellow Mavis Hill (Class of 2003-2005). Hill, who is from Washington County, has long worked in economic development and advocacy in the local area and spoke to the class about the meaning, assets, and challenges of being an Eastern North Carolinian. Class members deeply appreciated Hill’s storytelling and wisdom while sipping on coffee drinks at the vivacious Big Blue 252 Coffee Bar.

Besides curricular and structured dialogue, the cohort shared many laughs throughout the weekend, too. This was especially the case during the contemplative arts-based inquiry, evening campfire and s’mores, and impromptu game night. Although rainy when leaving Sunday morning, the group is looking forward to connecting with classmates before Seminar Three in July for Peer Day Visits.

Thirty plus years ago I received this letter (pictured above) with a sense of honor and skepticism.  Was this just another political show to mollify teachers? I arrived at the meeting with only minutes to spare before the governor walked in. Dressed down in a turtleneck and sweater instead of my usual uniform - long-sleeve white shirt, dress pants and a tie - I had also brought along a set of papers that needed grading in case the meeting got boring. Yes, I had every intention of pulling them out because I didn't have time to waste. But that never happened. Gov. Hunt walked in and gave a few brief remarks and introduced his Teacher Advisor, Karen Garr.  Then for over two hours he sat and listened as the 15 teachers around the table shared what we felt like he needed to know about teaching and teachers. You might have missed that. He sat and listened...L-I-S-T-E-N-E-D... for over two hours. He didn't comment; he didn't even ask questions. He listened, and he and Karen took a few notes. And for the next 5 years (I think.) that I stayed on the committee he continued to listen to us. But he also explained his thoughts and decisions, asked us tough questions, gave us tasks and challenged us to think more broadly and deeply about the profession. I did not agree with every decision he made regarding education, but I felt heard. That experience also served as a springboard for many other opportunities in and out of the field. Jim Hunt wasn't perfect, and he was the consummate politician, but he was also the real deal. NC was fortunate to have him as our governor. May he rest in peace.

Henry Foust (pictured above), former student council advisor at Northwood High School, attended the National Conference on Student Activities (NCSA), December 5 – 7, 2025 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. The NCSA brings together the Advocates, Advisors, Administrators, and Allies of Student Activities for a weekend of learning, networking, and fun! Sponsored by the National Association for Student Activities (NA4SA), the conference provides professional development for high school and middle school advisors of co-curricular activities through a mixture of keynote speakers, breakout workshops and information sharing.

Foust not only attended the conference, but also took on several special roles. He led Table Talks entitled “Training Advisors- PD for Us and Others” and “Advocating Inside and Outside of the Student Activities Realm.” Foust serves as one of the Southern Region Representatives on the NA4SA Board of Directors and as the Outreach and Partnership Director for the NC Association of Student Councils.

During the course of the conference, NA4SA recognizes select members for honors and awards. Foust was one of four finalist for the Earl Ruem Award, named after the founder and given “in recognition of outstanding leadership and commitment to the promotion of excellence in Student Activities.” He has worked in co-curricular student activities for 40 years.

Since 1973 NA4SA (formerly known as the National Association of Workshop Directors) has provided professional development for co-curricular activities advisors in order for them to guide student leaders in the activities that make their school experiences come alive. NA4SA also offers numerous virtual training programs and a catalogue of online resources for its members. More information is available at na4sa.org. 

The Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI) Board of Advisors is pleased to share the following updates from the final board meeting of the calendar year held at the Center for Business & Industry in Fayetteville, NC on November 18, 2025.

WLI board officers elected for 2026 are Shannon Moretz (Class of 2017-19) as Chair; Calvin Allen (2003-05) as Vice Chair; DeSandra Washington (Class of 2020-22) as Secretary; and Patton McDowell (Class of 2001-03) as Treasurer. 

Newly elected board members for three year terms beginning January 1, 2026 are Karlene Turrentine (Class of 2003-05) of Wake County and Melinda Manning of Orange County.  Both have previously served on the board at various times in the last decade and possess valuable recent institutional knowledge.

Departing board members Faith Bynum Patterson (Class of 2017-19) and Alicia James were recognized and thanked for their years of friendship, service, leadership, and work as board officers (most recently as 2025 Chair and Treasurer respectively).  Their terms officially end December 31, 2025.

Just before the beginning of the meeting, the board was joined by Mark Sorrells (Class of 1999-01) who offered words of welcome and heartfelt reflections on the impact of his Friday Fellowship experience and how it shaped his statewide perspective.

During the meeting, WLI staff provided updates on the recent start of 2025-27 William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations class including a specific focus on Seminar One held in October 2025 at Wildacres Retreat. Preparations for Seminar Two and Three were discussed, and a Program Committee meeting in early December 2025 was confirmed.

After approval of the calendar 2026 budget, the group considered the timeline for a new Friday Fellowship class after the current one concludes. While a final determination will be made at the next board meeting in March 2026, it is likely that a new nomination and application process will open in late summer 2026.

All Fellows programming both in 2025 and 2026 were also reviewed. After the meeting, dates for the first two 2026 virtual quarterly gatherings were scheduled for Tuesday, February 10, 2026 and Thursday, May 14, 2026. The focus text for consideration at these first two gatherings will be Anatomy of a Purple State: A North Carolina Politics Primer by Christopher A. Cooper, a professor at Western Carolina University.

Practicing relationship is a part of each board meeting.  The group engages in an intentional process to relate to each other as human beings first – before we begin what may be traditionally considered board business.  In addition to our usual process at this meeting, the group celebrated a milestone birthday of board member DeSandra Washington with a variety of cupcakes (pictured below), song, and, remembrances. 

Much thanks to DeSandra for hosting in her hometown of Fayetteville on this doubly auspicious occasion of closing one year and beginning another.

A sample board member job description is at this link.  If you or someone you know may have interest in serving on the WLI Board of Advisors now or in the future, please consider this sharing of the duties in the board member job description an open invitation to contact a board member or WLI Director Hunter Corn for a conversation.  Perspectives of both Friday Fellows and individuals who have not gone through the Fellowship program are welcome.

Top picture: 2026 WLI board officers, left to right: Shannon Moretz, Chair; Calvin Allen, Vice Chair; DeSandra Washington, Secretary; Patton McDowell, Treasurer

Second picture: 2025 board chair and retiring board member Faith Bynum Patterson with her board gift bag full of tokens of thanks

Third picture: a collage of celebrating DeSandra Washington’s birthday with cupcakes

Fourth picture: a collage of host DeSandra Washington with board and staff 

Wildacres Leadership Initiative is pleased to share that the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations Class of 2025-2027 recently completed their first seminar at Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, NC on October 16-19, 2025. Seminar One was a memorable beginning to the 13th Class’ Friday Fellowship journey, which will consist of six seminars total over the course of two years.

