A total of 29 executives from youth serving organizations from across Indiana have been selected to the 2021 Executive Journey Fellowship.
Locally, Brittany Winebar, Director of Mission Achievement at Prevail, Inc., was chosen for the nineteenth class of the Executive Journey Fellowship.
In response to a growing need for ongoing professional and personal renewal in the field of youth work, the Journey Fellowship was created in 2002 and funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. A program of the Indiana Youth Service Association, the Executive Journey Fellowship provides Indiana’s youth workers greater opportunities to explore meaning and purpose in their lives and make stronger commitments to the field of youth work.
“This Fellowship is about renewing individuals, which leads to renewing organizations and ultimately, to renewing the entire field of youth work,” said Journey Leader Tom Plake.
Each of the 29 participants in the Journey Fellowship will attend a series of residential retreats designed to create new ways of thinking about and practicing youth work within existing systems and youth programs. Fellows are awarded personal renewal scholarships, and will be supported to make a difference within their local organizations and communities.
So far, the Journey Fellowship has served more than 1,000 prospective and current youth workers (2003-2020) through this retreat-based format. Fellows are engaged in creating leadership and renewal opportunities throughout the state of Indiana. Countless other youth workers have been served through conference workshops, day-long seminars, and other types of renewal for staff and organizations within local communities facilitated by Journey Leaders.
“We know that youth workers play a vital role in the lives of young people. It has been documented in dozens of ways that youth who enjoy positive relationship with adults over time do better in life,” said Journey Leader Janet Wakefield. “We also know that many people enter the profession because they ‘want to make a difference’ and they enjoy building positive relationships with young people. The Executive Journey Fellowship provides Indiana’s youth workers greater opportunities to strengthen themselves as leaders and invest in their careers serving the young people of Indiana.”
The Journey is home to a variety of programs that support the renewal and professionalization of youth workers in Indiana and around the country. To learn more, visit thejourneyonline.org.