When more than 50 Global Fellows Network (GFN) members representing over 15 countries arrived in Chicago for the inaugural Every Child Thrives Festival, they came with more than passports and suitcases. They brought decades of leadership, lived experience and a shared commitment to creating equitable conditions where children, families and communities can thrive.
The Festival began before the opening session. On Monday evening, international fellows gathered for a welcome reception designed specifically for the Global Fellows Network. It was an opportunity to reconnect with longtime colleagues, welcome fellows attending their first GFN gathering and strengthen relationships before the Festival officially began.
A welcome reception that felt less like a formal kickoff and more like the start of a family reunion. Xiomara Enriquez, leadership programs officer at the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), asked everyone in the room to be “fully present, remain curious and generously share their experiences throughout the week,” and by the way the fellows kept greeting old friends and introducing themselves to new ones, it was clear the fellows understood the assignment.
The room quickly filled with hugs, laughter, conversations in multiple languages, and the joyful energy that comes from seeing familiar faces while meeting new ones. The evening reflected one of the Global Fellows Network’s core beliefs: meaningful collaboration begins with relationships.
Paul Martinez, WKKF’s Chief Leadership & Human Capital Officer, welcomed fellows and reflected on the power of the network and the importance of investing in leaders who are advancing transformative change in their communities. His remarks set the tone for the days ahead, reminding fellows that the Festival was not only an opportunity to learn, but also to contribute their leadership, lived experiences and global perspectives.
WKKF President and CEO La June Montgomery Tabron then addressed the GFN delegation not as guests, but as co-creators of the very first Every Child Thrives Festival, emphasizing that a truly global gathering “requires global voices, solutions and leadership at the table.” Her message reflected the Foundation’s commitment to learning alongside leaders from around the world and affirmed the important role fellows would play throughout the Festival.
Lulama Ntozini, a South African fellow who’s been part of the network for nearly 20 years, said Montgomery Tabron’s welcome handed him a phrase he wasn’t expecting to need again after all this time.
“Leadership development is a sustainable way of change,” he recalled her saying. “That was a pin-drop, aha moment for me.” He describes the network the way he describes his own classroom: “It’s a learning community. I’m going to share something with you; you’re going to share something with me.”
The festival unfolded over three thematic days – Inspiration, Activation and Celebration – built with young people firmly at the center and a mix of main stage discussions, in-person gatherings, podcast interviews and local site visits. Mainstage conversations, interactive experiences and creative storytelling highlighted the importance of elevating youth voices, fostering intergenerational collaboration and recognizing young people as leaders today—not only in the future.
Among the 500 attendees, GFN fellows were easily spotted on the grounds of the new Barack Obama Presidential Center with their gray backpacks, easy laughter and infectious energy that comes from seeing, in real time, how their individual work back home connects to a global movement for thriving children and families.
One of the most powerful aspects of the Every Child Thrives Festival was the opportunity to experience the work of community organizations throughout Chicago. On day two of the conference, fellows fanned out across Chicago for community site visits. These visits became more than opportunities to observe innovative programs. They created spaces for mutual learning.
Some spent time at Little Black Pearl, where art and creativity help young people heal and express themselves. At the Family Empowerment Center, they talked about what it really means to be a good neighbor and show up for families, even walking barefoot as part of an exercise to better understand the experience of being unhoused. At Build, fellows saw youth spaces created for healing and possibility, from art rooms and counseling spaces to a community garden and a full city block designed with young people in mind.
Throughout the ECT Thrive Festival and during the site visits, fellows’ presence brought invaluable perspectives, lived experiences and innovative approaches that enriched every conversation and reminded us that transformative solutions already exist in communities around the world.
One of the highlights of the Festival came during the closing session.
At the final closing panel of the Every Child Thrives Festival, fellows showed up in force for one of their own – GFN fellow Gabriela (Gaby) Salomé Loaeza Santos from Oaxaca, Mexico – as she joined renowned talk show host Sherri Shepherd and two youth leaders on the main stage. Shepherd reminded the audience that parents are “the protectors of their children’s imaginations.”
Salomé then challenged the audience to focus its efforts on serving the greater good.
“You can’t think globally without looking locally. We have to recover the innocence of our early childhood, questioning everything – where budgets go toward health, toward development thought out from the local level. With a vision in service of the planet and children.”
Seeing one of their own on the main stage was a proud moment for fellows across the network. It demonstrated the importance of elevating global voices in conversations about the future of children, families and communities.
By Friday morning, the same fellows who gathered at Monday’s welcome came together once more for a closing breakfast and photo to bookend the week. Lupita Tzopitl, a fellow from Veracruz, Mexico, put words to what so many carried home. “Knowing there’s a network you can share dreams with gives us even more of that hope to keep going,” she said. Those words capture what the Global Fellows Network strives to create.
As fellows returned home, they carried with them new ideas, renewed inspiration and stronger relationships. The Festival reaffirmed their shared commitment to transforming systems, policies and practices that create equitable conditions for children, families and communities to thrive.