As part of the current fellowship curriculum, the central inquiry for Seminar One was “From where and who do you come?” Class members were provided two texts prior to this first convening: The Art of Communicating by Thich Nhat Hanh and Fearless Dialogue s by Gregory Ellison. Throughout the seminar weekend, class members engaged in discussions and practices related to themes from the texts, namely dialogue and the importance of communication in human relations and leadership.

Amongst various curricular invitations over the seminar weekend, class members engaged in a Paired Walk, a long-time tradition of the Friday Fellowship. In addition to getting to know one another, Paired Walk partners discussed the book they each selected from the 2025 list of North Carolina-based books related to or about the state, and/or written by a North Carolinian author. Other Friday Fellowship traditions unfolded over the weekend, too, including class members sharing their own versions of the poem Where I’m From by George Ella Lyon.

The weather proved to be exemplary on the mountain, which made way for porch conversations, short and uphill hikes, and fireside chats with s’mores.

The cohort also warmly welcomed Dr. Darin Waters, Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History, for a fireside chat. Emphasizing the significance of history as a practice of storytelling and collective memory, Dr. Waters spoke with the class about ongoing efforts across North Carolina to preserve and share the many histories that make up our shared home state, and encouraged class members to tend to the idea of legacy within their own communities.

As ongoing needs continue to evolve within our communities, across the entire state and beyond, humanizing leadership remains essential. Tying together lessons from Friday Fellowships past, such as being adaptive and prioritizing human relations in the face of inequities, the Class of 2025-2027 is poised to reflect and consider their place in transforming leadership practices to support the flourishing of all North Carolinians. To begin, they have recommitted to themselves and one another to being lifelong learners, curious and engaged in the journey of fellowship. 

Two Friday Fellows sought election to municipal offices in North Carolina in the November 2025 election cycle.  While official results will be certified in the coming weeks, it appears both were not elected in this cycle.

Robin Emmons (Class of 2011-13) overcame tough structural hurdles by collecting enough signatures to qualify as an unaffiliated candidate for Charlotte City Council District 3.   Robin faced a three way race that included a registered Democrat and Republican on the November 4, 2025 ballot.  The short window from receiving her notice that she successfully gained a place on the ballot on September 20 to election day on November 4 - barely six weeks - provided another tough challenge.  While she was not elected to a city council seat this cycle, Robin knocked down one seemingly insurmountable barrier.   

Satish Garimella (Class of 2023-25) ran for mayor of Morrisville - a town which is primarily located in west central Wake County with a small portion in Durham County.  Satish is currently in the middle of his third four-year term as a member of the Morrisville Town Council and is serving as mayor pro tempore.  In this November 4, 2025 election - his first run for mayor - he came in second in a three way race that included the incumbent mayor.  While he lost this election, Satish continues in office through his existing four-year term as an At-Large town council member which expires in December 2027.


Like all things, the impact of local elections, municipal public service, and choice can be skewed by our perceptions and assumptions.  Robin and Satish made the effort to offer voters a choice when both could have left the systemic status quo alone.  In Robin's case, she chose to work outside of the usual two-party system and surprised some by even getting on the ballot.  Similarly, Satish challenged an incumbent mayor and council colleague of the same party (in a non-partisan race).  

Choice does matter.  

Congratulations to these Friday Fellows for the confidence their communities have shown in their leadership in this election, prior elections, and willingness to support them as they offered people more than one choice.

If a Friday Fellow in the 2025 election cycle has been omitted, please email.

The William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, the flagship program of Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI), has named its 2025-2027 class. A competitive statewide program for cross-sector leaders, the Friday Fellowship is dedicated to fostering relationships across differences and utilizing dialogue to address North Carolina’s most pressing issues. The Fellowship program is both a central piece and one example of WLI’s mission to build individual and collective leadership that creates cultures of collaboration throughout the state.

WLI board chair Faith Bynum Patterson conveys,

"Even years after my formal Fellowship experience, I find the essence of the Friday Fellowship still working on me and doing the work of bettering human relations. As a graduate of the Fellowship class of 2017-2019, I have worked with the classes that came after mine, just as the classes before me did. My Fellowship class experience was life-changing. The intra- and inter-class relationships continue to be profoundly impactful, and I strongly urge each incoming class member to take full advantage of this truly unique opportunity.”

The 2025-2027 Fellowship class includes 18 individuals who currently reside in twelve North Carolina counties. The months-long selection process included a formal nomination, written application, virtual-based conversation, and in-person regional interview. Friday Fellows demonstrate commitment to leadership in North Carolina, model curiosity and continuous learning, and are courageous risk takers seeking to create innovation through their work in the world.

A class directory page with more information and a photo of each new class member is available at this link.

Beth Coleman, WLI’s Lead Faculty, shares,

“WLI and the broader Friday Fellowship community are thrilled to welcome the incoming members of the 2025-2027 Class. In their own unique ways, they have demonstrated a steadfast commitment to learning, growing as leaders, and engaging with others for the collective betterment of human relations. Now, as much as ever, we need collaborative leadership. We look forward to the two-year journey ahead and to seeing the positive impact this group will have in our local communities, across our state, and the world.”

Like other Friday Fellows before them, the 18 incoming class members will engage in professional and leadership development both individually and collectively throughout the duration of the two-year fellowship cycle. The program, which operates without tuition or fees from class members, is structured over six four-day seminars and allows for shared experiences across the state, including in Carteret, McDowell, and Tyrrell counties. Before and after each seminar weekend, class members are invited to embrace new and different pathways toward building and sustaining relationships across lines of difference.

WLI Director Hunter Corn adds,

“Each of these individuals have already made choices to stop, reflect, and step into something not fully known. I am grateful for their choices to intentionally be in relationship with those different from themselves. It is choices like these that strengthen communities.”

About the William C. Friday Fellowship

The William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations is a program of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative. The fellowship honors the legacy of longtime UNC system president Bill Friday, who charged the first class of fellows in 1995 with embracing personal growth and learning in the service of all North Carolinians. Responding to Bill Friday’s call for leadership marked by both courage and grace, the fellowship has equipped over 250 individuals with opportunities for deep engagement with their own—and others’—leadership practices. With human relations at the core of the fellowship’s mission and design, fellows step into relationship with one another while evaluating their power, place, and purpose in a changing world.

The 2023-2025 Class of the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations held their sixth and final seminar on April 24-27, 2025. A culmination of their two year fellowship arc, this final seminar in many ways brought the 12th cohort full circle as they returned to Wildacres Retreat in Little Switzerland, North Carolina, where their fellowship journey began.

The cohort spent the seminar weekend considering the leadership practices that they have gathered, strengthened, and shared, both individually and collectively, over the course of their time together. They worked in small groups to finalize documentation of their fellowship experience, which they started at Seminar Five with Guest Faculty and board member Calvin Allen (Class of 2003-2005). While some focused on documenting the curricular arch, others focused on the cohort’s path forward, and the implications for community based action within the current context of leading in North Carolina.  

