Why We’re Celebrating the Restuccia Health Justice Fellowship in This Moment

The Restuccia Health Justice Fellowship didn’t just equip Fellows with tools and knowledge to become more effective leaders and teams; it created a community in which to practice. 

Four years ago, when we launched the Restuccia Health Justice Fellowship (the “Fellowship”), we weren’t just creating a leadership program—we were making a commitment. A commitment to leaders from systemically excluded communities not just as professionals, but as whole people. As caregivers, organizers, visionaries, and bridge-builders. As people who move through the world holding both deep wisdom and deep responsibility. 

From the beginning, I knew this Fellowship had to be different. It had to meet people where they were—and walk alongside them as they navigated not just their work, but their own healing, growth, and power. We turned to the principles of Healing Justice, as defined by the Kindred Collective and so many others who have long held the blueprint. We centered collective care, ancestral knowledge, rest, and accountability. We honored leadership not as a performance, but as a practice. 

Now, as we prepare for the final gathering of our fourth and final cohort, I’m filled with so many emotions. Gratitude, pride, and an overwhelming sense of reverence for what we’ve built together. 

We’re not celebrating because the program is ending. 
We’re celebrating because of what it made possible. 

A Different Kind of Leadership Development Model Rooted in Race Equity and Health Justice 

Over the last four years, we’ve shared space with 32 extraordinary leaders—representing four cohorts and 12 communities across nine states and Puerto Rico. Each of them stepped into this space ready to build, to reflect, and to grow—not just in their roles, but in their purpose. 

Together, they:

• Strengthened community power—and each other
• Built new partnerships and launched transformative campaigns
• Integrated healing and wellness practices into their organizing
• Created space within their organizations for truth-telling, rest, and equity-centered leadership

This Fellowship never asked leaders to sacrifice their well-being for the sake of impact. In fact, it asked the opposite. It affirmed, again and again, that well-being is the work. That care and impact are inseparable. 

Why This Moment Matters 

At a time when non-profit and grassroots leaders are being asked to do more with less, when public health and race equity are under attack, this Fellowship was a declaration: We trust you. We believe in you. And we’re going to resource you accordingly. 

By offering general operating support and flexible, trust-based investment, we modeled what so many community organizations have long demanded. And it worked—not because we had all the answers, but because we followed the lead of those doing the work. 

This moment matters because it reminds us what’s possible when we design for equity, for care, and for transformation.

It taught me—and all of us—that:

• Organizational change starts with personal transformation
• Race equity isn’t an add-on—it must be the foundation
• Power grows when it is shared, not centralized
• Leadership looks like rest, reflection, resistance—and joy

At a time when public health and race equity are under threat, the lessons of this Fellowship are not just timely—they are urgent. 

“The biggest takeaway the Fellowship has taught me is learning to navigate difficult conversations about racism, discrimination and microaggressions. How to sit with it and listen to different opinions and perspectives,” said Michelle Pedro, a 2024-2025 Fellow with the Arkansas Coalition of Marshallese (ACOM).