2025-26 Democracy Collective Cohort Celebrates Graduation
- Cleveland VOTES
- 1 day ago
- 1 min read
On May 16, Cleveland VOTES’ Democracy Collective (DemCo) celebrated the graduation of its third cohort. DemCo is a nine-month leadership program that helps people build skills in community leadership, advocacy, and civic engagement.
This year, nine participants worked on projects focused on creating positive change in their communities. The program ended with community action projects that reflected issues important to the participants and their neighborhoods.
At the closing ceremony on Saturday, participants, their families, friends, and past graduates came together to celebrate the group’s work and reflect on their experience. The event included a science fair-style showcase where participants presented their projects.
The projects covered many community issues, including a community resource fair, a youth career development program, collecting oral histories from Cleveland’s Southeast Side, and highlighting the experiences of women with disabilities.
Congratulations to the 2025–2026 Democracy Collective cohort members below. Their activation projects are in parentheses:
Angela Bonilla Jaramillo & Kelvin Matos Sánchez (Sembrado Semillas)
Ava Carubia (Southeast Side Stories)
Gayle Gadison (The Democracy Lab)
Rachel Herring (Shared Spoon)
Chester Hopkins-Bey (Cleveland Black Artist Collective)
Antwaun Loyed (Resource Empowerment Fair)
Saphire Murphy (Disability Women and Power)
Dameyonna Willis (The Plug)
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