With good humor and strategic communication, the whole group worked through a team building activity that highlighted a few of the significant lessons the fellowship journey offered: building and utilizing relational trust, acknowledging and understanding power and difference, accepting and leading alongside uncertainty, encouraging compassion for oneself and others, and championing community. In addition to collective practices, class members spent time throughout the weekend sharing their own leadership lessons and what they learned from their fellow classmates. Letter writing and journaling continued to be a generative practice for self reflection and learning within the group. The cohort also had opportunities to further practice listening and storytelling, traditions that have long served as through lines of Friday Fellowship classes over the years.

The cohort had the distinct pleasure of welcoming Henry Foust and Boo Tyson, both from the 1997-1999 Class, for a Fireside Chat on Friday evening. As members of the second cohort, Foust and Tyson were unofficially and warmly considered elders, and engaged in a dialogue that imparted the gift of wisdom. While they had different memories and stories from their shared fellowship experience and since, both Foust and Henry emphasized how crucial connection and community are, especially in facing challenges, historic and current, within our local communities and across the state. Through sharing the long-lasting impact of the Friday Fellowship on their own leadership journeys, the fireside chat offered the Class of 2023-2025 much to consider in moving forward and leading in their respective places in North Carolina.

Many themes from the fireside chat emerged again the next day as class members returned to a question posed by Dr. Darin Waters at Seminar One: What does it mean to be a North Carolinian? Reflections and conversations centered on class members’ sense of place, literal and figurative, in leading across the state. Through recollection, retelling, and reminiscing, the cohort contemplated how and what changes have taken place within and around them, and where they hope to extend their leadership efforts and energy in making the road by walking.

The final seminar weekend included much celebration, too. Evenings were full with friendly socializing, conversations about home, purpose, repair, and growth. As per usual, there was puzzling, sweet treats and snacks, and arts-based inquiry projects. The group also enjoyed a meaningful graduation celebration where they shared lessons they’ve learned from one another.

Exemplifying how connecting across differences of all kinds is integral to the betterment of human relations, the Class of 2023-2025 ended their fellowship journey stronger and wiser than when they began — and, in particular, because they are connected with one another.

Friday Fellow Shannon Moretz (Class of 2017-19) recently shared the following blog post in her professional spheres. The themes and framing of responsibility and leadership in her writing are similar to some thoughts shared by Henry Foust and Boo Tyson (both Class of 1997-99) during a fireside chat at Seminar Six of the Class of 2023-25 held in April 2025 at Wildacres Retreat. Please enjoy Shannon’s note below. If you would like to share a reflection, please contact WLI Director Hunter Corn.

Several years ago I ran across a social media meme pointing out that people who were often thought of as “bossy” were in fact “aggressively helpful” and it resonated with me deeply. I’ve always considered myself to be a “reluctant leader”. I never wanted to be out in front and I certainly never wanted to be in charge of anything beyond my own self.

Many of my colleagues tell me they feel the same. Most of them are not in leadership roles because they wanted to “be in charge” but because they wanted to make a difference.

This spirit of servant leadership is especially prevalent in the nonprofit sector and other mission-driven efforts. Servant leaders are often called upon to stand in the gap or pick up the slack and it doesn’t take long for them to start doing so without being asked. This willingness to serve is one of the things that makes servant leaders a crucial part of teams, but servant leadership comes at a price, for everyone involved.

Servant leaders have a difficult time saying “no”, so they often find themselves overextended. This eventually leads to burn out as they juggle multiple tasks and obligations, but it can also cripple partnerships.

What happens when servant leaders, or others, make a habit of standing in the gap or assuming the responsibilities of others?

First, it blurs the lines and creates a lot of gray space that can ultimately undermine true authority. It also creates incredibly unrealistic expectations. It’s hard to recognize that a gap is present if someone is always quick to step into that space and fill that need. Not only does this give the illusion that there is no need, but it also prevents others from stepping into those leadership roles and growing in their own leadership practice.

But what is a servant leader to do in times like this, when every day seems to bring a new challenge, a new gap, a new need, a new fire to be put out?

First, all of us servant leaders need to take a deep breath and accept the fact that we cannot save the world. Period. We may also want to remind ourselves that, despite how it might sometimes feel, no one else is actually expecting us to save the world. How much of the burden that we feel to stand in the gap and meet unmet needs do we place on ourselves? Are we making our jobs much harder than they need to be?

What happens if we don’t step up? I can hear a chorus of kindred spirits immediately protest, “but it won’t get done or it will fail or we won’t be represented.” The devil’s advocate would counter and ask, “is that such a bad thing? Would that be the end of the world?”

Most of us servant leaders would respond with a resounding YES! But is that response rooted in reality, ego, or the urgency trap?

“I have two kinds of problems, the urgent and the important,” Dwight D. Eisenhower said in a 1954 speech, quoting an unnamed college president. “The urgent are not important, and the important are never urgent.”

In a 1961 address to the Century Association, Eisenhower offered, “Who can define for us with accuracy the difference between the long and short term! Especially whenever our affairs seem to be in crisis, we are almost compelled to give our first attention to the urgent present rather than to the important future.”

As I consider my own work, I realize that I sometimes shortchange the work that is actually mine to do by assuming responsibility for the work of others simply because I and/or others view it as “urgent.” If I’m not careful, I’ll end up being very reactive to “urgent” needs instead of proactively preparing for what we’ve all determined to be most important. And THAT ultimately wouldn’t help anyone.

So, I’m now stepping outside my comfort zone and forcing myself to pause whenever I am tempted to assume responsibility. Is this my work to do? Are there others who are better positioned to do this work? How can I help without actually assuming responsibility?

Sometimes it’s not so much about me taking responsibility for work that is not mine as it is me taking responsibility for how other people act or react. For example, I hate the idea of bombarding people’s inboxes. This aversion often keeps me from posting on News and Notes as much as I’d like. I find myself worried that a late night post or multiple back-to-back posts will overload folks’ inboxes and I end up waiting, or not posting at all. I have to remind myself that I’m only responsible for my own actions and reactions. I cannot control whether or not people set up their preferences and I cannot control whether or not they get upset at the number of posts. However I CAN control my own actions and reactions and life seems a lot less complicated when I’m not trying so hard to manage control everyone else’s or do anyone else’s job!

I invite you to join me in exploring these two articles from Scientific American and the Harvard Business Review and then pausing to ask, “what work is mine to do?”

Then, what work is yours to do? And what is ours to do together?

We hope you’ll join us and our partners in creating that new system by participating. We also invite you to visit TheHealthCollab.news for more partners announcements, resources, and community events.

Awareness: Returning with Purpose
Seminar Five represented a returning in many ways. Having been to the Eastern 4-H Center one year prior for Seminar Two, this was the 12th Friday Fellowship Class’ first time traveling back to a place they had journeyed to together before.

Seminar Five was also a returning for Guest Faculty Calvin Allen (Class of 2003-2005), who joined the cohort for the seminar weekend following his own experience at the Eastern 4-H Center as a Friday Fellow some 20 years prior. Allen currently serves as a WLI board member, is Vice President for Partnerships and Programs at MDC, and co-founded the nonprofit Rural Forward, for which he serves as Senior Program Director.

