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Kristie Cloud, Principal Consultant, is highlighting the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama, an organization she has supported as an Advisory Council member for many years. “What has always resonated with me about ASF is the connection between service and leadership: investing in emerging professionals through meaningful service to communities, in ways they’ll carry into their careers.” Read our Q&A with Kristie to learn why compassion, leadership and possibility keep her connected to ASF’s work.
Compassion. Leadership. Possibility.
Those three words capture much of what has kept me connected to ASF over the years. Compassion is at the heart of the work: seeing unmet needs in our communities and choosing to do something about them. Leadership is just as central. For me, leadership begins with service. ASF puts that idea into practice by giving graduate and professional students the opportunity to deepen their leadership through service and work alongside communities.
And then there’s possibility. The Fellows bring a sense of what could be better and an eagerness to explore what they might do about it.
Launched in 2015, the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship of Alabama is one of 10 active Schweitzer program sites across the country. Its mission centers on improving community health while cultivating a lifelong commitment to service among emerging leaders. Over the past decade, ASF Alabama has trained 166 Fellows who have contributed more than 33,000 hours of service in partnership with more than 89 community organizations.
Fellows are graduate and professional students from universities across Alabama, representing a wide range of academic disciplines. Their community-based projects often cross traditional professional boundaries. One current Fellow is developing an oral health screening tool that can be used by non-dental healthcare providers in mobile clinics, helping identify unmet dental needs, connect patients with appropriate care, and expand access in underserved communities.
That example captures something important about the Fellowship: health is about much more than healthcare, and the challenges people face don’t always fit neatly within the boundaries of a single profession.
I’ve served on the ASF Alabama Advisory Council for many years, including helping interview prospective Fellows as part of the selection process. Those interviews are probably where my connection to ASF feels most personal.
We get to hear what has shaped these students, what they’re seeing in their communities, and what they want to do about it. They bring a real sense of possibility about what could be better, along with the energy and commitment to do something about it. That’s a big part of what has kept me connected to ASF.
I’m especially excited to see ASF expanding its reach across Alabama, including a new partnership with the University of South Alabama Frederick P. Whiddon College of Medicine and additional efforts to reach students and communities in rural areas. It’s an important step toward making sure the Fellowship more fully represents the state.
ASF is also launching a new Catalyst Fund to continue investing in current Fellows and alumni through professional development, specialized training, expansion of community-based projects, and other opportunities to extend their impact. Continuing to invest in these leaders beyond their Fellowship year reinforces that the Fellowship is not simply a one-year experience, but something they carry forward.
Applications for the 2027–28 Fellowship class are open now and are due January 25, 2027.
Whether you’re interested in becoming a Fellow, partnering with ASF, or supporting its work, there are plenty of ways to connect.
Visit asfalabama.org to learn more about the Fellowship and the work of current Fellows and alumni. You can also follow ASF Alabama on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn or support the new Catalyst Fund by texting CATALYSTFUND to 44-321.
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