Nailah McDowell, Vice President for Strategic Programs and Partnerships, Livingstone College

Invest: spoke with Nailah McDowell, vice president for strategic programs and partnerships at Livingstone College, about the HOPE Emancipation Project, leadership development, and the intrinsic value of partnership. “We believe our students should never have to choose between being celebrated for their intellect or their talents; they deserve recognition for both,” Parrish said.

The HOPE Emancipation Project has become an important initiative for Livingstone. What impact has the program had on the institution and the communities it serves?

The greatest impact has been that the HOPE Emancipation Project has challenged us to think more intentionally about how institutions cultivate talent. As an HBCU, Livingstone has always been committed to developing leaders and educating the whole student. HOPE has expanded that commitment by introducing an innovative model intentionally designed around the unique strengths, experiences, and aspirations of young adults with foster care experience.

One of the things I value most about this work is that it begins with a simple premise: our President 13 Scholars do not arrive lacking talent, ambition, or vision. They already possess those qualities. Our responsibility is to cultivate an environment where that potential can flourish. That means building authentic relationships, creating meaningful opportunities, supporting students through the realities of their journey, and maintaining high expectations because we believe deeply in what they are capable of achieving.

The impact has extended well beyond the Scholars themselves. They have strengthened Livingstone by bringing perspectives, determination, leadership, and life experiences that enrich our campus and broaden how we think about student success. Also, the initiative has transformed how we engage externally. We’ve developed new partnerships with school districts, child welfare agencies, employers, foundations, and community organizations because solving complex challenges requires collective leadership.

One observation continues to shape how we think about the future. Through our outreach, we’ve had the opportunity to build relationships with some future President 13 Scholars while they were still in high school. As we stayed connected throughout their senior year, we observed academic improvement among several of those students before they ever enrolled at Livingstone. While those changes cannot be attributed to any single factor, it reinforced something we’ve come to believe: when young people can see a future they believe is attainable and know there’s a community already invested in their success, the trajectory of that future may begin to change long before the first day of college. That insight continues to influence how we build partnerships and how we think about expanding the HOPE model.

How does Livingstone’s President 13 Scholars program reflect the college’s broader strategy for student success and leadership development?

I believe leadership development begins long before students assume formal leadership roles. It begins when they’re challenged to grow, entrusted with responsibility, and surrounded by people who genuinely believe in their ability to succeed.

That’s the experience we’re intentionally creating for our President 13 Scholars.

Leadership is developed through experiences in the classroom and beyond. Internships, research, professional networking, mentoring, campus leadership, community engagement, and career preparation all contribute to helping students discover not only what they want to do, but who they want to become.

Equally important, our President 13 Scholars contribute to the Livingstone experience. They mentor peers, serve the campus community, lead organizations, and bring perspectives that strengthen the educational experience for everyone around them. Their success is measured not simply by the degrees they earn, but by the lives they influence and the opportunities they create for others.

That’s what student success should ultimately produce. Not graduates who simply enter the workforce, but leaders who leave prepared to make meaningful contributions wherever life takes them.

Strategic partnerships are becoming increasingly important in higher education. What types of collaborations are creating the greatest value for Livingstone and its students?

Organizations want to partner with solutions that produce measurable outcomes and create lasting impact, and that’s exactly how we approach partnerships through the HOPE Emancipation Project.

We’re intentionally bringing together school districts, child welfare agencies, employers, graduate and professional schools, foundations, nonprofit organizations, and community leaders because each contributes something essential to our Scholars’ development. Together, we’re creating opportunities that no single organization could provide independently.

As vice president for strategic programs and partnerships, my role is to identify where missions align and create partnerships that generate value for everyone involved. The most successful collaborations aren’t transactional; they’re transformational. They allow institutions, communities, and organizations to contribute their unique strengths toward a common purpose while producing outcomes that benefit everyone.

That’s what excites me most about the future of the HOPE Emancipation Project. We’re not asking organizations to support a program. We’re inviting them to help shape a model that demonstrates what’s possible when higher education, philanthropy, industry, government, and community partners unite around the shared goal of cultivating talent and preparing the next generation of leaders.