Trinity Fellows Program

We’re proud to welcome the nonprofit partners hosting members of our 2026–2028 Trinity Fellows cohort!

Earlier this month, Fellows began their professional roles with these organizations, where they will spend the next 21 months learning, contributing, and putting social and economic justice into practice.

We are grateful to each of our placement partners for investing in emerging leaders and welcoming them into the important work of their organizations. We look forward to all that our Fellows and partners will learn and accomplish together!

American Red Cross of Wisconsin, Benedict Center, Vince Lombardi Cancer Foundation, LOTUS Legal Clinic, Riverworks MKE, Milwaukee Public Library, Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort, Next Door - Milwaukee, VIA Community Development Corporation, Cristo Rey High School, City Year

Our second-year Trinity Fellows are in their third semester and well into their final year of the program!

We’re looking back at moments from the past year as they continue learning, building community, and deepening their commitment to social and economic justice.

Wishing them a meaningful journey toward graduation in May!

Please join us in welcoming Amanda Pinto to the Trinity Fellows team! Amanda (they/she) will serve as our Career Diversity Assistant (CDA) this academic year.

A fifth-year Philosophy PhD student at Marquette, Amanda is originally from New York and moved to Milwaukee from Charlotte, North Carolina. Their research explores social and political philosophy, with a focus on systems of oppression and possibilities for resistance.

Outside academia, Amanda is a passionate dancer, performer, and instructor and an avid reader who has already read 150 books this year!

Amanda will support alumni relations, contribute to our upcoming grant renewal, and develop new resources for Fellows, among other projects.

Welcome, Amanda! We’re happy to have you with us.

What can a park tell us about a community?

Today, Adam Carr led our Trinity Fellows through A Tale of Two Parks, taking us from Three Bridges Park to McGovern Park.

Fellows learned from people who are doing the work: caring for these places, building relationships, preserving their stories, and imagining what comes next.

Thank you for those who joined the tour to share their stories and wisdom.

Isabel Castro — VIA Community Development Corporation
Lamont Smith — The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin
Terry Evans — Nearby Nature Milwaukee
Michaela Lacy — Milwaukee Parks Foundation
Tony Giron — Milwaukee County Parks, Community Engagement Manager
Jacob Sanchez — Milwaukee County Parks, Trails Manager
Jan & John Carroll — Volunteer orchard caretakers

During our visit to McGovern Park today, Fellows spent time in the park’s apple orchard, where residents Jan and John Carroll have been caring for the trees for nearly a decade.

We even got to pick a few apples ourselves.

The orchard represents years of care, investment, and people consistently showing up. It was a small moment in a full day, and a beautiful reminder that cultivating community, much like tending an orchard, takes time.

Our first stop on today’s Tale of Two Parks, with Adam Carr, took Trinity Fellows to Three Bridges Park and Escuela Verde Newline Cafe.

We spent the morning learning about the history of Silver City and the Menomonee Valley, exploring how these spaces have changed over time, and hearing from people connected to the neighborhood.

As we begin our final day of orientation, Fellows are being invited to look a little more closely at Milwaukee: its history, its assets, the people who shape its communities, and the possibilities for what comes next.