Our mission is to create a just and equitable society and the diverse leadership to sustain it.  We're proud to share this collection of stories featuring passionate leaders transforming their communities.

Please click here to read a statement by Public Allies CEO Adren O. Wilson, Ph.D., in response to the recent incidents of state violence in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Charlotte, North Carolina.
Brittany Packnett delivered a powerful keynote address at Public Allies' August 2016 National Leadership Institute, where she was presented with the Living Our Values award by Public Allies for her dedication to equity, social justice, and education. "Listen intently to those who have most been affected by social injustice, and there is no way that you will not be forever changed," said Brittany, Executive Director of Teach for America-St. Louis, a member of the President's Task Force on 21st Century Policing, and an organizer of Black Lives Matter. She asked everyone to fight injustice and to stand with those who are most impacted by it. "I'm asking us to move beyond charity and toward solidarity. I'm asking you to be good allies, but to be even better accomplices." Read more.
CHICAGO ALUM JAMES TAYLOR RECEIVES CNCS HARKIN AWARD
 
When James Taylor began his 10 months of service as an AmeriCorps Ally, he was placed at Chicago Public Schools (CPS), working in the Department of Rehabilitation Services. There, James noticed that some of the 1,600-plus student files that the department oversaw, many belonging to students with special needs as he once was, were falling through the cracks. "There's got to be a better way," said James as he quietly got to work developing a new student-tracking system. His supervisor was so happy with the new system, not to mention his initiative and can-do attitude, that she hired him full-time. Unfortunately, James was a victim of severe budget cuts at CPS, and in January was laid off along with half of the department's staff. For his outstanding spirit of service and perseverance, the Corporation for National and Community Service is honoring James with its distinguished Tom Harkin Excellence in Service Award -- one of only five awards handed out nationally each year. Read more.
"A huge thing that society needs to change is the stigma that is directed towards individuals in the queer community," says Sam Castro, a recent graduate of Public Allies Arizona's AmeriCorps program who, during her 10 months of service, helped create safe spaces for LGBTQ students at a high school where a double-suicide by two students -- and its aftermath -- shook the school community. "It is the discrimination and alienation of LGBTQ individuals that instill the fear of coming out in young people. Every day, I see youth like myself getting kicked out or running away due to their identities." Sam discusses her own challenges growing up LGBTQ in this interview with Public Allies.
In October, Public Allies is launching a new site in Jackson, Mississippi -- our fifth site in the South -- in partnership with the Foundation for the Mid South, led by President Dr. Ivye L. Allen. Public Allies Mississippi will focus on engaging and creating opportunities for young men of color, who by numerous measures continue to face educational and economic disparities around the nation.
As with so many who try to break into Hollywood, LaToya Morgan has faced her fair share of rejection. "Being a Public Ally and working on social justice issues prepared me for that," says LaToya, who grew up in South L.A. and graduated from Public Allies in 2001.  LaToya seems to be getting her big break, however. She recently signed a two-year deal with AMC to write new shows, and is working with producers on a biopic that she wrote about Civil Rights activist Angela Davis. "I know how to dig in and fight for what I believe in," says LaToya, "and I've now found a way to combine both sides of myself -- the writer and the advocate -- into the storyteller I always dreamed of being." She credits her experience as an AmeriCorps Ally with a big part of her growth.  "I can say without question that the people I met and interacted with as an Ally, and the stories they told me about their struggles, are what motivated me to pursue my dream to become a writer."
NATIONAL LEADERSHIP INSTITUTE CELEBRATES 24 YEARS OF PUBLIC ALLIES WITH INSPIRATION, PURPOSE
In August, hundreds of leaders came together for Public Allies' three-day National Leadership Institute in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The event, attended by national Board Members, alumni, partners, special guests, and staff from every site in our national network, provided the Public Allies family with the opportunity to be inspired, find camaraderie and common purpose, and renew our commitment to creating a just and equitable society. In addition to a rousing keynote address by Brittany Packnett (see story above), guests were privy to moving performances by talented alumni musicians and spoken word artists. The gathering also included Public Allies' annual Servant Leadership Dinner, during which we honored staff, alumni, and members of our network for their outstanding work upholding our core values.
RESPONDING TO MILWAUKEE RIOT AFTER POLICE SHOOTING, ALUM ASKS COMMUNITY TO ADDRESS ROOT CAUSES OF VIOLENCE
 
The Milwaukee neighborhood of Sherman Park drew national attention this summer after a fatal police shooting sparked intense protests, vandalism, and tense standoffs between residents and police. With the spotlight on Milwaukee, Public Allies alum LaShawndra Vernon -- now executive director of a community nonprofit organization, Walnut Way Conservation Corps -- published a piece in The Huffington Post that struck a chord with many residents. "My city, my hometown, is burning," LaSawndra wrote. "Instead of being outraged with the [people of this] city, we should take a closer look at the root causes of violence and work together to improve the quality of life in our neighborhoods. We should be building toward the same goal, that all of our community members are afforded the same opportunities and success as any other person in any zip code."
In August, David Crowley won the primary election for a seat in the Wisconsin State Assembly, and he is running unopposed in the general election in November, when he's expected to become the third alum (Milwaukee '08) to win a seat in Wisconsin's legislature (Jonathan Brostoff and David Bowen are the first two). In Delaware, a 2012 graduate of Public Allies, Rysheema Dixon, came in third in the September primary election for an at-large seat on the Wilmington City Council. After the general election in November, she's expected to be sworn in as a member of the city council. 
Getting accepted into the right college. Affording the tuition. Staying enrolled and persisting through graduation.  These are three critical elements for anyone who wants to obtain a college degree, and they are the focus of Public Allies' "Education Pathway" option for Allies.  This new component of our program was recently piloted in three cities -- New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC -- and is now being rolled out in all of our sites around the country.  Public Allies believes national service can help create a supportive, structured, and seamless pathway to -- and through -- college for people who join our program, many of whom are low-income, first-generation students.  We've already begun partnering with select colleges and universities so Allies can receive college credit for their service experience, and we're working to enhance a whole set of effective strategies to ensure that, over time, all of our leaders have the educational credentials they need and desire to advance their careers and the movement for a just and equitable society.
STANDING IN SOLIDARITY WITH "MOTHER EMANUEL" FAMILIES IN CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA ONE YEAR LATER 
An exclusive chronicle of the one-year anniversary service in Charleston, South Carolina honoring the memory of those killed at the "Mother" Emanuel A.M.E. Church, and celebrating the healing power of surviving family and friends. Read the story.