As part of our continuing relationships with the North Carolina Community Engagement Alliance (NC CEAL) Research Leadership Academy (RLA) Scholars, CCPH visited three Scholars from the 2025 RLA cohort early January 2026. Seed grants were distributed to five of our 8 scholars from 2025 cohort to fund research projects that center the following communities:
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- Hispanic (Second Generation)
- Black & Brown Communities
- Small Non-Profits
- Minoritized & Low Income
- Seniors
- Single Parents
- Caregivers
- Parents of Children with Disabilities
- Non-English Speaking Families
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EBC-ATOM board members and RLA staff posing in front of Ebenezer Missionary Baptist Church
It’s incredibly fulfilling to continue to learn from the RLA Scholars in their hometowns and counties. Traveling from Troy and Research Triangle Park to Rocky Mount, the RLA team had the privilege of experiencing community-engaged work from the Scholars’ point of view. Learn more about the projects below.
Sandhills Cooperation Association
With the support of the RLA Seed Grant, Scholar Sherri Allgood implements SCA’s first Community Coach Training pilot program training community champions to become Engineers of Community Development (ECDs) through a comprehensive 16-week curriculum. SCA applies a rigorous evaluation framework to measure the program’s effectiveness in building community capacity, fostering economic self-sufficiency, and creating measurable community development outcomes. The pilot serves rural North Carolina Sandhills communities while creating a documented, replicable model for community-led development that can be scaled and shared with other organizations.
SCA staff and RLA staff posing in front of the SCA office
Connecting Community
With the support of the RLA Seed Grant, Scholar Ivania Gutiérrez refines and validates Connecting Community’s community-driven evaluation process to better capture the needs, barriers, strengths, and priorities of the families they serve through bilingual outreach events and partnerships with over 25 service providers.
Learn more about the impact of Connecting Community:
Watch Video in Spanish
Watch Video in English
EBC-ATOM
With the support of the RLA Seed Grant, Scholar Dr. Debra Allen explores how small non-profit organizations address the needs of low-income individuals despite operating under financial constraints. These organizations often serve as a vital safety net, yet their strategies for managing limited resources remain understudied.
Attending EBC-ATOM’s January board meeting
Alexis Hill and EBC-ATOM’s Dr. Debra Allen posing in front of a display board showcasing various EBC-ATOM events.
Learn more about the RLA: Read about the 2025 cohort’s graduation celebration held in May 2025! Read updates about the 2026 cohort held early in January 2026!
Subscribe to CCPH’s and NC CEAL’s newsletters to receive updates about the RLA and opportunities to join the next cohort.
