February 2026
Compass Feature: Chris LeFlore
2007 Young Scholar; 2012 College Scholar; 2018 Graduate Scholar, University of Michigan-Ann Arbor
Chris is an associate program officer with The Kresge Foundation where he helps promote and expand long-term equitable opportunity in Detroit. Chris is the cofounder of two nonprofits, BankBlackUSA and M-Years. BankBlackUSA is a nationwide grassroots organization that works to promote financial inclusion and wealth building through research and advocacy. M-YEARS is an education enrichment program that teaches STEM, social studies and urban planning to middle school students in northeast Detroit. In the interview below, Chris discusses his community work and leadership, and the people who have helped him along the way.
You can connect with Chris on LinkedIn here.
Save the Date for Cooke Connections: Southern California
We are so excited to share that Foundation staff members will be visiting Southern California in April for the next Cooke Connections events. Mark your calendars for Friday, April 17th in Los Angeles!
The registration form will be sent out to all Scholars and Alums in Southern California in the next couple of weeks. We hope to see you there!
Alumni Updates: Non-Profit Leaders
In this special edition of the Alumni Buzz, read about some Cooke Alums who are leaders in the non-profit space. If you’re connected to an organization that could benefit from Cooke Scholar interns, email us!
Francesca Raoelison, Executive Director of Omena
2018 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar, Brown University
Could you share a little bit about your nonprofit and your role?
Omena is a survivor youth-led organization I founded in 2019 with a mission to break the cycle of verbal, emotional and psychological abuse in Madagascar and beyond through early education, emotional literacy, and community empowerment.
The name “Omena” means “to give” in Malagasy, and at its heart, our organization gives people — especially children — the tools to understand themselves, build healthier relationships, and stop cycles of trauma before they begin.
“My journey started with a scholarship that believed in me, and now I’m working every day to multiply that belief in others — in our team, our children, survivors, and communities striving for change.”
I serve as Founder and CEO, and this work is deeply personal. I started Omena from my own journey of healing and self-awareness. As a survivor of emotional abuse growing up, I didn’t even have the language for what I went through until much later. Founding Omena was my way of making sure that others, especially children, don’t have to wait until adulthood to begin their healing.
We provide social-emotional learning (SEL) programs tailored to the cultural context of Madagascar. Our curriculum empowers children aged 6–12 with emotional intelligence, resilience, and communication skills. We also train community educators, parents, and community leaders to create safer, more empathetic environments at home, in schools, and in workplaces.
Since our launch, we’ve impacted over 5,000 youth directly through our 375 community educators and reached more than 1.5 million people through national campaigns and survivor-led storytelling initiatives.
What motivated you to support Cooke Scholars through the internship campaign partnership?
I am a proud Jack Kent Cooke Undergraduate Transfer Scholar from the Class of 2018. Being part of this community changed my life.
As a low-income, first-gen student from Madagascar, receiving the Cooke scholarship opened doors I didn’t even know existed. It wasn’t just financial — it was a community of people who believed in me. And that belief shaped the trajectory of my life and my work.
That’s why when the opportunity came to support other Cooke Scholars through the internship partnership, I didn’t hesitate. This campaign allows me to give back in a meaningful way — by offering mentorship, coaching, and real-world experience to Scholars who are passionate about social impact and mental health.
How would you describe the impact of your nonprofit?
Omena’s impact goes beyond numbers — it’s about transformation.
In Madagascar, 84% of children experience emotional abuse, often without knowing it has a name. When we don’t have the tools to understand or process that trauma, we carry it forward — into our families, classrooms, workplaces, and society.
Omena interrupts that cycle. We help young people develop emotional awareness and literacy, which improves their confidence, behavior, and relationships. Our participants report better mental health, stronger communication, and a renewed sense of agency in their lives.
When we support a child to heal, we don’t just change one life — we change the future of their family, their community, and their country. Our survivor-led, culturally rooted approach ensures that healing is local, sustainable, and deeply personal.
This work not only prevents violence from escalating into physical or sexual harm, but it fosters a more resilient, compassionate society where people treat each other — and themselves — with care and dignity.
You can read more about Omena here, and connect with Francesca on LinkedIn here.
Lucy Marcil, Executive Director and Co-Founder of StreetCred
2008 Graduate Scholar, University of Pennsylvania
Could you share a little bit about your nonprofit and your role?
