June was a month of gathering, reflection, and intention across the Foundation. The HGB team held our annual executive retreat in New London, New Hampshire, bringing together Program Directors, Advisors, industry experts, and potential new grantees to connect and discuss the future strategic objectives and priorities of the Foundation. It was an extremely meaningful few days, and we are excited to carry that energy into a busy summer ahead.

In our Empowering Youth vertical, summer programming is in full swing. This means that our BridgeUP Environment program, in partnership with the Student Conservation Association, is gearing up to send crews out on the 1st of July. The SCA staff is focused on completing preparations for this year’s BridgeUP Environment crews to enter the field wherein three crews will focus primarily on projects at Van Cortlandt, Spuyten Duyvil, Randall’s Island, Forest Park, and Highland Park. A variety of projects await each team’s attention at these sites. At Spuyten Duyvil and Van Cortlandt Park, the main projects will be installing check steps and water bars to direct water off trail, allowing visitors to enjoy their experience in nature on stable surfaces, and minimizing erosion and related ecological degradation. 

In addition to these hands-on conservation projects, each crew will contribute some time each week to support “Trees Count.” This New York City Park initiative engages citizen scientists and volunteers in inventorying all public street and park trees, recording their location, size, species, and condition. This summer, instead of a single crew focusing on this initiative, all three BridgeUp Environment crews will have the opportunity to become proficient in using the tree survey app, learning and practicing tree identification and field data collection skills while contributing valuable data to this community science project. 

Down in Memphis, TN, BridgeUP GiddyUP riders are expanding and deepening their summer equine education and exploration. June brought a focus on the technical and artistic aspects of course design, and the team is currently in the midst of a summer-long obstacle design contest inspired by photos submitted by FEI (Fédération Équestre Internationale) and Olympic course designers from around the world. Amazing work!

In our BridgeUP Theater In the Schools program, they had both in-school and Northern Stage based performances to close out the program for the year! Over the course of 9 days, there were 10 in-school performances and 10 Northern Stage performances. There was an amazing turn out of family and community members at each performance and all 10 schools performed to very full houses!

In our Empowering Women vertical, summer is bringing exciting opportunities for our BOLD Scholars at Colby-Sawyer College. Several Scholars are putting their professional development into practice through internships this summer. Incoming Scholar Shushma L. is working as an LNA intern at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center while rising senior and new Scholar Kate S. is interning as a marketing intern with the podcast ‘She’s All Over the Place’. Additionally, rising senior Shaelagh F. is interning with the Goddard School as an associate teacher. We are so proud of each of these Scholars and the opportunities they are engaged with this summer which provide direct ties to workforce experience that support their post-college career pathways

In our Empowering Innovation vertical, the Brown Institute for Media Innovation had an exciting month where they announced their 15th cohort of Magic Grants! The winners proposed new work in investigative reporting, civic technology, accessible technology, public health, and tools for creative work. Two of this year’s grants are bicoastal, with collaborators based both at Stanford and Columbia. Funded projects include:

• BLIND ENVY, which has proposed a set of tactile audio tools designed for blind creators, making professional audio production more accessible;
• Testing Soil and Water Near Aging Cold War-era Nuclear Weapons Sites, a partnership between Columbia Journalism School and the Mailman School of Public Health to produce the first comprehensive assessment of contamination risks facing residents near America’s Cold War-era nuclear weapons sites; and
• VibeAnimation a tool that will let animators, designers, and journalists teach AI models motion graphics styles through demonstration.

In total, the Brown Institute made 11 awards (nine full Magic Grants and two Magic “Seed” Grants), each project exemplifying Brown’s commitment to matching emerging technologies with impactful stories. Congratulations to all the grantees, we can’t wait to see the great work you accomplish! 

June started the summer season off on such a high note, we can’t wait to bring that momentum into July!