Co-facilitating alongside Lead Faculty Beth Coleman, Allen’s contributions at Seminar Five paved the way for deep reflection and connection within and across the class members.

Presence: From Hustle to Flow
With an overarching invitation to pause, reconnect, and take stock of the fellowship journey thus far, curricular engagements returned to the central components from Dr. Shawn Ginwright’s Four Pivots: presence, awareness, connection, and vision.

In particular, the weekend focused on the practice of presence in leadership. The idea of moving away from the hustle of daily life to a state of flow was explored both in dialogue and through practical activities. Class members were encouraged to embrace the present moment—not just as an abstract idea, but as an embodied practice and lived experience. This shift allowed the group to transition from merely doing to being.

Through reflecting on their own leadership development and shared fellowship experience, the class began to explore what lessons from the Friday Fellowship they might bring into their own communities. The group engaged inquiries such as:

• What is the meaning of presence, awareness, connection, and vision, and why do they matter in leadership?


• Who were you as a leader in the past and who are you as a leader now?


• What are the challenges that shape you and your communities?


• How does one embody presence in leadership in a climate of change and uncertainty?


• How do you, and we as a collective, navigate the challenges of the present moment?

Reckoning: Being Present with the Moment
A powerful theme to emerge from the seminar weekend was the cohort’s collective reckoning with the present moment.

As leaders in a world marked by uncertainty and change, it became clear that the seminar was not only a space for intellectual exploration, but also engaging presence in leadership in the here and now. The group grappled with the current climate—social, political, and environmental—and how they face challenges while making a positive difference in the lives and flourishing of all North Carolinians. 

Although there are no easy answers, embracing honest dialogue and shared vulnerability helped the cohort to clarify strategies for staying grounded, connected, and resilient. By taking tangible steps to ground themselves in the present, class members actively integrated the skills required in being aware, present, and connected within themselves and with one another. They continue to strengthen their abilities and capacities to navigate the uncertainties of the world around them, and to do so with authenticity, clarity, and wisdom.

Connection: Team Building, Campfires and S’mores, Puzzles and Games
There was also room for connection through lightheartedness, joy, and play.

The group participated in a team building activity where class members had to make their way through a maze, for which the correct pathway was known only to the Eastern 4-H Center Staff who facilitated. After collectively deciding to remain outside for the activity, the class battled against cold and constant wind alongside the Albemarle Sound, highlighting the literal and metaphorical challenges leaders face in their day to day from the broader environment. Through careful communication, trial and error, and a great deal of persistence, the class eventually and successfully made their way to the other side.

Reflecting afterward on the lessons and meaning made, class members noted that the maze activity reminded them of the importance of working together as a team and trusting in one another’s strengths—there may have been only one correct pathway through the maze, but there were many possibilities in how to go about it.

Later on, an evening campfire with classic s’mores made way for storytelling and laughter, followed by the usual puzzles and games, and connecting through informal conversation.

These moments of levity and less structure underscore the importance of joy when building and sustaining a sense of community and belonging that the Friday Fellowship fosters.

Vision: Looking Forward, Continuing the Journey
Seminar Five concluded with a renewed sense of purpose. The weekend allowed class members to reflect on their past journeys, engage deeply with the present, and set intentional visions for the future. They returned to their communities, workplaces, and families carrying with them the lessons they’ve collected thus far and looking forward to gathering again for Seminar Six in April 2025 at Wildacres Retreat–another returning, this time to a place that will complete the circle of their fellowship experience, and where they once had the first of many beginnings at Seminar One.

The journey is not over, but the shared path forward is clearer, and with each step, the Class of 2023-2025 grows stronger, more connected, and more equipped to make a meaningful impact in North Carolina and beyond.

What if we are unknowingly training people to conform and not confront... and how will we know the difference?

I believe we are again living in a time where passion trumps reasoning. This is when an influential group, entity, or people who have the ability to reason choose to adhere to their passion even when the presenting evidence suggests otherwise.

A careful analysis of our history shows that in many pivotal moments, passion over reasoning was evident. In the mid 1800s this country knew slavery was wrong, yet theoretically it went to war to defend it. The passion and position were so great that most of the people in the south who fought and died never owned slaves. That’s the power of passion.

During the Jim Crow and Civil Rights era most people chose their passion around race supremacy rather than human reasoning. And even recently with all the evidence apparent we as a country once again allow passionate rhetoric around immigration, identity politics, and imputed patriotism make us complicit in choosing a direction lacking wisdom.

Now we stand wounded and still facing the question of how to lead in an atmosphere where passion outweighs reasoning, where truth telling has lost its value.

We must become wounded healers.

So the first question is how do we find equality, justice, and humanity in a season where passion cannot be altered by reasoning. Second and lastly, as leaders how do we address this mindset of the value gap?

The value gap is the deep belief that the white majority in this country matters more than any other human classification. (Glaude 2016) asserts that phrases such as “I just want my child attending the best schools or My family deserves to live in a safe neighborhood or I just want my property value to increase and not decrease” are all value based suggestions that the proliferation of brown and black people would alter. It’s a mindset. Dr. Carol Dweck says we fight between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset.

As I exit my tenure in leadership and as we embark on 30 years of this fellowship work as it relates to human relations, are we preparing our leaders for the “Now” or for the “Not Yet”? It is my deep hearted desire that you would accept the challenge to debate these two concepts within your sphere of influence.

And when you find people whose argument may differ from yours that you would immediately nominate them for the next Friday Fellows class. They are probably ready to be trained to confront and not just conform.

Danny Ellis, Immediate Past Chair
Wildacres Leadership Initiative Board of Advisors
Friday Fellowship Class of 2008-2010

WLI staff provided updates on the current 2023-25 William C. Friday Fellowship class including adaptations made for Seminar Four after Hurricane Helene, plans for Seminars Five and Six in early 2025, and the continuing work toward the next Friday Fellowship class cycle of 2025-27.

Reports on All Fellows Gatherings and other extended programming both in 2024 and 2025 were discussed with dates for the next two virtual quarterly gatherings scheduled for February 11, 2025 and April 10, 2025. Another in-person All Fellows Gathering at Wildacres Retreat is anticipated in August 2025.

After approval of the calendar 2025 budget, the board elected six new board members for an initial three-year term, then elected board officers effective January 1, 2025, and finally recognized four board members departing after serving two consecutive three-year terms.

Newly elected board members beginning January 1, 2025 are Chase Arrington (Class of 2017-19) of Guilford County; Monica Gibbs (Class of 2017-19) of Pamlico County; Shoneca Kent (Class of 2017-19) of Nash County; Patton McDowell (Class of 2001-03) of Mecklenburg County; tessa thraves of Orange County; and DeSandra Washington (Class of 2020-22) of Cumberland County.

