Sweet Water Academy’s 2019 Summer Cohort

Oct 3

In 2019, Sweet Water Foundation successfully launched Sweet Water Academy. The Academy is a neighborhood development and urban ecology academy that inspires, trains, connects, and catalyzes individuals and organizations to rebuild communities and reconnect people to one another and the Earth via the practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development. The Academy shares SWF’s practice via workshops, residencies, fellowships, and train-the-trainer programs delivered to youth, local residents, organizations, and institutions across Chicago and beyond.

At the heart of The Academy are Sweet Water Immersions, an intensive cohort model that brings together local youth apprentices, SWF Mentors (experienced tradesperson/professional), SWF Peer Mentors (former apprentices), SWF Fellows (college students), and SWF Humans-in-Residence (artists, designers, practitioners, and other seasoned professionals). This unique cohort model reflects the interdisciplinary and intergenerational model of experiential learning that emerged from years of programming.

In June 2019, SWF welcomed its first Immersion Cohort from across the City of Chicago and beyond. The Summer 2019 Academy Cohort worked together to build, create, grow, learn, and share Sweet Water Foundation’s practice of Regenerative Neighborhood Development.

Summer 2019 Sweet Water Academy Cohort

Urban Ecology Apprentices: Andrea Lee, George Freeman, Gionte Pratt, Hassan Beymuhammed, Jalen Williams, Lavonte Yancey, and Terry Harris.

Fellows: Chris Nelson (Harvard Graduate School of Design), Eugen Craciunescu (University of Chicago), Madison Elaine Triplett (Kalamazoo College), Sam Scardefield (University of Michigan, Taubman College of Architecture & Urban Planning), Sofiy Inck (University of Chicago), and Zainab Firdausi (Ashoka University in New Delhi, India).

Humans-in-Residence: Michelle Nordemeyer, Tanya Scruggs Ford, and The Black School - Joseph Cuillier III and Shani Peters.