For 17 years, Renata Soto immersed herself in the world of immigrant rights in Tennessee with Conexión Américas, an organization she co-founded to support new immigrants and facilitate dialogue about diversity in their communities. As part of this work, she initiated a program called Mosaic Changemakers to support leaders of color doing social justice work in the American South.

According to Soto, when the time is right, it’s important for founders to step back and allow new leadership to take their organization forward into a new phase of growth. She recognizes that nonprofit organizations don’t belong to their founders—they’re a public good. And so in 2019, Soto stepped away from Conexión Américas and her life in Tennessee to join the Harvard Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI) 2020 cohort. She saw her time with the program as a pause, and an opportunity to think about how she could contribute to similar causes. While at ALI, Soto took classes on race and racism in the US, economic inequality and inclusion, leadership and changemaking. Soto then focused her ALI project work on exploring the potential to expand Mosaic Changemakers.

During her time at ALI, Soto defined a powerful vision and mission for her initiative: “Mosaic Changemakers is weaving a better South by supporting and developing leaders of color who are advancing social, economic, and racial justice in the states where they live and work.” Mosaic fellows create networks of mutual support, mentorship, and fellowship that expand their opportunities—with jobs, board service, and collaboration among organizations. Soto also initiated the process of establishing Mosaic Changemakers as an independent nonprofit organization; and worked to engage new partners including NewSchools Venture Fund, The City Fund, The Kresge Foundation, and The Dan and Margaret Maddox Fund.

The Mosaic fellowship offers leadership support and connections, as well as an opportunity to refresh. It acknowledges the difficulty of social justice work, creating a space where fellows feel that they can recharge and expand their abilities as leaders. As one Mosaic alum put it, “I felt so cared for, seen, heard, and valued.” In a 2019 self-reported survey, an impressive 93 percent of fellows said that their year with the program translated to tangible influence and professional growth. One fellow, inspired by the program, created API Middle Tennessee, a nonprofit working toward racial justice by building Asian Pacific Islander (API) community, lifting API voices, and unpacking API identities in Middle Tennessee. With the struggles of API-owned businesses during the pandemic, and the recent hate crimes in Atlanta, their mission has become that much more timely and necessary.

While Mosaic Changemakers is a regional organization with a strong network of Black, brown, and gold leaders, Soto is eager to expand the organization’s networks beyond Tennessee into additional Southern states, like Georgia or the Carolinas, to elevate and recharge more leaders. As Soto points out, in light of the recent hate crimes and dismantling of voter rights in Georgia, the need for connecting and reenergizing leaders is greater than ever.