WLI board officers in 2025 are Faith Patterson (Class of 2017-19) as Chair; Calvin Allen (2003-05) as Vice Chair; Shannon Moretz (Class of 2017-19) as Secretary; and Alicia James returning as Treasurer.

For their volunteer service, work, leadership as board officers, and relationship, the group expressed great thanks to departing board members Danny Ellis (Class of 2008-10), Melinda Manning, Jen Nixon (Class of 2014-16), and Boo Tyson (Class of 1997-99), as their terms end December 31, 2024.

A sample board member job description is at this link.  If you or someone you know may have interest in serving on the WLI Board of Advisors now or in the future, please consider this sharing of the duties in the board member job description an open invitation to contact a board member or WLI Director Hunter Corn for a conversation.  Perspectives of both Friday Fellows and individuals who have not gone through the Fellowship program are welcome.


Upper picture: 2025 WLI board members, left to right; First row: Faith Patterson, Chair; Calvin Allen, Vice Chair; Shannon Moretz, Secretary; Alicia James, Treasurer; Second row: Chase Arrington; Philip Blumenthal; Monica Gibbs; Shoneca Kent; Third row: Patton McDowell; tessa thraves; DeSandra Washington


Lower picture: 2024 departing board members, left to right; Boo Tyson, Jen Nixon, Melinda Manning, Danny Ellis; departing board members opening gift bags

Campaigning and public service in elected office are heavy demands that test a person’s ability to continually demonstrate integrity, intention, and inclusion while evaluating power, place, and purpose in an ever-changing world.

As Bill Friday prophetically spoke in his charge to the first class of Friday Fellows nearly 30 years ago, it is our ability to learn, grow, and change that will determine the direction of the Republic.  He said then to class members, “You are going to discover how much courage you really have in challenging demagoguery, hypocrisy, expediency, and misdirected ego.”  These words remain true.

Jay Chaudhuri, Class of 2001-03
Reelected to NC State Senate District 15 covering portions of central Wake County.

Brandon Lofton, Class of 2014-16
Reelected to NC State House District 104 covering portions of south central Mecklenberg County.

Robin Merrell, Class of 2006-08
Elected as a District Court Judge for District 40, Seat 6 which covers Buncombe County. 

Graig Meyer, Class of 2003-05
Reelected to NC State Senate District 23 covering Caswell, Orange, and Person Counties.

Deborah Ross, Class of 1995-97
Reelected to US House District 2 covering portions of central and northern Wake County.

US House, NC Senate, and NC House members serve two year terms. NC District Court Judges are elected to four year terms.

Chaudhuri, Lofton, Meyer, and Ross were reelected as incumbents in districts largely covering areas represented in the prior election cycle.  Merrell won election to the judicial seat as a newcomer in a contested primary in March 2024, but faced no formal opposition in the November general election.

No matter the time in an electoral cycle, Bill Friday’s advice on listening is always sound.

If a Friday Fellow in the 2024 election cycle has been omitted, please email.

October 17-20, 2024 marked the fourth convening of the 2023-2025 Class of the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations. Seminar Four made way for the current class to collectively put into deeper practice many of the themes, offerings, and discussions embedded within the two-year program.

Just weeks prior, Hurricane Helene caused devastating destruction across Western North Carolina, including in McDowell County where Seminar Four was originally slated to take place. Wildacres Retreat closed for the season due to hurricane damage, and thus a pivot was required. Rearrangements were made and the Class of 2023-2025 gathered for Seminar Four at the Rizzo Center in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.

Building upon Seminars One, Two and Three, Seminar Four focused on the potential in perspective-taking, imagination as a practice, and the central inquiry, How do we envision possibility? The cohort was provided a reading guide and seminar programming invited discussions and activities related to the following common texts:

• Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves by Dr. Shawn Ginwright
• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee
• The Broken Ladder: How Inequality Affects the Way We Think, Live and Die by Dr. Keith Payne

The unexpected pivot in place precipitated opportunities through which the cohort could experientially engage curricular offerings. For example, the class participated in an offering of the Marian Cheek Jackson Center in Chapel Hill, an organization dedicated to preserving the future of historically Black neighborhoods in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The Jackson Center’s Director of Operations, Ms. Yvonne Cleveland, introduced the class to the Jackson Center’s space, and shared about the organization’s legacy and efforts to save and make history. Following the introductory visit, class members then took part in the Northside Soundwalk, an audio-based documentary narrated by over a dozen community members who share their stories, struggles, and aspirations for their neighborhood. Listeners are guided through a walking tour of the Northside neighborhood to better understand and experience its history and people. With a wide range of familiarity of Chapel Hill and the Northside neighborhood in particular, the fellowship class was able to grapple—each and together—with renewed understandings of place and what it means to be neighborly.

To support and sharpen dialogue practices, the class warmly welcomed Alicia James, Project Director for the UNC Chapel Hill School of Government’s Environmental Finance Center and Wildacres Leadership Initiative board member, and Dr. Darin Waters, Deputy Secretary of the North Carolina Office of Archives and History. In Friday Fellowship tradition, Dr. Waters and Mrs. James participated in a fireside chat with the cohort, highlighting the challenges and possibilities currently present in landscapes of leadership across North Carolina.

WLI Assistant Director, Liam Hooper, led an arts-based inquiry project that invited the cohort to sketch new possibilities. Using no more than a sharpie, paper, and an object nearby, class members engaged in a series of perceptual drawings, an activity that emphasized the capacity for curiosity, open-mindedness, and re-visioning as practices for both paper and leading in daily life.

The seminar weekend also included an afternoon visit to the North Carolina Botanical Garden, conversations with actual neighbors, and reflections about language practices, reverberating lessons from seminars past. These serendipitous encounters served as reminders that listening through dialogue happens over time and space, that there is possibility in not knowing, and that seeds of change hold many of the same lessons as those planted directly in the ground.

In spite of, or perhaps because of, the current challenges facing the state, the Friday Fellowship for Human Relations remains committed to practicing community and care in-person. The Class of 2023-2025 carried forth that commitment in this most recent gathering, fully embracing the perspectives generated from making a pivot.

Should all go to plan, the class will convene for Seminar Five at the Eastern 4-H Center in Columbia, North Carolina in January 2025, exactly one year following Seminar Two at the same location. Although their fifth of six seminars, this will be the cohort’s first time collectively returning to a place along their two-year fellowship journey. What perspectives the class will return to, and the collective vision they imagine carrying forward for the betterment of human relations across the state of North Carolina, is still yet to be seen.

***Applications CLOSED on December 17, 2024***

The William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations is now accepting nominations and applications from all North Carolina residents for the next class of Friday Fellows.

For detailed information on the application and nomination process, click here.

To review the nomination process and nomination form, click here.

To review the application criteria before beginning an application form online, click here.

Named for the late UNC System President William C. “Bill” Friday, the Friday Fellowship is a program approaching its 30th year of bringing together North Carolinians across differences.

