William C. Friday Fellowship tags four Buncombe Co. residents as Friday Fellows in new cohort

From the William C. Friday Fellowship:

FOUR BUNCOMBE COUNTY RESIDENTS NAMED WILLIAM C. FRIDAY FELLOWS
Brown, Doster, Freudenberger, Talley among 24 North Carolinians named Friday Fellows

September 26, 2017 – The William C. Friday Fellowship for Human Relations, the flagship program of Wildacres Leadership Initiative, has named four Buncombe County residents to its 2017-2019 class. The William C. Friday Fellowship is a competitive statewide program for cross-sector leaders. Friday Fellows receive free leadership training over the course of two years in locations across North Carolina including Carteret, Durham, Tyrrell and McDowell counties.

Buncombe County residents Sarah Brown, Meredith Doster, Dale Freudenberger and Heather Talley will join 20 other North Carolinians in this cohort and a network of over 200 other Friday Fellows alumni.

Brown of Asheville serves as a board leader of Mountain Housing Opportunities. She is the Associate Executive Director of OnTrack Financial Education and Counseling.

Doster of Weaverville is Dean of Adult and Graduate Studies at Mars Hill University. She is a member of Circle of Mercy, a faith-based social justice community and is a longtime participant in the traditional song and dance world in western North Carolina.

Freudenberger of Asheville is self-employed and serves on the boards of both The Learning Community School in Black Mountain and the Illustration Institute.

Talley of Asheville is Director of Social Justice and Community Engagement at the Tzedek Social Justice Fellowship. She volunteers with Youth OutRight, Mid-Atlantic Burn Camp and Western Carolinians for Criminal Justice.

The Friday Fellowship program immerses active leaders in a system where they exercise leadership privileges and responsibilities. Class members gather for six four-day development seminars facilitated by core faculty and staff. Extensive reading, writing exercises, coaching, and interim full group and subgroup meetings are included in the training.

“Positive change requires leadership rooted in human values, civil dialogue and full inclusion of all people,” says Abdul Rasheed, Executive Director of Friday Fellowship. “The Friday Fellowship seeks a balance between the inequities of rugged individualism and the crippling effects of social and economic entitlement.”

Since 1994, the William C. Friday Fellowship has taught and inspired more than 200 courageous leaders for North Carolina. These leaders learn to model Bill Friday’s civility, transparency, and collaboration across divergent ideas and identities. The Friday Fellowship believes leadership is a lifetime practice, not dependent on the skills, virtues or vision of any single person, but upon shared power and mutual responsibility in our varied communities and roles.

About Wildacres Leadership Initiative
Wildacres Leadership Initiative trains, supports, and convenes a statewide network of leaders to take courageous action on North Carolina’s most pressing issues through civil dialogue and by engaging across differences. Wildacres Leadership Initiative envisions a North Carolina where inclusion, collaboration and civility create nurturing relationships that embrace difference in order to unleash our collective gifts for the continual improvement of our beloved state. For more information, please visit http://www.fridayfellowship.org