This year marks an important milestone for CMX.

For the first time, we’re launching the CMX Fellows Program — a new initiative designed to bring together a small, dedicated cohort of community builders who are committed to advancing the craft of community and contributing meaningfully to the CMX ecosystem.

Today, we’re excited to introduce the inaugural 2026 CMX Fellows, along with an incredible group of CMX Advisors who will be supporting the program in its first year.

This cohort was selected from a highly competitive, global applicant pool. What stood out most was not just experience or titles, but a shared mindset: generosity, curiosity, creativity, and a clear desire to give back to the broader community profession.

As our first Fellows cohort, this group will help shape what the CMX Fellows Program becomes — through their ideas, collaboration, experimentation, and leadership. They’ll be supported by CMX Advisors, who bring deep experience building, scaling, and advocating for community across industries and regions.

We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who applied, and we’re proud to welcome this founding group into the CMX Fellows Program.

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🎓 Meet the Inaugural 2026 CMX Fellows:

• Lauren Bolopue
• Tarun Gupta
• Ari Waller
• Kishi W. Fadeko
• Martha Essien
• Khadijah McGill
• Austin Dressman
• Tany Rios Castro
• Irene Aragona
• Amanda Rothbard
• Joanna Chen
• Jenna Feldman
• Nicholas Provenzano
• Jessie Garretson
• Awantika Nigam
• Niv Jonah Hajaj
• Kayode Ayanleye
• Beatriz Sampaio Ramos
• Katie Mast
• Ryan Leung

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This inaugural Fellows cohort represents a mix of early, mid, and senior community professionals working across SaaS, nonprofits, education, developer communities, creator ecosystems, and customer advocacy. They’re based across North America, Europe, Africa, Latin America, and beyond — bringing diverse perspectives and lived experience into the program.

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🌟 Meet the 2026 CMX Advisors

We’re also honored to be supported by the following CMX Advisors, who will serve as thought partners and mentors throughout the Fellowship’s first year:

• Michael Kimathi
• Wendy Batten
• Justyn Hintze
• Dani Weinstein
• Prajwal J

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Our Advisors bring decades of experience building and leading communities at scale. In this inaugural year, they’ll help guide conversations, pressure-test ideas, and support Fellows as they explore what’s possible through this new program.

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Looking Ahead

As the founding cohort, the 2026 CMX Fellows will play a key role in shaping the future of the program. Over the coming months, they’ll collaborate on CMX initiatives, share insights with the broader community, mentor peers, and experiment with new formats and ideas designed to support community professionals at every stage.

We’re excited to learn alongside them — and to share their work with the wider CMX community as the program evolves.

Please join us in welcoming the inaugural 2026 CMX Fellows and Advisors. 💛