(l-r) Alandis Brassel and Erika Burnett
New Leaders Council Nashville, the local chapter of the nation’s leading organization for progressive Millennial thought leadership and skills-based training, has announced the selection of Alandis Brassel and Erika Burnett of Nashville as a 2018 NLC Fellow. Brassel and Burnett will join 20 fellows throughout Tennessee this winter and spring in skills-based training to prepare them to be the ‘changemaker’ of the future.
“New Leaders Council Nashville is thrilled to welcome Alandis and Erika to our growing cohort of local ‘changemakers’ and community members,” said Brenda Gadd, Co-Director of New Leaders Council Nashville. “All our new fellows are already exemplary members of Tennessee, through the NLC Institute, they will be provided the skills, training and network to focus their efforts on real and systemic change for Tennessee and for our country.”
Alandis Brassel is an entertainment attorney based in Nashville. He serves as program director for the Arts & Business Council of Greater Nashville, where he manages the organization’s core programs: The Volunteer Lawyers and Professionals for the Arts, Education for Artists, Arts Board Matching, Work CREATIVE and the Fiscal Sponsorship Incubator.
Erika R. Burnett is the founder/principal trainer for The Burnett Group, LLC whose mission is to inspire professionals, deepen impact, and challenge the status quo of service delivery in Middle Tenn. and surrounding areas. She enjoys serving as a master trainer, consultant, and facilitator across a variety of topic including volunteer management and engagement, youth development, team building, leadership exploration, and generational differences.
Nashville NLC class of 2018 consists of the following:
Brenda Ayala, Plaza Mariachi
Alandis Brassel, The Arts & Business Council
Erika Burnett, The Burnett Group, LLC
Phil Cobucci, Bam! Social Media, LLC
Chuck Corra, Cooley Public Strategies
Ryan Driscoll, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Amber Finlay, state of Tennessee
Kelia Franks, Tennessee Justice Center
Jyoti Gupta, Vand-erbilt University
Lindsey Krinks, Open Table Nashville
Giccola Lane, Just City
Jeffrey Lichtentin, University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Casey Miller, Vanderbilt University
Briana Perry, Heal-thy & Free Tennessee
Ramon J. Ryan, Genesco Inc.
Dana Smith, United Campus Workers
J.C. Torres, Conexion Americas
Thomas Walker, United Campus Workers
Whitney Wash-ington, Black Lives Matter Global Network
Nate Zeitlin, Manuel Zeitlin Architects
Jyoti will join the national class of nearly 900 fellows in 50 NLC chapters across the country. Nationally, the new Fellows class self identified as is the most diverse in the organization’s history with 63% non-White, 61% female, and 17% LGBTQ+.
“NLC is proud to announce its largest and most diverse cohort yet. In 50 cities and states, our fellows will be driving change in their communities and their workplaces,” said Mark Riddle, president, New Leaders Council. “These nearly 900 individuals are the future of our country, ensuring a more progressive and prosperous future.”
The NLC Institute is a six-month training program focused on skills transfer for each cohort on issues such as entrepreneurial goal setting, strategic communications and digital outreach, econo-mics, finance and fundraising, management and coalition building, prog-ressive policy, and diversity and inclusion.
Chosen fellows went through a rigorous, locally driven selections process including an application with an essay component and an in-person interview. Roughly 25% of those who applied to the Institute were accepted nationally.
NLC Fellows are paired with a mentor who is a professional in their field. Through the mentorship program, Fellows are exposed to successful individuals who are committed to supporting the next generation of progressive leaders.
NLC Fellows are civic, social, and business entrepreneurs who lead the charge on the ground to solve the most critical challenges facing our communities. NLC’s Capstone Project, a cornerstone of our Institutes, challenges Fellows to identify a project that captures their passion, fills a need in the community, and leverages the skills NLC provides through the Fellowship in order to come up with a plan to address it head on. This is where NLC’s training effectively comes to life.
New Leaders Council Nashville graduated its first cohort of Fellows in 2013 and has since provided skills-based, leadership training for more than 75 Tennesseans. NLC Nashville alumni are leaders in business, nonprofit, and government, among others.
Once this class of fellows completes the Institute in June 2018, they will join NLC’s robust alumni network of nearly 6,000 changemakers nation-wide.
New Leaders Council (NLC) is a 501(c)(3) and is the leading training program for progressive Millennials. NLC equips our leaders with the skills to run for office, manage campaigns, create starts ups and networks of thought leaders. NLC leaders take their activism back into their communities and workplaces to impact progressive change.
NLC has 50 chapters across the country in red and blue states with nearly 6,000 alumni. NLC is a true reflection of the Millennial generation with 57 percent of our NLC community as non-white and 53 percent women. NLC is one of the few organizations focused on building a new governing coalition.
