ONE QUEENS: Fellowship Against Hate

The One Queens: Fellowship Against Hate is a NEW fellowship based in Queens. Thank you to everyone who applied for the 2026 Cohort – applications are now closed!

This transformative fellowship brings together a diverse cohort of mid- to senior-level leaders from Queens-based nonprofits, faith communities, and government agencies — people who are on the front lines in their neighborhoods and communities. Fellows will be given the opportunity to use seed grant funding to create programming designed to bring communities, including their own organizations, together in meaningful ways.

If you’re a leader who wants to connect, learn, act — and help shape a Queens that stands united against hate and for love— we invite you to apply for future cohorts.

For more information or questions, please contact Sivan Ben-Aderet
Senior Director of Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage
sbenaderet@commonpoint.org or 718-423-6111

Meet the 2026 Fellows

Amy Long, Earth Citizens Club of Queens, NY and Central Queens Against Hate
Ayelet Pearl, UJA-Federation of New York
Christina Velky, Commonpoint
Diana Rachnaev, Yesodot Inc
Faye Qiu, Committee of 100
Faye Yuan, Queens Memory Project
Ivana Silva, Commonpoint
Jessica Rosario, Queens Community Board 3 and Hands Off NYC
Joann Kim, Korean American Family Service Center
Mark Laster, Forest Hills Green Team
Qiran Zhang, NYC Council
Sabine French, PRACTICAL KNOWLEDGE
Sam Verstandig, Jewish Voters Unite
Sandy Liu, Forest Hills Asian Association
Souksavat Soukhaseum, Free Synagogue of Flushing
Stephanie Luxenberg, Ashreynu
Valentina Lorca, Commonpoint
Yuna Youn, KCS (Korean Community Services of Metropolitan New York, Inc.)

2026 Important Dates

Six sessions will take place on Wednesdays from January 28th – April 15th from 9AM – 1PM.

Session 1, January 28 – Orientation & Introduction to Fellowship
Session 2, February 11 – Personal Narrative: How to shape meaningful stories from your lived experiences.
Session 3, February 25 – Equity, Inclusion, and Antiracism Fundamentals: Unpack implicit bias, understanding our identities, and learn how to lead with an equity lens
Session 4, March 11 – Coalition Building: Conflict resolution and de-escalation strategies, coalition building exercises, and tools you can apply directly to your community and organization
Session 5, March 25 – Addressing Hate Crimes in the Greater Queens Community: Overview of hate crimes statute, challenges and misconceptions around reporting hate crimes,
Session 6, April 17 – Understanding Hate Crimes & Empowering Global Citizens: Become proactive citizens who advocate for equity, challenge bias, and promote positive change.
Overnight Trip: Tuesday April 28 – Wednesday April 29
Graduation (11AM – 1PM): Wednesday, May 13

Why Apply?
This transformative fellowship brings together a diverse cohort of mid- to senior-level leaders from Queens-based nonprofits, faith communities, and government agencies — people who are on the front lines in their neighborhoods and communities.

This in-person fellowship traditionally meets seven times between January and June between 9:00am-1:00pm. Sessions will feature speakers, workshops, and site visits, and will be supplemented by a day trip out of state to visit museum visits and participate in additional bonding and learning opportunities. In order to truly understand and gain appreciation for the diversity of Queens, each session will be held in a different neighborhood – all locations will be easily accessible by public transit.

Fellows will be given the opportunity to use seed grant funding to create programming designed to bring communities, including their own organizations, together in meaningful ways.

If you’re a leader who wants to connect, learn, act — and help shape a Queens that stands united against hate and for love— we invite you to apply.

For more information or questions, please contact Sivan Ben-Aderet, Senior Director of Cultural Arts & Jewish Heritage at sbenaderet@commonpoint.org or 718-423-6111.