Located in McDowell County near the Blue Ridge Parkway, Wildacres Retreat was dedicated almost 75 years ago “to the betterment of human relations” in hopes that people who visited would learn to live together in harmony. Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI) was formed 50 years later to work throughout the state, launching the Friday Fellowship program to cultivate North Carolina leaders. In Bill Friday’s words, “The greatest need in our state and country is for a generation of leaders with moral principles, and ethical standards…with an unshakable commitment to courage and fairness with grace and courtesy and decency.”

To date, over 200 Friday Fellows have completed the fellowship, a program of WLI. Friday Fellows come from across North Carolina, all walks of life, and a wide range of employment sectors. They include religious clergy, K-12 teachers, non-profit executives, elected officials, creatives, small-business owners, higher education professionals, entrepreneurs, community-based leaders, and others.

The Friday Fellowship is a two-year program consisting primarily of six extended weekend seminars. With an emphasis on relational approaches to leadership and experiential learning, Friday Fellows journey to a variety of places in North Carolina, from the mountains of McDowell County, to the Albemarle Sound at the border of Tyrrell and Washington Counties, to a barrier island alongside the Atlantic Ocean in Carteret County.

In line with the fellowship’s aim to bring together a diverse group of leaders who are committed to the betterment of human relations, applicants should have an interest in and be prepared to engage across difference with curiosity and courage.

To be considered for selection, candidates must complete an application and have a nomination submitted on their behalf by someone who is meaningfully connected to their work in the world. Nominations are accepted from previous Friday Fellows as well as the general public. Applicants and nominators are encouraged to review all program requirements carefully.

WLI encourages applicants from all 100 North Carolina counties.

There is no fee or tuition associated with applying to or participating in the fellowship program.

Applications and nominations for the upcoming Friday Fellowship class are due December 17, 2024.


Complete information, including nomination and application forms is available at this web page.


Questions about the William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations or Wildacres Leadership Initiative may be directed to WLI’s Director Hunter Corn at hunter@fridayfellowship.org

• Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves by Dr. Shawn Ginwright


• Mathematics for Human Flourishing by Dr. Francis Su


• The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee

Campaigning and public service in elected office are heavy demands that test a person’s ability to continually demonstrate integrity, intention, and inclusion while evaluating power, place, and purpose in an ever-changing world.

As Bill Friday prophetically spoke in his charge to the first class of Friday Fellows nearly 30 years ago, it is our ability to learn, grow, and change that will determine the direction of the Republic.  He said then to class members, “You are going to discover how much courage you really have in challenging demagoguery, hypocrisy, expediency, and misdirected ego.”  These words remain true.

The Friday Fellowship community both celebrates successes and provides a space for support and reflection.  Known candidates in the 2024 cycle are listed below.

Jay Chaudhuri, Class of 2001-03
Did not have a March 5 primary and will be on the November 2024 ballot running for reelection to NC State Senate District 15 covering portions of central Wake County.

Satana Deberry, Class of 1999-01
Did not win the March 5 primary for NC Attorney General and will remain District Attorney of the 16th Prosecutorial District which covers all of Durham County.

Brandon Lofton, Class of 2014-16
Did not have a March 5 primary and will be on the November 2024 ballot running for reelection to NC State House District 104 covering portions of south central Mecklenberg County.

Robin Merrell, Class of 2006-08
Won her March 5 primary and will be on the November 2024 ballot running for District Court Judge for District 40, Seat 6 which covers Buncombe County.  It appears she will have no general election opponent.

Graig Meyer, Class of 2003-05
Did not have a March 5 primary and will be on the November 2024 ballot running for reelection to NC State Senate District 23 covering Caswell, Orange, and Person Counties.

Deborah Ross, Class of 1995-97
Won her March 5 primary and will be on the November 2024 ballot running for reelection to US House District 2 covering portions of central and northern Wake County.

US House, NC Senate, and NC House members serve two year terms. District Attorneys and District Court Judges are elected to four year terms.

There are still openings on the November 2024 ballot.  Certain local races such as Raleigh City Council, Buncombe County School Board, and more have filing periods that open in July 2024.  Check your county board of elections website for more information.

No matter the time in an electoral cycle, Bill Friday’s advice on listening is always sound.

If a Friday Fellow in the 2024 election cycle has been omitted, please email.

“Communing together is about showing our hearts to one another. Bearing our hearts to one another is a holy act.”  Michelle Cassandra Johnson; We Heal Together: Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection.

Throughout 2023, the Wildacres Leadership Initiative team and I extended invitations to Friday Fellows to participate in multiple opportunities to convene. As a Fellow (class of 2020-2022), in my work, I am mindful of the core values I discern to be embedded in the Friday Fellowship tradition—expressly, inclusivity across multiple lines of difference, invitational process, communal connection and care, curious engagement, and courageous cultivation of shared relational practices.

As I worked with our WLI team to plan these events, I was accompanied by my belief that doing our own work for our own sake can enable and strengthen our ability to positively transform communities, systems, institutions, and supportive structures for the good of ourselves and our communities. In my Fellowship experience, I found affirmation of this hopeful principle. I also received affirmation of another long-held core belief, which I strive to carry into all my relational engagements: that communing together and honoring a collective practice can create embodied connections through which listening deeply to ourselves and to one another, sharing stories, thoughts, impressions, experiences, and feelings invite and cultivate greater understanding of one another and the world we inhabit differently and together.

I remain curious about the many and myriad ways that this is not only possible, but can be cultivated and grown through deliberate practices. The prospect of continuing to discover and work with such practices is, in fact, what drew me to the Friday Fellowship in the first place. And so, guided by these beliefs and mindful of the core values in the Friday Fellowship tradition, I endeavored—alongside my WLI teammates—to offer opportunities to gather that also fostered invitations to go a little deeper. That is, to continue excavating and mining a practice that facilitates growth in and through this thing we call relational fellowship.

I say all this to say that, in 2023, we did indeed gather together in a spirit of all things Friday Fellowship, and in the process, we also offered invitations to return, reconnect, retreat, and reflect—perhaps, even reckon—a little deeper. To these offered possibilities, 2023 programming included invitations to read a couple of books, to consider some reflection essays, and to participate in shared activities.

In 2023, Fellows were invited to attend two virtual convening sessions, in addition to a traditional All Fellows Gathering on the Mountain (Wildacres Retreat).
To accompany and shape our time together, we offered these books to Friday Fellows who attended virtual convenings and the gathering at Wildacres Retreat:

Jacobs, Donald T., a.k.a Four Arrows, and Darcia Narvaez. Restoring the Kinship Worldview: Indigenous Voices Introduce 28 Precepts for Rebalancing Life on Planet Earth. 2022, North Atlantic Books. https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/690771/restoring-the-kinship-worldview-by-wahinkpe-topa-four-arrows/

Johnson, Michelle C. We Heal Together: Rituals and Practices for Building Community and Connection. 2023, Shambhala Publications, Inc., Boulder. https://www.michellecjohnson.com/we-heal-together

Working with themes in these texts, as well as questions and musings offered in two framing reflection essays, Fellows also received invitations to engage—or not—in playful and creative activities related in various ways to the project of enhancing relational practices.