StreetCred, one of the nation's first medical financial partnerships, embeds a robust array of economic mobility support into routine pediatric and prenatal medical care with preliminary research showing impact on participants’ health. I co-founded StreetCred in 2016 in response to seeing how poverty and financial strain contribute to health inequities in my patients. My co-founder and I realized families were unaware of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), the largest cash transfer available in the US, and referred them to community tax preparation sites, but families encountered barriers to access. StreetCred was born after a patient – a new mom with a baby and toddler – asked, “Why can't you prepare my taxes at the clinic?” We asked ourselves: “Why not?
To improve perinatal outcomes, StreetCred integrates evidence-based, underutilized economic resources and services into routine prenatal and infant health care: free tax preparation, an economic bundle of seven (7) cash-like economic resources and asset building tools (e.g., SNAP, PFML, 529 CSAs and more) and trauma-informed financial coaching. StreetCred has three unique features. 1) Leverages the long-term, trusting relationship between clinicians and perinatal individuals to discuss their health and challenges. 2) Offers services universally during regularly scheduled prenatal and well-child visits. 3) Provides services onsite by clinic staff.
What motivated you to support Cooke Scholars through the internship campaign partnership?
I had several motivations to support Cooke Scholars through the internship campaign partnership. First, having been a Cooke Scholar myself, I both knew that the Foundation supports talented students who have drive and compassion -- and that these students are sometimes less well connected than average in respect to having networks to find internships. So, I saw it as a win-win. As a nonprofit program on a tight budget, we rely on student and volunteer help to fill in staffing gaps. And, I can give back to the Foundation by training and supporting students in their career trajectory. I find mentoring students incredibly rewarding, inspiring, and fun! They give us at least as much as we give them. Without students, our program would not have achieved nearly as much as it has.
How would you describe the impact of your nonprofit?
We have enrolled over 1,400 families in our economic bundle and returned $6.47 million in tax refunds to 2,500 families. In 2024, we assisted over 200 families with Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) and SNAP enrollment, made more than 350 connections to Boston Medical Center’s Preventive Food Pantry, and helped over 100 parents access Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML).
We are also studying 225 families for two years to evaluate our impact on health, healthcare utilization and economic mobility. Our pilot data indicate families we serve are vastly underutilizing resources (e.g., 31% and 23% enrolled in WIC and SNAP respectively at baseline) and that their enrollment substantially increases over the first year of life (e.g., 66% WIC, 47% SNAP). Thus, as we increase uptake of these resources, we should also improve maternal health, based on the population-level evidence discussed earlier. Our longitudinal study, which will be completed in 2026/2027, is rigorously evaluating this assumption that StreetCred results in improved financial well-being, health, and health care utilization.
In 2019 we launched the national Health by Wealth Collective (HxWC), a free, open-source learning community, to facilitate the dissemination of our approach to integrating tax preparation into healthcare, in response to continued requests for insights on how healthcare institutions can integrate the StreetCred model into healthcare institutions. Our HxWC has 36 members in 13 states and D.C.; it has returned $35 million in tax refunds to more than 20,000 families.
You can read more about StreetCred here, and connect with Lucy on LinkedIn here.
Submit an Internship for Cooke Scholars
Are you interested in learning more about submitting an internship for Cooke Scholars?
Join the Foundation’s Career Advancement team on Wednesday, February 18 at 12:30 p.m. ET for Open Office Hours. Dean of Career Services Jennifer Krasilovsky and Alumni Manager Gabby Nicholas will answer any questions from the community.
Complete the Alumni Survey in Your Inbox!
We're excited to announce that our 2026 biennial alumni survey is open, and you should have received a message from “alumni@jkcf.org via SurveyMonkey” in your inbox earlier today. Please complete the survey by Friday, March 13.
We use this information to update our records and support your engagement with the Cooke Scholar and Alumni community.
Upcoming Events
Are you looking for a summer internship? Are you overwhelmed or confused by the process? Join this workshop to gain insight and guidance into searching and applying for these opportunities. Cooke Alum Bérénice Sylverain will discuss tips and tricks to landing an internship on Thursday, February 26 from 8-9 p.m. ET.
In this webinar on Tuesday, February 17 from 6-7 p.m. ET, Cooke Alum Aman Waheed will discuss personal finance and investing. If you're not sure where to start when it comes to these areas, join this informative 101 session! Aman will go over the basic and answer any questions you may have.
Non-Profit Leaders Continued
Larry Thi, Director of Operations at the Lenfest Scholars Foundation
2011 Undergraduate Transfer Scholar; 2017 Graduate Scholar, University of Pennsylvania
Could you share a little bit about the Lenfest Scholars Foundation and your role?
