Kettering Foundation Names 15 Dayton Democracy Fellows for 2026

​The Kettering Foundation has named 15 Dayton-area community members as its 2026 Dayton Democracy Fellows, recognizing leaders from nonprofit, government, faith, arts, and advocacy sectors who are advancing inclusive democratic practice. The cohort reflects a wide range of civic approaches, from cooperative economics and tenant organizing to Indigenous advocacy and community media. The fellowship supports Kettering's Democracy and Community focus area, which holds that democratic renewal depends on the everyday work of people rooted in their communities. For NCDD's network, the Dayton Democracy Fellowship offers a concrete example of how structured community leadership programs can cultivate the civic relationships and capacities that dialogue and deliberation efforts depend on.

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The Charles F. Kettering Foundation has appointed 15 community members from the Dayton, Ohio region as Dayton Democracy Fellows, recognizing innovative leaders working to build inclusive democracy at the local level. The fellowship is part of Kettering's Democracy and Community focus area, which centers on the role everyday people play in strengthening civic life. The 2026 cohort reflects a deliberately broad cross-section of Dayton's civic landscape, drawing from nonprofit organizations, higher education, faith communities, local government, and the arts. Fellows were selected for their commitment to democratic collaboration and community-led change, with many working directly at the intersection of equity, advocacy, and civic participation.

The cohort's breadth speaks to the range of pathways through which democratic work unfolds at the community level. Fellows include a community engagement specialist bridging local government and residents, a cooperative economy leader building worker-owned enterprises, a library branch manager who created a free community boutique, a podcast host centering transgender and nonbinary voices, an Indigenous Air Force veteran running an intertribal advocacy program, and a bilingual parent advocate supporting immigrant and Latino families in navigating civic life. Others lead youth development, tenant organizing, peace education, and social justice consulting. Elizabeth Gish, Kettering's senior program officer for Democracy and Community, noted that the fellows demonstrate what becomes possible when community members are supported in acting on their vision for change.

The Dayton Democracy Fellowship reflects a broader understanding that democratic health depends not only on institutions and policy, but on the everyday work of people embedded in their communities. By supporting fellows across sectors and backgrounds, Kettering signals that inclusive democracy requires multiple entry points and diverse forms of leadership. For practitioners and organizations in the dialogue and deliberation field, the cohort offers a useful model for how fellowship programs can cultivate civic infrastructure from the ground up, connecting formal democratic theory to the lived work of community organizers, educators, artists, and advocates.
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Learn more: 2026 Dayton Democracy Fellows announcement at kettering.org/kettering-foundation-appoints-15-dayton-democracy-fellows-2026