Seeding Disruption Fellowship
Helping Youth-Facing Professionals Solve Problems with Equity-Driven Design Thinking
Seeding Disruption is a Washington, DC-based fellowship designed to build knowledge, skills, and community across racial differences and youth-facing professional fields.
Our goal is to catalyze movement toward justice and liberation by equipping leaders with the tools and networks necessary to disrupt patterns of inequity and rebuild more just systems.
The Seeding Disruption fellows confront DC’s past and present with all that has entrenched the racial inequities that continue to impact our students. Learning from like-minded leaders gave me ideas to use my own power to disrupt beliefs, direct resources, and change practices to advance equity. - Cat Peretti, Cohort III
Why Seeding Disruption?
Our PK-12 educational institutions often reflect and reinforce the racial inequities ingrained in our broader systems. From curriculum and instructional approaches to school culture, staffing, and accountability policies, these systems at best remain blind to inequity and at worst actively perpetuate it.
Beyond education, racial disparities extend into criminal justice, housing, transportation, and healthcare—often intersecting in ways that reinforce systemic inequities. Seeding Disruption exists to equip professionals working in these fields with the skills, frameworks, and networks needed to create sustainable, equity-driven change.
Seeding Disruption recognizes that addressing racial inequity requires more than individual leadership—it demands systemic transformation.
Our approach is rooted in:
Our Approach
Equity-Centered Leadership:
Participants deepen their knowledge and skills to lead with a racial equity lens. They learn to identify how policies and practices perpetuate inequity and explore strategies for meaningful change.
Disruptive Practices:
Fellows are challenged to develop and implement innovative solutions that directly challenge systemic inequities and promote a more just and equitable future for all children.
Equity-Centered Leadership:
We foster authentic relationships across racial, organizational, and sectoral boundaries. Our aim is to create a strong network of support and collaboration.
Racial and Sector Diversity:
Each cohort is intentionally curated to ensure inclusion of 25 individuals from a diversity of racial identities and professional sectors that directly or indirectly impact PK-12 education.
Community is everything.The personal connections I have made via Seeding Disruption have enriched my personal and professional life immensely. - Shereen Williams, Cohort II
Fellowship Experience
Seeding Disruption is a 13-month immersive experience that challenges participants to confront and disrupt inequitable systems. This intensive, transformative program includes:
Four in-person cohort sessions focused on deep learning, strategy development, and cross-sector collaboration;
Intimate cohort dinners to foster trust, connection, and meaningful dialogue among the participants;
Personalized mentorship and guidance from experienced facilitators;
Structured consultancies where participants present real-world challenges and receive collaborative feedback.
Actionable projects that drive immediate, equity-focused change within organizations and communities.
Fellows also benefit from continuous mentorship, peer collaboration, and access to a growing network of Seeding Disruption alumni.
Discover the impact of bold leadership and collective action in driving systemic change.
Seeding Disruption Fellows are senior leaders, decision-makers, and community influencers from diverse professional backgrounds, including:
Who Are Our Fellows?
PK-12 Education
(school leaders, administrators, policy advocates)
Housing and Urban Development
Early Childhood Care & Development
Public Health and Community Wellness
Youth Development and Nonprofit Leadership
Criminal Justice and Legal Advocacy
Seeding Disruption Fellows are not only leaders in their fields but also pioneers who are passionate about driving meaningful change in their communities. Whether you’re from education, justice, public health, or another sector impacting today’s youth, we welcome diverse perspectives and experiences to our fellowship.
[Seeding Disruption] was the best professional development experience I had as a nonprofit Executive Director. The experience helped me to better contextualize my work within the broader system of racial equity work, and to really look at the ways in which I was complicit with systems of oppression, and ways that I could continuously address this within myself, the organization I ran, and communities I was a part of. Unlike other relationships that may end after a formal engagement is over, The Equity Lab relationships run deep and the network and trust formed have been incredibly meaningful beyond the formal engagement. - Eloise Russo, Cohort II
Impact & Outcomes
The Seeding Disruption Fellowship is not just a program—it’s a movement for systemic change. Our impact includes:
report implementing at least one policy or practice change in their organization due to the fellowship.
85% of alumni
engage with other Fellows post-program, leveraging the network for continued collaboration.
95% of alumni
have sought advice or partnerships from other Seeding Disruption participants to support equity-focused initiatives.
52% of alumni
Our Fellows have:
Developed new recruitment and retention strategies for diversifying school leadership.
Created youth apprenticeship models that support workforce equity.
Advocated for policy changes in school funding and discipline practices.
Built cross-sector partnerships to address racial disparities in healthcare access.
Are you ready to be part of the movement for systemic change?
Seeding Disruption is a co-creation of Michelle Molitor and Abigail Smith, whose combined 50+ years of experience in public education, nonprofit leadership, and government service drive this fellowship’s mission. Seeding Disruption is made possible by individual and philanthropic support, as well as contributions by participating organizations.