Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist Program
Each year the Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist (TFVSA) Program brings to CEW+ a social justice activist whose work affects women and recognizes gender equity issues. One goal of the program is to build the capacity and effectiveness of social activists by giving the TFVSA time, space, and support to work on a project that would not be possible under the activist’s usual working circumstances.
Twink Frey
The Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist (TFVSA) Program is made possible through a generous gift from U-M alumna Twink Frey.
Growing up in the 1940s and 50s, Twink Frey didn’t have a voice in her male-dominated family. So when Frey decided to leave her longtime teaching career in the late 1980s and seek a way to make a difference in the lives of women, she became what she didn’t have in her earlier years: an advocate who amplifies others’ voices. In 2007, Frey made a $10 million legacy bequest to CEW+, the largest single financial commitment in the Center’s 58-year history.
She also endowed the Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist Program, which, each year, provides a visiting social justice advocate whose work affects women and recognizes gender equity issues the time, space, and funding to work on a project that would not otherwise be possible. Frey has helped forge the way for countless advocates, both through her giving and through her own uncommon path in philanthropy.
The TFVSA program gives the selected TFVSA time for reflection, research, planning, and writing related to their area of activism. Each TFVSA is required to work on a project that will advance their future work and potentially benefit other activists.
If selected, the applicant is invited to reside near campus for up to one month or make intermittent visits to Ann Arbor and work remotely. The 2025 residency will take place during the winter semester with a presentation of their project during the residency required. The activist receives a $12,000 stipend plus $3,000 in starter funds to cover their expenses while in Ann Arbor. Travel expenses to and from Ann Arbor are separately reimbursed by the endowment fund.
CEW+ thanks Twink Frey for her ongoing partnership and generosity to make the Twink Frey Visiting Social Activist program possible each year. Twink has led her life as a catalyst for change, and the Center is humbled to continue to work with her.
Eligibility
The TFVSA program supports activists whose work addresses gender equity issues that affect the lives of women and/or girls. The program defines social justice and equity programs broadly to include activism in such areas as housing, employment, income support, food security, education, violence, child care, health care, and employer benefits like paid sick leave and retirement income.
Visiting Social Activist Project
Interested activists must:
- Develop a project proposal relevant to their work. Examples include a report, plan of action, communication strategy, training tool, or another item. Applicants must outline a plan for working on the project during their residency and describe how insights gained from the engagement will be integrated into the activist’s future work.
- Applicants should be able to suggest ways to disseminate their completed project deliverables in order to advance the work of other activists. Ideas with the potential to have a regional or national impact and/or to be replicable by other activists are encouraged. The deliverable will later be shared on CEW+’s website.
- Commit to spending four weeks dedicated to their residency during the U-M winter semester, understanding that meetings and interactions can take place virtually but will happen during EST business hours.
- During residency, engage virtually or in person with U-M constituents including researchers, courses, community members, and/or students.
- Present on their work during their TFVSA residency, and/or afterwards. Presentations should: make accessible to a wide audience the importance of the work completed during their TFVSA residency; showcase their project; provide action steps and tools for how audience members (faculty, staff, students, and the broader community members) can implement change in their scope of influence. If the selected activist is international we will request a video in lieu of in-person presentations.
Application & Selection Process
Applications are due no later than Monday, March 31, 2025.
- The application review and selection process will take place between April 8, 2025 and May 31, 2025
- Notification of the selected visiting social activist by June 15, 2025
- The four-week residency (virtual and/or in-person) should take place between February 1 and April 5, 2026
If you have questions, please contact Advocacy Program Manager Liz DeBetta, Ph.D. at [email protected].