Bush Foundation Announces 30 Bold Leaders as 2026 Bush Fellows

The Bush Foundation has named its 2026 Bush Fellows, celebrating 30 leaders across the region who are making a difference in their communities and are ready to take their leadership to the next level.

What the Fellowship Offers

Each year, up to 30 Bush Fellows are selected to receive up to $150,000 to support a self-designed leadership plan of up to two years. Fellows come from any sector, including business, nonprofit, and government, and the program is built around the belief that the best leaders know what they need to grow and have a plan for how to do it.

Who the Bush Fellowship Is For

Bush Fellows are people who make things happen. They are leaders at a point in their lives where they know what they need to grow their capacity to lead effectively, and the Fellowship gives them the time and resources to put that plan into action.

“Change wouldn’t have happened without them,” the Bush Foundation says of its Fellows. “We provide them with up to $150,000 to pursue their own self-designed plan for how to do that.”

Here’s the list of 2026 Bush Fellows:

1. Aisha Ellis – Public health leader and climate adaptation researcher, New Brighton, MN
2. Alex Kmett – Language revitalization leader and cultural educator, Cloquet, MN
3. Alyssa Kaying Vang – Psychologist and founder/CEO, Woodbury, MN
4. Amirthini Keefe – Clinical social worker and nonprofit leader, Plymouth, MN
5. Anita Grace – Media entrepreneur, Elk River, MN
6. Antonio Williams – Community organizer and founder, Saint Paul, MN
7. Aparea “Rea” Smith – Reentry services leader, Minneapolis, MN
8. Ayan Omar – Education leader, St. Cloud, MN
9. Bao Chu Lee – Community organizer, Little Canada, MN
10. Bobbi Jo (Shaawinobinesiik) Potter – Child welfare leader, Little Canada, MN
11. Danielle Mkali – Creator of wealth-building programs, Minneapolis, MN
12. Danielle Swift – Housing justice organizer and tenant advocate, Saint Paul, MN
13. Elmi Abdulkadir Elmi – Dentist and entrepreneur, Bloomington, MN
14. Elyssa Sierra Her Many Horses – Language revitalization leader and immersion educator, Pine Ridge, SD
15. Fatima Lawson, Ph.D. – School principal, Little Canada, MN
16. Jennifer Illich – Crisis response leader, West Fargo, ND
17. Jessica “Jesse” Big Crow – Emergency management leader, Pine Ridge, SD
18. José Antonio Zayas Cabán, DMA – Community development leader, Minneapolis, MN
19. Khalique Rogers – Policy and youth leadership organizer, Minneapolis, MN
20. L’Aurelle Johnson – Pharmacologist and educator, Minneapolis, MN
21. Liliana Rodríguez – Bilingual/multilingual education leader, Woodbury, MN
22. Michael Jackson – Tech entrepreneur, Farmington, MN
23. Nasra Giama – Public health leader, Lakeville, MN
24. Osman Ali Baar – Mental health therapist, Moorhead, MN
25. Resmaa Menakem – Therapist and author, Minneapolis, MN
26. Sean Roed – EMS leader and rural health innovator, Devils Lake, ND
27. Serdar Mamedov – Food systems leader, St. Cloud, MN
28. Tia Joy Peterson – Youth services leader, Minneapolis, MN
29. Tyler Parisien – Language revitalization leader, Belcourt, ND
30. Willard Malebear, Jr. – Artist and nonprofit founder, Minneapolis, MN

What the 2026 Class Is Working On

The 2026 Fellows represent a wide range of bold, community-driven work across the region, including making health care more accessible, improving crisis response in rural areas, preserving languages and cultural practices, transforming approaches to education, creating new models to support people returning to their communities after incarceration, and developing innovative solutions in economics, housing, media, and civic engagement.

Learn More

To meet all 30 of the 2026 Bush Fellows and learn more about their work, visit https://www.bushfoundation.org/2026-bush-fellows/