Call to Action

Taking On The Challenge From The Bottom Up

Coast Guard Academy meeting with Fellows

Pre-COVID US Coast Guard Academy workshop. Left to right: Fellowship Coach, Fellowship candidates, and Platform Development Team Executive Director.

Photo source: Peake Fellowship Development Team

In neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions across the United States, small & local businesses are falling behind multinational corporations in their cybersecure use of Networked AI & Big Data, social media, and ecommerce.

How can small & local businesses succeed? The Fellowship is a high-intensity, 12-month applied learning and teaching experience for a select team of pioneering candidates who passionately want to serve community businesses locally and globally. Fellows support small & local businesses to recover and reinvent themselves through learning to jointly innovate new products and services as part of online and in-person commerce.

Contradiction: Small & local businesses struggle with social media-based growth despite their established credibility and personal relationships. As a result, small & local businesses and their chambers typically benefit less than global enterprises from social media-based business applications. Going forward local organizations should also be pacesetters.

Resolution: Small & local businesses are not falling behind for lack of high tech solutions since plenty of online services and tools are already available. Small & local businesses need trusted advisors and disciplined coaches on social media and Community Commerce.

Rising to that challenge matters because U.S. democracy and progress depends on the recovery and reinvention of small & local businesses. The 8,000+ local chambers and their members can thrive if they effectively use Networked AI & Big Data for Outreach & Engagement, Community Commerce, Operations, and Cybersecurity. In supporting that progress, Fellows help fulfill the national need for Sustainable & Inclusive Growth.

Next Steps

Learn more about the Fellowship here.

ATTRIBUTES OF FELLOWS AND POST-FELLOWSHIP PROFESSIONAL PATHS
The Fellowship Program looks for topflight applicants with:

  • Commitment to continuously learn from new people and new experiences.
  • Proven ability to communicate effectively, collaborate on a team, make an impact, and be accountable.
  • Online research skills and attention to detail.
  • Passionate motivation to help small & local businesses grow, create jobs, and strengthen each community they serve.

Post-Fellowship Professional Paths

While the Post-Fellowship careers that Fellows ultimately pursue vary widely, Accepted Candidates most often see themselves on five Post-Fellowship Professional Paths:

1. Social Enterprise & Business Leadership – Interest in business and/or business school.

2. Strategy & Operations Leadership – Interest in leading business strategy and operations efforts.

3. Marketing Leadership – Interest in digital marketing or large-scale marketing based on an understanding of local community demand and demographics.

4. Technology & Society Leadership – Interest in Sustainable & Inclusive Growth through Networked AI & Big Data, cybersecure ecommerce, and data science.

5. Community Organizing & Public Leadership – Interest in communities, movements, and grassroots causes.

Fellows experience an intensive 12 months of applied learning and teaching where they instruct local businesses to overcome digital, operational, and cybersecurity challenges. The field-based Fellowship is a distinguished leadership program that serves as an industry-led springboard for the future career of each Fellow.

Fellow experiences chart

Source: Peake Fellowship Development Team