The Lenfest Scholars Foundation supports high-achieving students from rural south-central Pennsylvania to gain admission and thrive at the state and country's most selective universities. In addition to scholarships, we provide holistic support which include helping students with funding internship opportunities, college visits, and building a strong and tight-knit community of Scholars and Alums.
I am the Director of Operations at the foundation where my main responsibilities include managing the application process and scholarship payments, and a host of day-to-day organizational management responsibilities including board and vendor relationships, finance, technology, and human resources.
What motivated you to support Cooke Scholars through the internship campaign partnership?
I have helped build internship opportunities between the Cooke Foundation and college access nonprofits in Philadelphia for about a decade now - both at 12PLUS, a postsecondary readiness and access nonprofit, and my current workplace at the Lenfest Scholars Foundation. Having been through the college application process, Cooke Scholars are able to personally relate to the barriers that persist in postsecondary access and success. We are testimonies to what can be achieved when a strong support and resource structure is in place for first-generation low-income students.
Cooke Scholars have left a lasting impact as interns at both 12PLUS and Lenfest. They have supported internal research and data analysis on programs, conducted outreach to students for postsecondary transition support, and helped with summer education programs.
How would you describe the impact of your non profit?
Since 2001, we have supported more than 650 students in pursuing their academic and professional goals and each year we award approximately $1.5 million in scholarship awards. We are conducting our alumni survey this year. Reading through the submissions, Lenfest Scholar Alums' testimonies have really affirmed the importance of our work in helping students go to and through college, pursue graduate school and careers, and living their best lives.
You can read more about the Lenfest Scholars Foundation here, and connect with Larry on LinkedIn here.
Susan Yang, Co-Founder of A Seat at the Piano
2013 Graduate Arts Scholar, University of Cincinnati
Could you share a little bit about your non profit and your role?
I am co-founder of A Seat at the Piano, and our mission is to promote and advocate for the inclusion, study, and performance of a more equitably representative body of piano works in classical music. Our main goal is to provide resources, where anyone--students, teachers, performers, scholars, and music lovers--can broaden their knowledge of historically excluded composers.
What motivated you to support Cooke Scholars through the internship campaign partnership?
This was one way I could give back to the Foundation and help another Scholar gain relevant work experience. Plus, I love interacting with fellow Scholars and Alums.
How would you describe the impact of your non profit?
We have made significant contributions within the classical piano field. Our database (partially thanks to our amazing Cooke Scholar interns) now features over 6,000 works and has attracted online visitors from all over the world. We have partnered with various music organizations across the country to create lecture presentations and an online course. In 2023, A Seat at the Piano was recognized with the Frances Clark Keyboard Pedagogy Award, a joint award presented by the Music Teachers National Association and the Frances Clark Center for Keyboard Pedagogy.
Do you have any additional comments?
I really enjoyed getting to know our Cooke Scholar interns, and I was so proud to introduce them to our team. They all had brilliant ideas and stellar work ethic. Each Scholar brought something new to the table and contributed creatively to the various aspects of our ongoing projects.
You can learn more about A Seat at the Piano here.
2025 Undergraduate Scholar Award recipient Matthew Werneken at the 2025 Scholars Weekend banquet
Apply for the 2026 Scholar & Alumni Awards
The 2026 applications for two monetary awards for Cooke Scholars and Alums is now open!
The Undergraduate Scholar Award in Honor of Dennis I. Belcher is a $5,000 award that may be given annually to one or more current Cooke Scholars.
The Matthew J. Quinn Prize is a $10,000 award that may be given annually to one or more current Cooke Graduate Scholars or Cooke Alums.
The awards are designed to recognize Cooke Scholars and Alums who have demonstrated outstanding achievement during the prior three years (January 2023 through December 2025).
Such achievements might include the development of an innovative solution to a societal problem, creation of a significant community program, or publication of an important work. The outstanding achievement must demonstrate impact and touch the lives of others in meaningful ways.
The deadline to apply for these awards is Friday, March 27, 2026.
Share Your Big News!
Have you landed an amazing new job, published groundbreaking research, or welcomed a new addition to your family this year? We want to celebrate your incredible personal, professional, and academic achievements! Share your exciting updates with us by submitting your news below or emailing our Alumni Engagement Manager Gabby Nicholas.
Southern California Cooke Scholars and Alums at the 25th Anniversary celebration in October 2025.