(August 8, 2023) – The Riley Institute at Furman University has selected Elizabeth Anderson of the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs to participate in the White-Riley-Peterson (WRP) Policy Fellowship. Funded by the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, the WRP Fellowship is a 10-month national program designed to equip participants with a real-world understanding of policymaking for afterschool and expanded learning.
“I am excited to have been selected as a White-Riley-Peterson Fellow this year and am looking forward to collaborating with others who are as passionate as I am about and as committed to the hours that kids spend outside of school,” said Anderson. “By participating in this fellowship I hope to strengthen the impact that the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs has on afterschool policy and practice.”
The newest class of WRP Fellows will participate in a hybrid program combining virtual and in-person classes. As part of the fellowship, Anderson will develop and implement a state-level policy project in cooperation with the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs and the national Afterschool Alliance. Much of the fellows’ focus will revolve around leveraging funding to grow and strengthen evidence-based afterschool and expanded learning programs.
Elizabeth Anderson joined the Public School Forum as Director of the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs in Fall of 2022, bringing with her more than 15 years of experience in nonprofit leadership and management of afterschool programs. She is deeply committed to building collaborative, cross-sector partnerships to address complex issues impacting children, teens, and their families. She is particularly passionate about making sure that children and teens have access to safe, high-quality out-of-school enrichment opportunities that allow them to develop their individual interests and identities while supporting their academic, social, and emotional success.
Including Anderson, 17 individuals have been selected to become WRP Fellows in the initiative’s twelfth year. The fellowship has graduated 175 leaders in all 50 states since it launched in 2012.
Namesake of the Riley Institute, former U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, says the role of afterschool and summer learning policy advocates is more important than ever:
“Afterschool and summer learning programs are vital to student success. Research has shown that these learning opportunities enrich and expand education offered in schools in ways that fill critical gaps and combat disengagement. This fellowship equips creative leaders with the tools to ensure that these essential programs remain accessible and grow in quality for the benefit of all children.”
Together with Secretary Riley, the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship is named after William S. White, the late chairman of the board of trustees of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; and Terry Peterson, national board chair of the Afterschool Alliance and senior fellow at the Riley Institute and the College of Charleston.
Learn more about the White-Riley-Peterson Policy Fellowship. For more information, contact Sara Beanblossom at the Riley Institute at 317-289-6024 or sara.beanblossom@furman.edu
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About the Riley Institute at Furman University
Furman University’s Richard W. Riley Institute advances social and economic progress in South Carolina and beyond by building leadership for a diverse society, broadening student and community perspectives on critical issues, hosting expert speakers, supporting public education, and creating knowledge through community solutions-focused research. It is committed to nonpartisanship in all it does and to a rhetoric-free, facts-based approach to change. Learn more at furman.edu/riley.
About the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, established in 1926 in Flint, Michigan, by an automotive pioneer, is a private philanthropy committed to supporting projects that promote a just, equitable and sustainable society. It supports nonprofit programs throughout the United States and, on a limited basis, internationally. Grantmaking is focused in four programs: Civil Society, Education, Environment and Flint Area. In addition to Flint, offices are located in metropolitan Detroit, Johannesburg, and London. For more information, visit www.mott.org.
About the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs
Established in 2002, the North Carolina Center for Afterschool Programs is a comprehensive statewide afterschool and expanded learning network working in collaboration with stakeholders across North Carolina to increase access to high-quality afterschool and expanded learning programs for all children and youth in North Carolina, especially for those at-risk of education failure. NC CAP’s key partners include out-of-school time (OST) providers, state agencies, state and local policymakers, law enforcement, universities and community colleges, business, and the philanthropic community. NC CAP supports out-of-school time professionals by providing high-quality professional development, technical assistance, and resources; informs stakeholders and policymakers about the benefits of out-of-school time programming and its impacts on students in the state of North Carolina; convenes communities and key parkers around out-of-school time issues; and advocates at local, state, and federal levels for expanding afterschool access, opportunity, and equity. (To learn more, please visit https://ncafterschool.org/.)
