Lorne Adrain is the founder of Providence-based nonprofit Global Fellows in Courage, a retreat experience dedicated to connecting leaders to create ideas to push for social change. Adrain is also a former mayoral candidate in Providence. Adrain spoke with PBN about his organization and what it hopes to achieve in the future.
PBN: In what aspects of social change does Global Fellows hope to achieve, both in Rhode Island and globally?
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ADRAIN: Global Fellows in Courage is dedicated to accelerating the work of social-justice leaders around the globe. Our goal is to host three to five fellows in each of a planned three to four cohorts per year. Each cohort will be focused on a particular impact area – education, health, human rights/freedom, advancing women and minorities, environment, protecting/empowering people, and others to be determined.
The common denominator, integral to our program, will be the courage evident in their missions. Fellows will be selected based on the impact of their work and our ability to help them accelerate it. Their time in Rhode Island will be a community effort – an opportunity for them to learn from each other and from people at local universities, and an opportunity to share stories with Rhode Island’s youths/community members, with the hope of inspiring each of us to do more to make a difference in the world. The first cohort will focus on the urgent topic of human trafficking and abuse of children.
PBN: You recently purchased the Corliss-Carrington House for both your residence and also for the nonprofit. How will the house function for Global Fellows?
ADRAIN: Part of my contribution to the effort will be hosting fellows in my home for their monthlong stay. I anticipate being in their presence to be an inspiring learning opportunity for me, my family and friends.
Each fellow will have private space in which to live and work, as well as access to extraordinary common areas, where they can huddle with other fellows, mentors, coaches and community members. Fellows will come together for meals, programming and events, sometimes with each other and often with invited guests from the community, transforming the property into a bustling hub of collaboration, inspiration, and innovation.
PBN: What did you learn in your time serving on many community and university boards that you will apply to overseeing Global Fellows?
ADRAIN: The most important thing I have learned in many years of community service and leadership is that, like Mom and Dad always said, “Many hands make light work – you can get a lot done if you bring good people together and don’t care who gets the credit.”
I want us to do something special here and I hope people will help me figure out what that should look like and how to get it done. My job is to inspire great people to want to help, to listen to their ideas and perspectives, and let them contribute their best thinking and leadership. My experience has been that though we are the smallest state, we have some of the world’s greatest minds and missions within our borders. Global Fellows in Courage is a way to leverage that power and potential.
PBN: You have an extensive network of advisers for the organization, including former University of Rhode Island President Robert L. Carothers. What have they offered to support your cause?
ADRAIN: I have enjoyed a lifetime of learning from these folks and others. It is interesting and fun to be and to work with my friends, whom I like and admire. They bring wise counsel from decades of leadership experience at the top of their respective fields. They are helping me to design an effective program and bring it to life. They are thinking of the many ways our work together can make a lasting contribution to our community and our world. They are helping me identify sources of capital to operate and endow the mission. And they are all volunteers like me. They are amazing!
PBN: Does the current political climate make your goal for social change challenging?
ADRAIN: There will always be challenges – it is the human condition – but as Margaret Mead said, “Never doubt that a small group of committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” The Global Fellows in Courage who come to Rhode Island are working hard for social justice and change, and the least we can do is help them to do more.
James Bessette is the PBN special projects editor, and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You may reach him at Bessette@PBN.com. You may also follow him on Twitter at @James_Bessette.