Specifically, we learned to make paper boxes. In the process, some reflective questions attended us as we folded paper, such as:
    "Can folding paper into colored boxes offer us other ways of contemplating the reality that being a person is an ever-unfolding process of becoming which, by nature, occurs within webs of relationships? Are there insights for our relational labor to be found in more fully understanding that all of us, as human beings in a relational universe, are “formed by the folding and in-folding of biological, experiential, familial, cultural, and social elements; like time and space, like paper creations”—as these, each and all, are natural, evolving expressions and products of multiple, nuanced relationships?"

Riffing on the Postcard Art and PostSecret movements, we also engaged in a kind of collective dreaming by making postcard art, adorned with hopes, dreams, aspirations, and personal wisdoms. Alongside this invitational practice, these questions sat with us:
    "Could a shared activity of making postcard art ignite communal imagining? Could adorning postcards with our own personal dreams of a life of belonging, of liberation, of healing, connect us all who are gathered in hopes of deeper, more relational ways of understanding ourselves and each other? Can engaging a shared activity together, even as each person makes their own creation, be a ceremony? A ritual of communal imagining?"

And of course, amid all our gatherings, we also held circles together, guided by a proposed practice.

As the programming year has moved from 2023 into 2024, I have continued to be accompanied and inspired by the beliefs, commitments, yearnings for expansive connectedness, curiosities about deepening relational practices, potentialities, and possibilities that shaped 2023 All Fellows programming. Almost daily my Fellowship work confirms a wholehearted belief that Michelle C. Johnson is right, that communing together is about showing our hearts to one another and bearing our hearts is a holy activity. And I have been engaging 2024 All Fellows planning and gatherings with a hopeful expectation that more will be revealed among us, that it will deepen our practices individually and collectively, and that our shared heart labor will surely sustain us and grow us—both in fellowship and in our various endeavors for a greater common good.

Resources and Links:

2023 All Fellows Convening Experiences

Returning, Retreating, Reconnecting: Convening Practice Guide 2023

Essay - Dreaming Dreams Together

Box-making Essay and Instructions

All Fellows on the Mountain 2023 Event Page

The weekend’s favorable weather allowed the cohort to take advantage of place-based and experiential learning opportunities made available in particular by being with North Carolina’s eastern edges. Playing with senses, space, and time, class members often ventured outdoors and alongside the southwestern portion of the Albemarle Sound to explore conversational flow with one another. As the cohort continues to forge fellowship across the state, from the mountains to the sound, the shared natural world continues to extend reminders of our interconnectedness.

Class members also welcomed Mavis Hill, Friday Fellow (Class of 2003-2005) and former WLI Board Member, for an afternoon. Hill is a lifelong resident of the local area and generously shared about her life and work in rural economic development across Tyrrell and Washington Counties. Hearing Hill’s perspective and stories about the assets and challenges of being an eastern North Carolinian deepened class members’ care and commitment to the state of North Carolina as a whole.

With a long horizon ahead of Seminar Three, set to take place in July 2024, the 12th class of the Friday Fellowship for Human Relations left Seminar Two with the encouragement to carry forth the power of curiosity alongside connections made — from the sounds of jumping mullet and the lapping wash of a rocky shore, to the gritty feel of salt grains, to the ubiquitous resilience of moss, even the sight of one another’s handwriting — with that of their place and purpose as leaders in the state.

Dear Fellows, Staff, and Friends of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative,

As my tenure as Chair of the Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI) Board of Advisors comes to a close, I write this letter with a heart full of both pride and a touch of sadness. It has been an honor to serve an organization so deeply committed to nurturing courageous and collaborative leadership across North Carolina.

Reflecting on our journey, I am filled with immense pride in what we have achieved together. Under my leadership, we've upheld and expanded the vision laid out by our founders. We strived to create a North Carolina where leadership at all levels is collaborative, courageous, civil, equitable, and just. Our mission has always been to build individual and collective leadership that fosters collaboration throughout the state. In this, I believe we have not only succeeded but also set new benchmarks for what is possible.

One of our most significant accomplishments has been the development and implementation of a unique curriculum for our fellowship program, masterfully designed by Dr. Meredith Doster (Class of 2017-19). Her vision and dedication during her tenure as lead faculty have been instrumental in providing a learning experience unlike any other in the state. Working closely with Meredith and her successor, Beth Coleman, we navigated the challenges posed by the pandemic, delivering impactful programming both outdoors and remotely. Beth has continued the core intention of our program, honoring Meredith's curriculum while adeptly adapting it to a post-pandemic environment.

In addition, our commitment to open-source learning has been a cornerstone of my tenure. Both Dr. Doster and Liam Hooper (Class of 2020-22) have developed comprehensive, adaptable programs available on our website, fostering community engagement and ensuring our resources are accessible to all.

Recognizing the importance of internal community building, I initiated annual board retreats. These retreats have not only strengthened our bond as a board but also served as a model for the kind of engagement we expect from our fellows. In line with this, Liam has actively reinvigorated our fellows' network, furthering our mission of community building.

I am also proud to note that all event offerings during my time as chair have included a free or complimentary option, ensuring inclusivity and accessibility for all. This decision reflects our values of diversity, equity, and inclusion, which are fundamental to our work.

As we look forward to the upcoming January and April 2024 virtual All Fellows Convenings, I am confident that WLI will continue to grow and impact the lives of leaders across our state.

In the spirit of the New Year, I extend my heartfelt wishes to each of you. May this year bring new opportunities for growth, deeper connections within our communities, and continued progress towards a vibrant, collaborative North Carolina. Let's embrace the values of WLI – courage, civility, equity, and justice – as guiding stars in our ongoing journey.

Thank you for the opportunity to lead such an impactful organization. Your support and commitment to the betterment of our state have been the driving force behind our successes. As I bid farewell to my role as Chair, I do so with I do so with a sense of fulfillment and confidence in the bright future ahead for WLI . I know that our collective efforts will continue to make a meaningful difference in the lives of North Carolinians.

I am also confident that WLI is in capable hands with our incoming Chair, Dr. Danny Ellis (Class of 2008-10).

It has been a privilege to lead and be a part of this extraordinary community.

Wishing you a joyful, prosperous, and fulfilling New Year.

With heartfelt gratitude,
Rebekah Hughey, MD (Class of 2014-16)
Immediate Past Chair, Wildacres Leadership Initiative


 

The Wildacres Leadership Initiative (WLI) Board of Advisors is pleased to share the following board officer and other updates from the final board meeting of calendar year 2023.  A brief video message from departing board chair Rebekah Hughey (Class of 2014-16) was posted in the private Friday Fellowship for Human Relations Facebook group and can be found at this link.

