Community Fellows Program Contributes to Regional Vitality
When the City of Allentown was awarded an historic $20 million federal grant in August 2024 – the largest competitive non-infrastructure grant in the city’s history – community collaboration was key. The city became one of only six in the United States to receive funding for its Recompete Plan, a place-based investment program aimed at relieving economic challenges. Senior City Planner Trevor Tormann ’23G, who led the work on the proposal, was applying the skills he honed as part of Lehigh’s Community Fellows Program.
“We had about 40 local and regional not-for-profit partners who are involved in creation of this plan… And it was great to see it all come together,” Tormann says. “It's an affirmation of the work that a lot of people in the city of Allentown and around us are already doing.”
Community-focused work has been at the center of the Community Fellows Program in the more than two decades since its founding in 2001. The program, which pairs graduate students with public and nonprofit organizations, is designed to build partnerships with an emphasis on community and economic development. It supports one of the key initiatives in Lehigh’s strategic plan by fostering connections among Lehigh, the City of Bethlehem and the Lehigh Valley. The program has had a lasting impact on the region, as Fellows often remain after graduation working and making contributions in community organizations.
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