Fellowship
A World to Win
A World to Win Fellowship supports organizers across the country who are doing groundbreaking work to bring new communities into the movement for democratic socialism. In 2025, eight emerging leaders will be selected for the fellowship. Each will participate in a series of virtual workshops with democratic socialist luminaries, receive a $5,000 award, and share their successes with comrades around the country.
Nominations are closed for 2025
THIS YEAR’S FELLOWS
AJ Williams (he/him) AJ Williams is a North Carolina based organizer, with over a decade of experience in the police abolition, de-carceration and work in the community safety/defense space. He has served in many local leadership roles including as an appointed steering committee member of Durham’s pilot Participatory Budgeting program, Co-Director of Durham Beyond Policing, and running as an abolitionist City Council candidate in 2021. AJ is passionate about bringing Socialism to the working class masses by making theory accessible and turning it into practice.
Sameeha Rizvi (she/her), a proud Texan, serves as the Texas Policy and Advocacy Coordinator for CAIR-Action and Civic Engagement Organizer for CAIR-Texas. She is deeply committed to empowering marginalized communities in Texas, advocating against repressive, anti-people policies, and fostering coalitions across interconnected issues. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her two cats, consuming matcha, and watching period dramas.
Shafeka Hashash (she/her) has spent the last 15 years organizing on all things economic justice. From closing a loophole to pay disabled workers below minimum wage, supporting immigration cases, fighting for the rights of Palestinians, and now serving as an expert on all things direct cash policies, she believes everyone deserves the dignity to make real choices for their future instead of the no-win decisions families are forced into every day. She is a proud Palestinian, mother of a hilarious 3 and a half year old, and tandem cyclist, who is committed to building a movement for economic justice that pairs policy change with grassroots power-building to create economic freedom and a democratic society that works for everyone.
Miguel Salcedo (he/him) is the electoral chair for the NWA DSA Chapter. He specializes in labor history as a student at the University of Arkansas. He thinks about strategy daily, wondering, “how can we make our city livable?” The answer is always the same: organize. Organizing his friends and neighbors on the issues that matter is what got him into DSA and continues to fuel him.
Heidi Sloan (she/her) is a native Texan, farmer, community organizer and member of DSA since 2017. Current Policy Aide to a Socialist City Council Member. Passionate about labor, climate and housing as a human right.
Katie Fire Thunder (she/her) is a tenant organizer from Bozeman, MT. A member of the Oglala Lakota Sioux tribe, she organizes for the liberation from colonialism that continues today.
Raisa Sarang Deotale (she/her) is the co-chair of YDSA Purdue and has been a student organizer for the past three years building campaigns for demilitarization, reproductive justice, and improved housing conditions. She’s excited to grow our movement for democratic socialism. We have nothing to lose but our chains!
Galen Zavala Sherby (he/him) was born in Nicaragua and moved to the US with his family in 2008. Since 2018 he’s been involved in YDSA and DSA, and feels that this organization will be the vehicle for the world we want to build.
MENTORS
ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP
Who is this Fellowship for?
Anyone working to bring new communities into the movement for democratic socialism could be a potential fellow. The criteria for the specific type of organizing work is quite broad. A potential fellow could be organizing workers or building tenant unions. They could be doing local journalism or producing social media content. They could be organizing new DSA chapters or bringing new comrades into growing chapters. And they could be anywhere in the country – in small towns or big cities, red states or blue states.
How to apply
The first step is to be nominated. Anyone can fill out the nomination form for someone they think is doing groundbreaking work to bring new communities into the movement for democratic socialism. The form takes about 10-15 minutes to complete.
Selection process
Potential fellows who meet basic eligibility will be evaluated by a five-person selection panel. That panel is made up of three representatives from the DSA Fund board, and one representative each from our partners at DSA and the Young Democratic Socialists of America (YDSA).
There are three main criteria that will be considered in this process:
- Their past success in bringing new communities into democratic socialism
- Their unique contribution to growing the movement in this political moment
- The likely impact that participating in the fellowship would have for their work
The selection process will adhere to DSA Fund’s policies on non-discrimination, conflicts of interest, and privacy. Members of the selection panel will not be allowed to evaluate nominees they know personally.
FAQs
Your Title Goes Here
Your content goes here. Edit or remove this text inline or in the module Content settings. You can also style every aspect of this content in the module Design settings and even apply custom CSS to this text in the module Advanced settings.
Can I nominate multiple people? Do I need permission to nominate someone?
You can nominate anyone you want, and as many people as you want! We recommend asking someone before nominating them, but even if you don’t, we will reach out to potential fellows during the process to ensure that they are actually interested in the fellowship.
Who is eligible to be nominated?
Nominees must be living in, and principally focused on organizing communities in, the US or its territories.
Unfortunately, because of non-profit restrictions we are not able to consider nominations of current candidates for office or current elected officials.
Is this fellowship only for DSA members?
No – the fellowship is open to all nominees who meet basic eligibility.
Can multiple people nominate the same person?
Yes. While the number of nominations isn’t part of the selection criteria, multiple nominations could be helpful in cases where different nominators have worked with the nominee in different ways or on different projects.
When will fellows be notified about selection?
Nominees who meet basic eligibility will receive an email from DSA Fund asking them to confirm that they are indeed interested in participating in the fellowship, including scheduled dates for workshops.
Nominations will close on July 18th, 2025. Nominees should expect a final decision from DSA Fund by the end of July.
What will fellows need to do during the fellowship?
Fellows will meet 8 times between late August and early November, all virtually. Some weeks there may not be any meetings. Workshops with luminaries will be scheduled on weekend afternoons or weekday evenings. Call just among the fellows will likely be on a similar schedule, based on fellows’ availability.
Attendance at the workshops is mandatory. Unexcused absences may result in expulsion from the fellowship.
How will the fellowship award be distributed and what can fellows do with the award?
The $5,000 award will be distributed in November 2025. Fellows will need to agree to some basic limitations on how to spend the money, related to DSA Fund’s 501(c)(3) nonprofit status – for example, funds may not be used for a political campaign – but otherwise fellows may use the funds as they see fit.