A new group of officers has been elected to lead the WLI board beginning January 1, 2024.  Danny Ellis (Class of 2008-10) will become Chair; Faith Patterson (Class of 2017-19) will be Vice Chair; Melinda Manning continues her role as Secretary; and Alicia James will begin as Treasurer.

Calvin Allen (Class of 2003-05) was elected to a second consecutive three-year term ending in December 2026.

With much gratitude for relationships built and years of collaborative leadership, board members Celeste Collins (Class of 2008-10), Mavis Hill (Class of 2003-05), and Rebekah Hughey depart the board as their terms end in December 2023.  All will remain an ongoing part of WLI through work on the Program Committee, direct engagement in seminar planning, and organizational outreach.

Shannon Moretz (Class of 2017-19), Jen Nixon (Class of 2014-16), Boo Tyson (Class of 1997-99), and Philip Blumenthal will continue as board members during 2024.

A sample board member job description is at this link.  If you or someone you know may have interest in serving on the WLI Board of Advisors now or in the future, please consider this sharing of the duties in the board member job description an open invitation to contact a board member or WLI Director Hunter Corn for a conversation.  Perspectives of both Friday Fellows and individuals who have not gone through the Fellowship program are welcome.

In picture above (left to right) Danny Ellis, Faith Patterson, Melinda Manning, Alicia James

Leading up to the first seminar weekend experience, class members received engagement opportunities that included common group texts centered on aspects of dialogue, individual reading choices with North Carolina centered stories, and a resource guide for reflection.

The three dialogue texts provided to the class in the weeks prior to the seminar were:
Fearless Dialogues, Gregory C. Ellison II
The Art of Communicating, Thich Nhat Hahn
We Need to Talk, Celeste Headlee

Once at the mountain, a fall weekend full of color and changing weather accompanied the group through introductions and the sharing of stories.

In the spirit of the program’s namesake Bill Friday and his longtime interview show North Carolina People, class members were invited to share their stories and listen to each others’ stories - in action, art, word, walking, poetry, and more.

If there is a persistent belief that listening is central to leadership, does it follow that listening to ourselves and others should be central to a leadership practice?

From Where Do You Come?

This question formed the central inquiry of Seminar One.

Dr. Darin Waters, NC Deputy Secretary for the Office of Archives and History, once again joined a Friday Fellowship class at Wildacres Retreat in a conversation exploring self, personhood, relationship to the state, the nation, and further reflection on the impact and depth of known, unknown, and rediscovered personal history.  How might narratives change through hearing more stories?

In Bill Friday’s words:

“Listen. Listen.  Be quiet, and listen.
They’ll tell you a great story.
And I’ve yet to meet a human being after 2,000 interviews that doesn’t have a story.
You’ve got one. I have one. And that’s the humanity with the whole world we’re in.”

We are born and have our being in a place of memory. We chart our lives by everything we remember from the mundane moment to the majestic. We know ourselves through the art and act of remembering. Memories offer us a world where there is no death, where we are sustained by rituals of regard and recollection.

Congratulations to Friday Fellow Lori Bush (Class of 2014-16) on her reelection to an At-Large seat on the Cary Town Council.  Cary Town Council terms are four years.

Did you know that Cary, North Carolina would be the largest city by population in South Carolina if dropped into that state today?

Like all things, the impact of local elections and municipal public service can be skewed by our perceptions and assumptions. The Town of Cary is one of the ten largest cities in North Carolina, and at the same time, Cary is not the largest city in its own county. (Raleigh is the largest city in Wake County).

Adapting to changing relationships is a necessary skill in fast-growing areas like Cary.

In the October 2023 municipal election cycle, Lori Bush ran for reelection with two opponents on the ballot and received approximately 70% of the vote for an At-Large seat in this large community in North Carolina.

Again, congratulations on this Friday Fellow’s win and the confidence her community has shown in her leadership.

I was crying and laughing as I drove up the mountain.

Crying because I was on my way to the All Fellows Retreat, which I had been looking forward to for months. Knowing I was going to be among Fellows, my walls were starting to come down. And I was realizing I’m not okay. I work with queer and trans youth and their families, across the South, and this year has been just brutal. Not just the dozens of laws and school board policies and culture war attacks that target them, but the impacts behind the scenes that most people don’t know.

Imagine being the parent of a trans kid right now. Like any parent, you will do anything to keep your child safe. So your days are filled with fighting—principals and teachers, counselors and coaches, pastors and preachers, doctors and nurses—sometimes they are actively hostile, sometimes they are personally sympathetic, but not willing to break the rules. Either way, they’re failing your child, so every day you fight. Your nights are restless with the anxiety of a parent whose child is in danger. You lie awake worrying, because you know the statistics, and is that just a normal amount of depression your child is feeling? How much suffering are they hiding from you? Is checking on them every hour enough? And while you and your spouse are lying awake, you talk about whether it’s time to leave your jobs and your home and your friends and your family behind, to move a thousand miles north to live with strangers, so your child can get the health care that will let them be their self, and save their life...

Sometimes I’m the only supportive adult these parents have. I do my absolute best for them, but as I drove up the mountain, and my walls were coming down... It’s possible that I was carrying some
unprocessed secondary trauma. Which was leaking out of my eyes.

And I was laughing, too. At myself. Because what kind of an idiot is going to drive that narrow winding road up the mountain while blinded by tears?

We didn’t use name tags at All Fellows, but if we had, mine would have read, “Hello, I’m A MESS.”

Fortunately, it’s okay to be a mess at All Fellows.

I didn’t realize it until later, but that journey was a pilgrimage. If you’ve been on the mountain, then you know some of what I found. The ringing of the bell for meals. Conversations in rocking chairs, looking across the valleys and forests, at sunrise and sunset and in between. Silence. Laughter. Being silly with board games. Hearing other Fellows talk about their lives and their work, finding unexpected answers, and also new questions. And the circles, above all, the circles of conversation and question, call and response, suffering and healing. I showed up as a mess, and among Fellows I found healing.

I guess I could talk about the activities and the readings and the dialogues, but really, I know that’s like looking at somebody else’s vacation photos. Let me just leave you with the words that came to me for our closing circle. I know you may not understand them, if you weren’t there, but perhaps something of the spirit of our time together will shine through. And perhaps you will have a chance to gather with other Fellows soon, and find laughter, silence, new questions, and healing.

Lying on our backs on the patio by the firepit
  talking and watching for the Perseids – there!
   a bright streak of light across
    the Milky Way

Pain—shared pain—and tears
  and a hope for lamentation
   a call for finding rituals
    a reminder of joy
     let our hearts be big enough to hold both
      and all

A story of Mary
  a tower to mark the way forward
   into new stories
    and old stories long forgotten

Crafting an origami box
  six pages squared, corners in, halfsies,
   paper airplane, corner halfsies, angles up, fold in thirds, and
    don’t forget to tuck!
Inside, four petals of pine cone, five words of blessing, and a note to a friend.

Everything is invitational.
  And transcendent.
   Debarti.
    (Shemati)