Neighbors in Residence (NiR) Program
Submitted by the Tsai Center Team

Launched in spring 2018, the Neighbors in Residence (NiR) program is a semester-long fellowship bringing together a group of dynamic New Haven community leaders leading positive change in the community to build partnerships between them, their organizations, and members of the Yale community. The fellows not only bring years of experience from their community leadership work but they are also leaders with lived experience of the specific social issues or injustices they’re addressing. The fellowship allows the NiRs to benefit from funding, access to Yale resources, programs, and networks, and uniquely places them in the role of social impact educators teaching Yale students about equitable, collaborative approaches to social change. Inspired by 2017 Yale World Fellow Baljeet Sandhu and Johns Hopkins University’s Social Innovation Lab, the program was launched and led by Onyeka Obiocha, Associate Director of the Tsai Center for Innovative Thinking at Yale (Tsai CITY) and inaugural Director of Innovation at Dwight Hall the Center for Public Service and Social Justice, and Marquita Taylor, Assistant Director for Innovation and Leadership Development at Dwight Hall. Learn more on the Neighbors in Residence website.